Theodor R. Wenk

Theodor Rudolph Wenk passed away on 25 April 2025, at the age of 89. He was born in New York City on Sept. 30, 1935. His parents were German immigrants who came to the United States and by the time he went to school, he could only speak German. But then, his parents said from now on, we only speak in English. It was funny to hear his mom speak, putting the verb at the end of the sentence like the Germans do. He attended three different elementary schools in New York because of frequent moves. In 1944, the family settled down in East 85th Street where he graduated from St. Joseph’s Catholic Grade School. After that he attended Cardinal Hayes High School.

He enlisted in the Air Force in March 1953 to get out of New York and was stationed at Sampson AFB. Thereafter he was stationed at Francis Warren AFB, Cheyenne, Wyoming (May 1953); Lado AFB, Fairbanks, Alaska (April 1954); Warner Robbins AFB, Georgia (June 1956); Perrin AFB, Sherman, Texas (October 1957); James Connally AFB, Waco, Texas (June 1960); Laredo AFB, Texas (July 1964); Binh Thuy AFB, Viet Nam (November 1967); Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro, North Carolina (October 1968); Upper Heyford AFB, England (April 1970); Ramstein AFB, Germany (April 1971) and McGuire AFB, New Jersey (May 1974). After 22 years in the Air Force, he retired at age 39 in June 1975 and moved to San Antonio. He worked another 20 years in the civil service at Randolph Air Force base.

At Perrin AFB, he married Myrna, the girl of his dreams and after 57 years of marriage, his wife Myrna passed away. While in England, they made several trips to Oxford and London and probably visited every museum in London. When they were transferred to Germany, they travelled to Brussels, Belgium, Paris, France, Rome, Italy, Luxembourg and the Saar. While in San Antonio, they made six cruises in the Caribbean and a year after his wife’s passing, he continued going on cruises either by himself or with members of the Wenk clan. He also started going to the various casinos in Louisiana and Eagle Pass, Texas and he said he was happy to donate money to the Kickapoo Indians as he played the slot machines. Wenk started a stamp collection in1958 and by 1965 he had so many stamps that he went into business buying and selling stamps. In 2014, he began another hobby of collecting DVD’s. In his early years, he enjoyed roller skating and he arrived at Perrin AFB, he joined a skating club where he taught members how to skate and tried to teach them how to dance skate. This is how he met his wife, Myrna. The couple had a happy life together his words of advice to have a happy marriage is the husband must learn two words, “Yes, dear”. His final advice is to enjoy every minute of life because you never know when that was your last second on earth.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Myrna (Brown) and his parents, Erich and Mary (Kuhn) Wenk. He is survived by his sons, Mike (Patti) and Mark (Molly); his grandchildren, Kandis Felux (Greg), Jordan Wenk (Caitlyn),Chris Wenk (Jael), Monica Garcia (Leonard), Marsha Rodriguez (Bryan) Ricky Martinez (Leslie); and his great grandchildren, Joshua Felux, Ethan Felux, Laurel Felux, David Felux, Kalia Wenk, Isla Wenk, Jose Anderson, Michael Garcia, Nico Garcia, Bryan Rodriguez, Nick Rodriguez, Hannah Rodriguez, Gavin Martinez, Landon Martinez and Jayden Martinez. He was proud to be called Opa (Grandfather in German) but even more proud to be called Grosse Opa (Great-Grandfather).

The family wishes to thank the staff of Legacy at Forest Ridge Assisted Living in Schertz for their compassionate and loving care. Heartfelt thanks go out to Dr. James Mancuso of San Antonio Cardiology for his compassionate care and dedication in managing Opa’s health.

A visitation for Theodor will be held from 5:00p.m. to 8:00p.m. Thursday, May 22, 2025 at Colonial Funeral Home, 625 Kitty Hawk Road, Universal City, TX 78148. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30a.m. Friday, May 23, 2025 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, 16075 N Evans Rd, Selma, TX 78154. Committal Service with Funeral Honors will follow from 2:00p.m. to 2:20p.m. at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, 1520 Harry Wurzbach Rd, San Antonio, TX 78209.