Willis Ray Wadel

Montezuma – Willis Ray Wadel was born to Clarence and Anna (Schmidt) Wadel in Turlock, California on October 11, 1944. He peacefully passed away on December 3, 2024 at Bethel Home in Montezuma, reaching the age of 80 years.
Willis accepted the Lord and was baptized into the Church of God in Christ Mennonite on December 23, 1979 at the Emmanuel Congregation in Fredonia by Minister Milton Koehn. He was born with cerebral palsy, which has been his lifelong handicap. Our parents spent many days and hours going to different doctors, seeking help when he was young. We, as his siblings, remember him learning to walk by holding on to furniture or against the wall when he was around eight years old.
He moved with our parents from Winton, California to Fredonia in 1951. Here is where he learned to drive a go-cart, which was his greatest delight. He excelled in taking apart small engines and putting them back together and they were ready to go.
After our dad passed away in 1981, Willis lived with our mother on the old home place until they moved to Isabella, Oklahoma in 1985, where his sister, Carol and husband Clayton Wedel lived. In 2003, he moved with our mother to Bethel Home in Montezuma. This proved to be a blessing for both of them and also to us as his family. He loved living in Bethel Home.
He spent many hours in our mother's room until she passed away in 2010. After this, he spent more time in the coffee shop. He loved playing checkers on the checkerboard table furnished by Bethel Home. We called him the "Montezuma Champion Checker Player".
Someone started him on crushing pop cans by putting up a can crusher in his room. Different ones would supply him with bags of cans. When he had several bags crushed, one of the activity ladies would take him to Dodge City to have them recycled. He would always get a few dollars, and then they would ho have lunch at a favorite café before heading back to Montezuma. That was always a highlight for him. Bethel Home also put up a rug frame in his room, where he made many beautiful rugs with fabric strips pre-cut by some of the activity ladies. Around eight in the evening, one would find him making his way to the coffee shop for hot chocolate, a cappuccino, or popcorn.
We as his family are grateful for the 21 years he was able to be in Bethel Home. Thank you for all the good care you so lovingly gave him. You all went the second mile. A special thank-you for the different activities you provided and to the cooks for giving him some of his special meals, especially the pizza he enjoyed for his recent 80th birthday. May God richly bless you all.
His survivors include his brother, Jim and wife Sharon of Bonners Ferry, Idaho; his sister, Carol and Clayton Wedel of Wingo, Kentucky; two sisters-in-law, Bonnie Wadel and Judy Wadel both of Montezuma; many nieces, nephews, cousins, and all the Bethel Home staff. He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, one sister-in-law, one nephew, and two nieces.
Funeral service will be held at Emmanuel Mennonite Church, Fredonia on Sunday, December 8, 2024 at 10:30 AM with Ministers James Shultz and Greg Koehn presiding. Burial will follow at Cheatam Cemetery in rural Fredonia. Visitation will be at Bethel Home on Friday December 6, 2024 from 4:00 to 5:00 PM. Memorials are suggested to Bethel Home in care of the funeral home. Thoughts and memories may be shared in the online guest book at www.swaimfuneralhome.com.