Loving wife and mother to be honored with a "book nook" at Shelburne library
Wendy Dale (Werthamer) Oppenheimer passed away on May 9, 2020, just minutes before Mother’s Day in Bradenton, Fla. She was born the second of four daughters in Springfield, Mass., on August 23, 1946, to Norma (Bailey) Werthamer and Erwin “Dutch” Werthamer. She grew up and attended public schools in Agawam, Mass., where, in 1962, she met her high school sweetheart, Bob. Just after their marriage in 1968, Bob began his 20-year career as an Air Force doctor — and, in 1971, with the birth of their first child, Wendy settled into the role she was meant to play: wife and mother. Her love, wisdom, patience and good humor were an inspiration to her children, and she gave them the two things all parents should give their children: the roots of family and home, and wings to fly away on their own. In 1986, with her family proudly looking on, she graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in art history from the University of Maryland’s overseas campus in Germany, where they were stationed from 1982 to 1988. This experience gave them a home base from which to launch their world travels, something Wendy always wanted to do and something she wanted her children to experience. They moved to Vermont in 1988 upon Bob’s retirement from the Air Force. In later years, she and Bob lived the “snowbird life”— spending half the year in Bradenton, Fla., and the other half in Shelburne, Vt. Wendy loved to read, garden and travel. She was an excellent cook and loved trying out new recipes. She had an unquenchable thirst for learning and experienced life to its fullest, always encouraging those around her to do the same. An attentive and compassionate listener, as well as a witty conversationalist, she had many lifelong and new friends, all of whom she valued deeply. Family and home were dear to Wendy. Her heart was large, and her capacity to love, limitless. Her smile could light up a room. Being a parent or grandparent was never a job to her — it was her life’s work and a calling she took very seriously. Bob and Wendy’s union was a 52-year fairy-tale romance and a marriage of lifelong devotion. Their love was a joy to witness and an inspiration for the rest of us. Besides her husband, Wendy leaves three children: Libby and her husband,…
Loving wife and mother to be honored with a "book nook" at Shelburne library
Wendy Dale (Werthamer) Oppenheimer passed away on May 9, 2020, just minutes before Mother’s Day in Bradenton, Fla. She was born the second of four daughters in Springfield, Mass., on August 23, 1946, to Norma (Bailey) Werthamer and Erwin “Dutch” Werthamer. She grew up and attended public schools in Agawam, Mass., where, in 1962, she met her high school sweetheart, Bob. Just after their marriage in 1968, Bob began his 20-year career as an Air Force doctor — and, in 1971, with the birth of their first child, Wendy settled into the role she was meant to play: wife and mother. Her love, wisdom, patience and good humor were an inspiration to her children, and she gave them the two things all parents should give their children: the roots of family and home, and wings to fly away on their own. In 1986, with her family proudly looking on, she graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in art history from the University of Maryland’s overseas campus in Germany, where they were stationed from 1982 to 1988. This experience gave them a home base from which to launch their world travels, something Wendy always wanted to do and something she wanted her children to experience. They moved to Vermont in 1988 upon Bob’s retirement from the Air Force. In later years, she and Bob lived the “snowbird life”— spending half the year in Bradenton, Fla., and the other half in Shelburne, Vt. Wendy loved to read, garden and travel. She was an excellent cook and loved trying out new recipes. She had an unquenchable thirst for learning and experienced life to its fullest, always encouraging those around her to do the same. An attentive and compassionate listener, as well as a witty conversationalist, she had many lifelong and new friends, all of whom she valued deeply. Family and home were dear to Wendy. Her heart was large, and her capacity to love, limitless. Her smile could light up a room. Being a parent or grandparent was never a job to her — it was her life’s work and a calling she took very seriously. Bob and Wendy’s union was a 52-year fairy-tale romance and a marriage of lifelong devotion. Their love was a joy to witness and an inspiration for the rest of us. Besides her husband, Wendy leaves three children: Libby and her husband,…