Rev. Robert Alan Wendel

Rev. Robert Alan Wendel reposed in the Lord on December 3, 2021 in the Washington Health System Greene Hospital. He had suffered all his life from cerebral palsy, which gave him very limited use of his legs. Rev. Wendel was born on November 17, 1948 in Sewickley, PA the oldest of six children born to Robert and Virginia Bosley Wendel. He was always a good student, and attended Connellsville (PA) High School, He tremendously enjoyed his education at Waynesburg College (now Waynesburg University), where he graduated in 1976. He went on to study at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he received a Master of Divinity degree in 1979. He was ordained as a pastor In the American Baptist Churches in 1984, and was married in that same year to Kathryn. (They were divorced in 2002.) He worked at a number of social service positions from 1984 until 1994, when he began to serve as pastor of Baptist churches in New England and New York. After studies at Ashland Seminary, Ashland, Ohio in 2005, he started working as a hospital chaplain at the VA Medical Center in Beckley, WV. While working there he was active in the First Baptist Church in Beckley. After he moved to Waynesburg in 2015, he was active in the Waynesburg Ministerium and attended many meetings of the Greene County Commissioners as their unofficial chaplain. Because of the cerebral palsy, Rev. Wendel had to overcome many obstacles. He knew how to draw on his own difficulties to encourage and share the light of Christ with those around him. in the churches where he served he was always serving the communities. His outstanding service can be seen in the many awards and citations that he received through the years. Anyone who met him soon found out that he was an avid fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates, dating back even before the glory days of Roberto Clemente, who was one of his heroes. He also always seemed to have a joke to tell or a piece of trivia to pass on. He will be missed by many friends and acquaintances in the communities where he lived. Rev. Wendel is survived by his brothers Scott, Richard, and Mark, and his sister Virginia Belknap. He is predeceased by a stepsister, Phyllis. Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Milliken-Throckmorton Funeral Home, Inc. 197 North Maiden St. Waynesburg, PA., Daryl L. Throckmorton Owner/Director. Visitation will be Wednesday, December 8, 2021 in the funeral home from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM the time of the service with Pastor James Carpenter officiating. Private burial will be at the Green Ridge Memorial Park in Connellsville, PA. Information is on line at www.milliken-throckmortonfh.com.