Wendell W. Wolfe

Wendell Wray Wolfe of Pilot Grove, Missouri, passed away February 9, 2024, after an extended series of health issues.  He was 74.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. at Pleasant Green United Methodist Church, 7635 Church Lane, Pilot Grove, on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, with a visitation the evening of Monday, February 12, 2024, at Meisenheimer-Page-Dady Funeral Home, from 4:00–7:00 p.m. Burial will be in the church cemetery.

Wendell was born January 7, 1950 in Boonville, Missouri, to Warren Woodrow (“Woodie”) Wolfe and Marie Jenkins Wolfe.

He married Marcia Kay Thomas of Syracuse, Missouri, on December 19, 1970.  She survives at their home.  They have three children: Warren Clinton Wolfe, Chad Ryan Wolfe (deceased) and Cara Marie Wolfe Hoff.

Wendell farmed in Pilot Grove for over 50 years in partnership with his brother, Warren Bruce Wolfe.  In addition, Bruce and Wendell sold Nutrena Feeds to local farmers for over 10 years.  A former president of the Cooper County Cattlemen’s Association, Wendell served as a part-time livestock trucker for his father-in-law Bob Thomas, owner of Thomas Hog Market.  He also sold Hunter alignment and automobile lift equipment for Town and Country Equipment and Schuster Enterprises.  He was a former state director for Missouri Cattlemen’s Association and a lifelong member of Pleasant Green Methodist Church.

At age 5, Wendell and his younger brother survived a tragic car-train wreck that killed their mother in Pleasant Green, Missouri.  The boys were then raised by their maternal grandmother, Nina Jenkins Schrader, who moved to their farm to help their father care for the boys.

On July 21, 2018, the Wolfe family suffered another tragedy when their son Chad, 41, was killed in an accident while working on his lawn in Blackwater, Missouri.

A 1968 graduate of Pilot Grove High School, Wendell Wolfe went on to graduate from the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg with a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture business.

Survivors include wife Marcia Kay Thomas Wolfe of Pilot Grove, son Warren Clinton Wolfe (Kathy) of Pilot Grove, daughter Cara Marie Wolfe Hoff (Greg) of Pilot Grove; daughter-in-law Kim Schuster Wolfe of Blackwater; brother Warren Bruce Wolfe (Harriet) of Pilot Grove; eight grandchildren: Cody Wolfe (Jessica), Melanie Wolfe Niehoff (Tyler), Liam Wolfe, Abby Wolfe, Molly Wolfe, and Halea, Britta and Penny Hoff; two great grandchildren; six adult Wolfe cousins; and numerous nieces and nephews.

“Wendell was a wonderful husband to Kay, and a devoted father, grandfather and great-grandfather,” said his brother, Bruce Wolfe.  “He was a successful farmer and cattleman who overcame the tragedy of our mother’s death when we were very young, as well as the loss of his son Chad in a devastating accident. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.”

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Pleasant Green Methodist Church in Pilot Grove.