Irma (Ridgway) Wendell, 106, Pacific Palisades, CA

Irma (Ridgway) Wendell, age 106, passed away in Pacific Palisades, California on August 15, 2021.

Irma was born on January 21, 1915.  She was the daughter of Horace and Elizabeth (Lizzy) Ridgway of St. Anthony, Iowa.  She graduated from St. Anthony school in 1928.  In June, 1940, at age 22, she married Andrew (Andy) Wendell, and they lived in California where she became a real estate agent in 1978.  She sold her last house in 1994. In 2012 she moved to Pacific Palisades to be closer to family.

She and Andy were members of the Vasa Order of America, a Swedish fraternal organization for Swedish immigrants.  She and Andy held many offices, even meeting two kings of Sweden.  She lived a long and active life.  She was a dynamic, spirited, friendly, and energetic woman who never forgot her Iowa roots.  She frequently spoke of her Iowa friends and family and knew everyone’s birthday.  She will be missed by everyone who knew her, and she fully lived her long and colorful life.  

She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Ruth (Gaunt), brothers Verne Ridgway, and Ralph Ridgway, her husband Andy who passed away in 1983, and her daughter Kathleen who passed away in 2007.  She is survived by her daughter Karin (Holmes) of Pacific Palisades, her grandsons Jeffrey Holmes and David Holmes, and great-grandchildren Andrew, Elsa, and Skylar plus many members of her extended family and numerous friends.