Wendell Gauger
With great sadness, we bid farewell to Wendell L. Gauger who left us on January 19, 2021.
Wendell was a lifelong and legendary reader and gifter of books, a lover of nature and a natural teacher, sharing his love of the outdoors, camping, hiking, gardening, fungi identification and crossword puzzles. Wendell was an occasional prankster, had a wry sense of humor and a great appreciation for word play. In his adult years he took up the cello and various recorders, playing in the Lincoln Civic Orchestra, early and small chamber music groups. He was a master of the art of bread making. Wendell was a wonderful husband, father and a beloved grandfather. We will miss him terribly.
Wendell was born Nov. 7, 1927 in Eustis, Nebraska to Carl C. and Lillian Adams Gauger. The family moved to Madrid, Neb. in 1929 where Wendell grew up and graduated from Madrid High School in 1945. While attending the University of Nebraska in 1946 he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. He was honorably discharged in 1947.
After his military service, Wendell returned to Nebraska to study Life Sciences at the University of Nebraska, receiving his Bachelor of Science in 1951. Wendell earned an M.S. at the University of Idaho in Moscow (1953), and his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Purdue University in Lafayette, Ind. (1956).
While in Moscow, Idaho, he met Janet Fulton. They were married in 1952, in Spokane, Wash. To this union, four children were born.
In 1956, Wendell joined the faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where his 37-year career included teaching biological sciences and pursuing his research. He specialized in mycology. You could say he was a fun-guy. Wendell retired in 1993.
In 1991, Wendell married Barbara Kacena of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They moved to Vermillion, S.D. in 2000. Following Barbara’s retirement in 2012, they moved to Spearfish.
Wendell was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Nancy Hawkins.
Wendell is greatly loved by his surviving family: wife Barbara; son Carl C. Guager, II (Shelly) of Tuscon, Ari.; and daughters Christine Guager (Lee Leighton) of Portland, Ore., Kathryn Merritt (Gary) and Sarah Gauger (Charles Duerschner) of Lincoln, Neb.
Wendell is also survived by his nine grandchildren: Brianna, Jeremy, Carl III (Sarah Whitt) and Jesse Gauger; Christopher and Jonathan Duerschner; and Melissa and Asher Colborn, and Lilly Krause; and by his first wife and friend, Janet.
A memorial service in Spearfish, S.D. is being planned in June with burial at the Black Hills National Cemetery. Online condolences may be written at www.fidlerisbergfuneral-chapels.com. In remembrance, donations may be made to Heifer International, Planned Parenthood or your local public library.