Jonell Renee (Cartwright) Wethington

When Jonell Renee (Cartwright) Wethington was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on November 7, 1963, the nurses placed a bow in her fountain top hair. Her adorable smile and round cheeks quickly dubbed her the nickname “Pebbles”. Her parents, Jim & Jerri Cartwright, decided that name fit her, so it became the only name her family and anyone who really knew her ever called her. During her pre-teens, she felt like a celebrity when the family took a trip out west and visited Flintstones Park in South Dakota. Her parents were avid boaters, so Pebbles spent most summer weekends on the Ohio River and annual adventures with family and friends renting houseboats on Dale Hollow Lake. As an adult, she could often be found staying on her family’s boats at Smuggler’s Cove. Boating friends both as a child and later as an adult became like family. Pebbles grew up with her siblings Jeff and Jina, neighborhood and school friends, many cousins, and an uncle who was close in age. Her grandparents had a cabin named “Kick-a-Poo” that they visited often and experienced the Little House on the Prairie lifestyle. It was always an adventure, but nice to get home to the luxury of electricity and indoor plumbing. When Pebbles was thirteen her little sister Jamie was born and became her new roommate, bringing both joy and short nights into her life. She became a mom to her own baby boy, Brandon, and shortly after moved to California to be near her husband’s family. Pebbles so enjoyed her time with them and in California but soon ventured back to Indiana with Brandon where she met and married the love of her life, Tim Wethington. She went from a California girl to a rural farm girl and thrived in her new setting! She loved nurturing plants and her horticulture class at Warren Central prepared her for the serious gardening she found herself doing on the farm. She quickly took to canning, cooking like a pro, raising livestock, and hosting family and friends for days on end on the farm. Memories that will never fade were made there. At the young age of 38, her beloved Tim discovered he had cancer that was too far along to treat, and she nursed him until the end. It broke her and Brandon’s hearts, along with all of us who knew and loved him too. The years following were very difficult for her and Brandon. When she lost him also in December of 2019 it was almost more than she could bear. Being with family, especially her grandkids Kiley and Maddox, and friends brightened her days and gave her strength. She loved tagging along with family boating and camping or staying at our houses. She was a people person extraordinaire and just loved being with people in any way possible. You could rely on her to bring smiles by showing up to family gatherings in festive costumes or bringing cute little gag gifts. After Mom passed in 2022, she was by Dad’s side as much as possible to keep him company and be his chauffeur on some exciting road trips with ChaCha around the Great Lakes and several Florida beaches. She naturally filled the void of puttering around the house taking care of the details Mom used to. Adding ducks and a new puppy to the mix, there was never a dull moment for them. Some might call it chaos; they called it happy. Dad will forever cherish the time he had with her. Pebbles had a personality as fun as her name, and it helped her have a successful career as a waitress, as she made friends with anyone she met. She later tried her hand at a real estate career, but eventually found a perfect fit in sales at JD Byrider until the pandemic and a diagnosis of Ovarian cancer forced her to quit. She endured the chemo treatments but dealt with serious lingering health issues. Thinking her health was improving, she was scheduled for a needed surgery but an unexpected decline landed her in the hospital where the news was hard to accept. She was willing to fight hard but her body was worn out from the battle. Saying goodbye on March 13, 2024 to such a fun-spirited woman was painful for us all, but she trusted Jesus for her eternity and had peace in knowing she would be rejoicing again with those who preceded her in death: Tim Wethington, Brandon Connor, and Mom, Jerri (Condra) Cartwright. That knowledge is what gives peace to all of us. Pebbles is survived by her father, James Cartwright, siblings, Jeff & Juli Cartwright, Jina (Cartwright) & Jeff Lancaster, Jamie (Cartwright) Thompson, grandchildren, Kiley Connor & Maddox Cytrynowicz, uncle and aunt, Don and Berta Condra, uncle Tom Cartwright, nieces, nephews, cousins, and many more who loved and will miss her terribly. Visitation for Pebbles will be held Friday, March 22, 2024 from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at Little & Son Funeral Home-Indianapolis, 4901 E. Stop 11 Rd. Indianapolis, IN. Funeral services will follow at 1:00 p.m. at the funeral home with burial in Acton Cemetery.