Wendell Nemeth, Jr

Wendell R. Nemeth, Jr., age 65 years of Niles, Michigan died at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, September 30, 2013 at Lakeland Community Hospital in Niles unexpectedly but of natural causes. His family chose to help others by allowing tissue donation.

He was born on May 10, 1948 in South Bend, Indiana to Wendell R. and Elizabeth M. (Newlun) Nemeth, Sr. He was graduated from South Bend John Adams High School, and has lived in Niles since 1985, coming from Chicago, Illinois. He was a veteran of the Vietnam Era, serving in the United States Navy.

In 1968, Wendell began a long career with the former Montgomery Ward Department Stores as catalog store manager in South Bend, Indiana. By 1982 he had risen through the district offices and moved to the corporation offices in Chicago to manage Corporate Retail Operations and Corporate Catalog Sales. Retiring in 1985, he returned to this area and learned the financial services and insurance business. More recently, he returned to his origins, managing department stores for Big Lots Stores, Inc. in Benton Harbor, Mishawaka, and Niles.

Wendell attended Saint Mary Catholic Church in Niles. He has collected coins of the United States since childhood, and enjoyed fishing and camping, and attending movies with friends. But his greatest interest was his family, spending time with his children and grandchildren.

On August 21, 1976 in South Bend he married the former Ann Eva Mahoney with whom last month he celebrated the thirty-seventh anniversary of their marriage.

He is survived by his wife, Ann Nemeth, and by their children, Rebecca Sue (& John Teeter) Needham of Mishawaka, Natalie Marie Nemeth of Frankfort, Kentucky, Kimberly Renee (& Tony Gallo) Nemeth of Lexington, Kentucky, and Eva Marie Nemeth of Niles; daughter-in-law, Marsha Nemeth of Plymouth, Indiana; grandchildren Ariana and Kymani Fishburne, Amanda, Kurtis, Justin, and Brittney Needham, Jessica Nemeth, James, Joseph, and Jeremiah Brownbridge, and Heather Sanders; great-grandchildren Molli Ciesiolka, Wyatt and Isabelle Needham; and Wendell’s siblings, Max (& Barb) Nemeth of South Carolina, Dorothy (& Lee) Emerick of Osceola, Indiana, and Beth (& Chris) Mitchell of Mishawaka; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by a son, John Wallace Nemeth on April 4, 2011; and by his brother, Jack Nemeth and sister Carol Rand.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, October 4, 2013 at Saint Mary Catholic Church in Niles by the Rev. William P. Melody, C.S.C. of Notre Dame, Indiana and will conclude with the Veteran’s Flag Presentation and “Taps” by the United States Navy Honor Guard. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery.

The family will receive relatives and friends from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. on Thursday at the Halbritter Funeral Home in Niles. Contributions in memory of Wendell may be made to the donor’s choice.