Eugene "Gene" Douglas Wenzel

Eugene "Gene" Douglas Wenzel, age 93, of Spicer, passed away Wednesday evening, July 10, at CentraCare Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar. 

A Celebration of Life service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 8, at Faith Lutheran Church in Spicer.  We will continue to celebrate Gene’s life with a reception following the service.  Private interment will be at the Spicer City Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be designated to Faith Lutheran Church or your favorite charity.  ALL sympathy cards can be sent directly to Peterson Brothers Funeral Home, 700 Becker Ave SW, Willmar, MN  56201 and will be forwarded to the family.  Arrangements are entrusted to the Peterson Brothers Green Lake Funeral Home in Spicer. www.petersonbrothers.com

Gene was born on March 1, 1931, in Hector, Minnesota, the son of Edwin and Martha (Enzenauer) Wenzel. He grew up in Hector and graduated from Hector High School in 1948. He spent almost 2 years at Gustavus Adolphus College. On March 10, 1951, Gene was married to Leila Lindekugel and they made their home in Hector and briefly in Montevideo. In 1954, they moved to Spicer. Gene managed and later was part owner/manager of Green Lake Grain and Seed Elevator in Spicer with great relationships with customers and employees. He retired in 1990. Throughout his career, he enjoyed checking the crops during the growing season. And in his later years, many enjoyed taking him for rides to see how the crops were progressing and how the weather was affecting them.

He was active in the Spicer community serving as a city council member, mayor, a board member of the Green Lake State Bank (now United Prairie Bank), a member of the Green Lake Water and Sewer Commission and did various forms of volunteering. For several years the family owned and operated the Dairy Freeze downtown Spicer.

He was an active member of Faith Lutheran Church, involved in council, choir, ushering, chairing the building committee, attending Bible Studies, teaching, supporting Vietnamese immigrants sponsored by the church. His life always included a love of and joy in serving God.

Gene and his wife Leila were awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the City of Spicer in 2005. 

Gene enjoyed playing the piano (and played the organ in his home church), singing, joking with people (grinning with his dimples), golfing, hunting and playing cards.  He had a great sense of humor and enjoyed young and old.

As the family grew and spread out within the United States, they had gatherings in Texas and Minnesota and Hawaii.

He provided a great home on Green Lake and the family and neighborhood kids would swim, boat, enjoy games in the yard, and skate and play hockey in the winter on rinks that he would help clear.

He is survived by five children, LaJean Wenzel of Camarillo, CA., Douglas (and Joan) Wenzel of Alexandria, Lynnette (and Brian) Anderson of San Marcos, TX., Robinette/Bobbi (and Jeff) Hoard of Ft. Worth, TX., and Rhonda (and George) Petro of Griffith, IN.; ten grandchildren; ten great grandchildren; one brother, Ronald (and June) Wenzel of St. Cloud; many nieces and nephews, other relatives, and many friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Leila in 2012; one son, David in 1969; two sisters, Carol and Lorraine; and two brothers, Virgil and Galen.