Lawrence "Larry" Andrew Wendland

Lawrence Andrew Wendland, 77, of Peachtree City, GA, better known as Larry, died peacefully at home on April 13, 2021. Preceded in death by his father and mother, Charles and Lila Wendland and his sister, Sharon Rheal.

Larry was born in Miami, FL on Aug. 31, 1943. He was a Navy brat and moved seven times throughout the US during his childhood, before settling back down in Miami, FL in 1963. Larry graduated from Miami Palmetto Senior High School in 1963, alongside his beloved future wife, Elsie. Larry attended Miami-Dade Community College for two years.

Larry enlisted in the Air Force Reserves in Dec. 1965, stationed in Miami, FL until 1971. One fateful day in 1984, Larry came home from work and advised Elsie he was re-enlisting in the Air Force Reserves to finish out his 20-year career. Larry retired Sept. 30, 1996 from the Air Force Reserves after earning the rank of Master Sergeant with the 928th Logistics Group.

Larry started working at Eastern Airlines in Aug. 1966 where he earned his A&P license in 1968. Larry enjoyed a memorable career with Eastern Airlines for 22 years where he made lifelong friends and earned the nickname “Larry Perfect.” In Oct. 1990, after being on strike with Eastern Airlines, he started his career with FedEx in Chicago, IL. After six cold winters, Larry transferred to Atlanta with FedEx on Sept 30, 1996. After a 23-year career with FedEx, Larry retired on July 30, 2013. He was fortunate to work with former Eastern Airlines coworkers from Miami and making more life-long friends while at FedEx. During his retirement years he genuinely looked forward to his once-a-month luncheons with his former coworkers.

As we all know, Larry had a very special place in his heart for his 1967 Austin Healey 3000 Mk III. If anyone had something broken, Larry was the man for the job. His favorite things to do after retirement were spending time with his grandchildren, brewing homemade beer (dubbed “Larry’s Brew”), enjoying a nice cold IPA beer, and taking care of the neighborhood fur friends.

Larry is survived by his wife of 46 years, Elsie; his son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Allison Cato Jackson; his daughter, Ann Wendland; his grandchildren, Madeleine and Isabelle Jackson; brother, Kevin Wendland; sister and brother-in-law, Tina and Christopher Schroeder; nephews, Ryan and Cole Rheal, Cole Wendland and Christopher Schroeder; nieces, Jennifer and Dawn Schroeder; sister-in-law, Sharon Parks; nieces, Loren Moran (Patrick) and Amy Parks; nephew, Randy Parks (Terry); 12 grand nieces and nephews; many cousins and friends.

As most know, Larry had a long 12-year fight with Mantle Cell Lymphoma, a rare form of cancer. He was so thankful for the advancements in treatments to him keep around far longer than expected. Larry requested, in lieu of flowers, to please make donations to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at donate.lls.org.

A visitation will be held at Carmichael-Hemperley Funeral Home & Crematory in Peachtree City, GA on Saturday, April 17, 2021 from 10:00am-11:00am. A Funeral Mass will follow at 11:00am, in the chapel.

A Private Family Burial will take place at a later date and time at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, FL with military honors.