John Ritch Wentz III
March 10, 1936 ~ November 13, 2010
Resided in:
Arden, NC
John Ritch Wentz III, 74, passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by loved ones on Saturday, November 13, 2010 after a two year battle with lung cancer. He is survived by his wife of 48 years and best friend, Lynda Crawford Wentz; son, John "Jay" Ritch Wentz IV of Dalton, GA; daughters Elizabeth Jean Wentz of Winston Salem, NC and Jackie W. Dettmar of Calhoun, GA and Lynda Jill Grouse of Garner, NC as well as six grandchildren, Sydney, Evan, Elizabeth, Juliana, Aaron and Meredith.
Mr. Wentz was born in Charlotte, NC and was the son the late John Ritch Wentz, Jr and Elizabeth Pratt Wentz. He grew up in Morven, NC where he was the childhood sweetheart of his future wife. He attended Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia and later served in the Air Force after attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He finished his degrees at Gaston Tech and Western Carolina. After wedding Lynda in 1962 they moved to Asheville to start their life together. He was an engineer with Southern Bell for 30 years and had an active 20 year retirement in which he dabbled in real estate, traveled the country with Lynda and the grandchildren and attended many NASCAR races.
He was a devoted husband and a wonderful father and grandfather who will be missed dearly. The family will be holding a private memorial at the home later in the week.
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Our family extends our condolenscences during your loss
Doug, Mary Ann, Matthew and Nathan Harmon
We appreciate the outpouring of love from family and friends since Daddy’s passing on Saturday. If you would like to make an In Memoriam donation, please consider supporting CarePartners Hospice & Palliative Care at http://www.carepartners.org in thanks for the support they gave us during these last final days.
To the Wentz Family:
Dear Mrs. Wentz and Family
I was so sorry to read about the passing of your husband and father. Please know that all of you will be in my thoughts and prayers.
May God bless all of you ,
Tommy Koontz
IN DEEPEST SYMPATHY, MY PRAYERS AND
THOUGHTS ARE WITH THE FAMILY.
I REMEMBER ALL THE GOOD TIMES AT THE TELEPHONE COMPANY, JOHN WILL BE
MISSED.
John, We wish to express our sincere condolences to you and your family.
Mike & Angela
John,
It is with sad hearts that we hear of your father’s passing. You and your family will be in our prayers as we ask God to provide comfort to the family.
I love you Daddy and will miss you very much! I enjoyed my life with you and will remember all the good things we did together.
John, we are praying for the comfort for you and the family in this tough time. He may not be here physically but he will allways be with you in your heart and memories.
Dear Lynda,
Please accept from your fellow educators our sympathies for you and your family. May memories of the rich life you had with John give you strength in the days ahead.
Sincerely,
Sandra Mueller
Asheville-Buncombe unit of North Carolina Retired School Personnel
Jean and family, I pray that time will soften the pain that you’re feeling now until all that remains is the beauty of the memories…and the love.
May the peace which comes from the memories of love shared, comfort you now and in the days ahead.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this sad time.
In sorrow and with love,
Dear Lynda,
We are very sorry for your loss. If there is anything we can do for you please let me know.
In Sympathy,
Joe Shebest
President, Glen Arden Homeowners Assoc.
Jean,
I would like to express my deepest condolences for you and your family.
May God give you comfort, peace and strength.
You have people in Costa Rica that truly appreciate you and support you in this difficult moment.
My best regards,
Mauricio
Lynda,
We are so sorry to hear of John’s passing. We have such fond memories of all your family and want you to know that you’re in our hearts and prayers. …’whosoever believeth in him will not perish but have everlasting life.’ You can look forward to seeing John again someday.
Love and prayers,
Clairene, Marcie and Joel
John,
Just wanted to let you know that Me,Cindy and the kids were thinking of you and your family.
Lynda,
I am so sorry to hear about John’s death. I remember fondly being in your Latin classes and have retired from 30 years of teaching Latin myself. I remember your devotion to family as well as devotion to your profession and students. You are in my prayers.
Love,
Elizabeth
Oh Jean, I am so sorry to hear this, I know that you all have had a marvelous time, being with each other in the last week, you were always such a close and loving family, and all of you were a blessing to me when we were younger. I was always so impressed by you Dad, he was a cool Dad, and he was so funny! I will be in prayer for you all, I am so glad that God in His mercy gives us time to spend together, to learn from each other and both of your parents were always a wonderful example for me.
Love You All,
Darinda Wilson Noah
John: Please accept our sincerest sympathy. May the Lord give you and your family strength. To everything there is a season. Your friends. Paul & Jossie
Dear Lynda, Jean, Jackie, Jill and Jay
I am thinking of you. I know your hearts are sad. Look to tomorrow….and remember all those wonderful family times you hold so dear.
Shannon Ward
Dear Lynda & family, we extend our deepest sympathy to you. You and John have been special friends and great line dancers with us. Have thought of you often and would be happy to help you in any way you need. Love from Walt & Pat
My heart goes out to your family as you remember your Dad’s life and adjust to his loss. When I recently received a postcard for a free flight, it brought to mind Mr. Wentz and how lucky he was with contests during Jackie’s high school years. I remembered him winning a bathing suit and washing machine. He will live on in our memories. My thoughts are with you, Deanna
Dear Wentz Family,
We are so very sorry to hear about your loss. Please know that you will be in our thoughts and prayers.
Much love to all,
Steve and Laurie Israel Smith
John & family, So sorry to hear about your dad’s passing. It sounded like you were a close family and we know he will be missed. Our love & prayers to all. Barb & JR Murphy
Dear Lynda and family:
I am so sorry to here about Jacks death. Over the years Jack and I have lost touch with each other, I would hear about him and family from Aunt Lib when I would visit her before her death. I still have fond memoies spent in Morven in the summber while visiting. I’m sure you don’t know this but he was my fathers insperation in sending me to Fork Union in the 50’s.
I am so very sorry for your loss. I am praying that the Lord will bring you peace and comfort for months to come. I am a co-worker with Jackie and I really adore her. She has been my boss and is really wonderful, I couldn’t have asked for a better one. I will keep you in my prayers.
Wentz Family,
We are so sorry for your loss. You are in our prayers.
Jim and I both have good memories of working with John at Bell South
Wentz family,
I was so sorry to learn of your loss today. Please know that you will be in our prayers, and let us know if there is anything we can do.
Lynda,
When I saw John’s obituary in the newspaper, it brought back a wealth of good memories of you two when you were my Sunday School teachers at Trinity. You made a great impact on me during my teen years and I appreciate it. May God hold you close during this time.