Elizabeth Fritz Wendt

Elizabeth Fritz Wendt
March 4, 1938 February 6, 2014

Elizabeth Liz Wendt, 75, died of breast cancer at her home in Fortuna, California, on the evening of Thursday, February 6, 2014. Liz was born in piic Bukovica, Yugoslavia in 1938, the eighth of thirteen siblings, to Johann and Theresia Fritz. She and her family members immigrated to the United States in 1951 under the Assurance for Resettlement of Displaced Persons Program in the USA and lived in Michigan for one year. In 1952 the family moved to Fortuna, California where the men found employment in the lumber industry. Along with her family, Liz was naturalized at the Superior Court of Humboldt County and became an American citizen on December 5, 1957. Liz graduated from Fortuna Union High School in 1958. She married Sam Wendt on December 20, 1959. One of her first jobs was working at the Better Bread Bakery. Later Liz took classes at College of the Redwoods and worked for a couple of dentists in Rio Dell. Liz had many creative interests. She loved working in the garden, decorating for special occasions, and baking cookies and pastries. Some of her other hobbies included collecting baskets, colored glass, and driftwood, sewing, and flower arranging. Liz was a long time member of the Fortuna Seventh-day Adventist Church where she was able to use her talents to bless others. She especially enjoyed organizing rummage sales for the church and school and working with the youth in the Pathfinder Club. Although Liz loved being outdoors and going to the beach her favorite place was with her family. She took great joy in creating unique cakes for special celebrations like birthdays, graduations, weddings, and anniversaries. She will be remembered as a caring, creative, loving, and thoughtful person with a warm, friendly smile and an optimism that looked for the best in others.

Liz is survived by her husband of 54 years, Sam Wendt; her three children and their spouses, Mark & Mary Wendt of Beaverton, Oregon, Scott & Sherrie Wendt of Modesto, California, and Peggy & Steve Brown of Carson City, Nevada; five grandchildren, Joshua Wendt, Kyle, Dennis, Shelby, and Tommy Brown; and three brothers, Paul, Gottfried, and Helmuth Fritz.

Liz was preceded in death by her parents, Johann and Theresia Fritz; five siblings who died in childhood, Elizabeth I, Magdalena, Franz I, Albina, and Franz II; and four brothers, Joseph, John, Anton, & Siegfried.

A funeral service is scheduled for Saturday, February 15, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. at the Fortuna Seventh-day Adventist Church, 2301 Rohnerville Road, Fortuna, California. Interment will take place at the IOOF Cemetery, 5254 Rohnerville Road immediately following the funeral.

Memorial contributions may be made in Lizs name to the Fortuna Seventh-day Adventist Church Pathfinder Club or to Fortuna Junior Academy, 2301 Rohnerville Rd, Fortuna, CA 95540.

Arrangements are under the care of Gobles Fortuna Mortuary.

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