Diane Louise Smith Wendland

Diane Wendland peacefully passed into the presence of her Lord and Savior on Saturday, March 31, 2018. She was surrounded by her family who deeply loved her. She was a devoted and loving wife, a wonderful mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. A friend to all she met. She was characterized by her vibrant love of life, by graciousness and generosity, and by determination.

She was an enthusiastic traveler, a tireless shopper who loved to buy gifts for others, a dedicated member of the Prattville Y, and an avid gardener of beautiful roses which she always shared with friends and family. She had a heart-warming smile and a kind word for everyone she met.

Diane was born in the Salvation Army Charity Hospital, and adopted, as were her two brothers, as infants from The Cradle in Chicago, Illinois during the Great Depression. She received her education at The Margaret Booth School in Montgomery, and graduated from Huntingdon College with a B.A. degree in English. She met her husband, Milton “Buzz” Wendland while serving as a Red Cross volunteer in the Maxwell Air Force Base Hospital. He was a farm boy turned pilot from rural Kansas who was sent to Montgomery to rehabilitate after a car wreck. They fell in love and married in 1957. In 1960, they purchased land and settled in Autaugaville where they farmed and raised their family.

Diane was a faithful, lifelong member of First Presbyterian Church of Prattville. She and Buzz raised their children in the church and instilled in them the importance and priority of their faith. She modeled this in her daily life.

Diane gave generously of her time to several organizations. She has served on the Huntingdon College Board of Trustees for 48 years. She has been a Member of the Board of the Montgomery Chapter of the American Red Cross for over 50 years. She was an active member of the Autauga County Cattlewomen, and enjoyed membership in The Askesis Club in Prattville. In years past, she was a longtime board member of the Montgomery Area Mental Health and the Louise M Smith Center.

Diane was preceded in death by her parents, William Howard Smith and Louise Amelia Maytag Smith, and by her two brothers, Dean Bergman Smith and Don McQueen Smith. She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Milton A. “Buzz” Wendland, and their four children: Suzie (Charles) Rhodes, Jimmy (Robin) Wendland, Margaret (Robert) Miller, and Andy (Dawn) Wendland. She has 13 grandchildren: Charlie, Amelia and Margaret Rhodes; Michael and Diane Wendland; Newell, Bianka, and Marika Miller; Katie (Owen) Nichols, Drew (Lauren), Will Howard, Dan, and Emma Wendland. She has one great grandson: Clint Nichols.

Visitation will be held Thursday, April 5, 2018 at First Presbyterian Church. (211 S. Chestnut Street, Prattville) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A family graveside service will follow at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to: The Diane Smith Wendland Endowed Scholarship at Huntingdon College (1500 East Fairview Avenue, Montgomery, 36106), First Presbyterian Church of Prattville, Alabama (211 S. Chestnut Street, Prattville, 36067), or The Montgomery Chapter of The American Red Cross (5015 Woods Crossing Drive, Montgomery, 36106).

The family would like to give special thanks to the medical staff at Jackson Hospital CVICU for their loving care and attention during the past 6 ½ weeks, special helpers and caregivers Rosa Howard, Sheree Thornton and Virginia Moseley, and the many dear friends who called, visited, prayed, sent cards, and inquired about her. She was dearly loved by her family, her friends, her community, and by all who knew her.

" Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all." Prov. 31.28-29