Juanita W. "Polly" Kendall

Juanita W. "Polly" Kendall

SEBRING: Juanita W. "Polly" Kendall, 86, of Copeland Oaks, and a 55-year former resident of Salem, passed away Saturday, November 3, 2012, at the Crandall Medical Center in Sebring. She was born December 28, 1925 in Glouster, Ohio, the daughter of the late John Ernest and Sara (McDivitt) Williams.

She graduated from Shadyside High School in 1943, attended Bethany College in Bethany West Virginia where she became a member of Alpha Xi Delta Sorority, and graduated in 1946 from The Ohio State University with a BA in Psychology. She was an executive secretary to Charles Lazarus at the F. & R. Lazarus Company in Columbus, helping finance her husband through law school. Upon his graduation in 1950, they moved to Salem where he started his law practice, later to become Fitch, Kendall, Cecil, Robinson and Barry Co. LPA, and they built their lives together, raising four children.

Polly served as the president of the former Salem League of Women Voters, president of the Salem Travelers Club, charter member of the Salem YWCA, trustee and secretary of the Columbiana County Mental Health Clinic, Secretary of the Salem Library Board of Trustees for 45 years, was a volunteer for Hospice of the Valley in Salem, and a member of the Salem Golf Club. The Salem Rotary Club honored her by making her a Lifetime Honorary Member of their club, and she was a Paul Harris Fellow of The Rotary Foundation. She traveled for many years throughout the world with her husband when he served as a director of Rotary International and a Trustee of the Rotary Foundation. Polly was "mom" to a number of foreign Rotary Youth Exchange students who became a part of the extended Kendall family.

She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Salem where she was a former elder of the church and belonged to the October Women's Circle. Polly was passionate about many things, most notably her husband, her beloved mother Sara, her children and grandchildren. She loved the Salem community and was an ardent advocate of the public schools and the public library.

Her husband, Attorney Bryce W. Kendall, whom she married June 8, 1947, preceded her in death December 9, 1995; a grandson, Graham Kendall also preceded her in death.

Survivors include two sons, Stuart Kendall of Columbus and Gordon (Kelly) Kendall of Coshocton; two daughters, Sally (Daniel) Wajahn of Cleveland and Amy Kendall of Columbus; six grandchildren: Bryan, Megan and Tyler Kendall; Lauren Kendall; and Caitlin and Jennifer Wajahn.

Polly will be sadly missed by all of her family and friends, and her primary caregivers of the past two years, Sue and George Hays. She will be remembered for her strength of conviction, her sense of humor, and her fierce love for her family.

A private graveside service will be held at the Grandview Cemetery Chapel. A "Celebration of Life" service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 436 E. Second St., Salem, OH, with Rev. Dr. Meta Cramer officiating. The family will receive friends at the church an hour prior to the service, and afterwards at a light luncheon in the Fellowship Hall.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that memorial contributions be made to: Memorial Fund at First Presbyterian Church, 436 E. Second St., Salem, OH; Salem Public Library, 821 E. State St., Salem, OH 44460; Salem Rotary Foundation (Bryce W. Kendall Restricted Fund), PO Box 1244, Salem, OH 44460.

Arrangements are by Stark Memorial Funeral Home in Salem. The obituary may be viewed and condolences may be sent to the family online at www.starkmemorial.com.