Theodore Kenneth Wendorff, lived nearly 92 adventurous years. He is survived by his 4 children, 15 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren and Kim Wendorff, his loving wife of 25 years.
Ted grew up in Gardena during the depression and learned from a young age how to work hard. His parents would pack their lives and drive to the family farm in Nebraska every summer just to save money on rent. He got his first job at 9 years old selling day-old bread door-to-door for three cents a loaf. And he made money as a high schooler by driving a hearse even before having his license.
Ted grew up in Gardena during the depression and learned from a young age how to work hard. His parents would pack their lives and drive to the family farm in Nebraska every summer just to save money on rent. He got his first job at 9 years old selling day-old bread door-to-door for three cents a loaf. And he made money as a high schooler by driving a hearse even before having his license.
He enlisted in the U.S. Navy after high school, went to Northwestern and USC dental school on the GI bill. After college he went into orthodontics where he had a practice in Redondo Rivera for over 38 years, always with some real estate investment on the side. And he loved his time with Rotary, dedicating 60 years of his life and traveling the world with Kim for the service of others.
He lived large and loved well. He was an adventure seeker at his core, and even in his later years attempted to keep up with current technology and computers. He never stopped exploring new terrain or working hard to perfect a skill in one of his favorite activities like tennis, surfing, water skiing, heli-skiing, fly-fishing, or hunting. Ted would always say, “if you’re not falling, you’re not getting better.” He safari’d in Kenya, went scuba diving in British Honduras, windsurfed in Hawaii, built dental clinics in Mexico, and played the banjo, organ and trumpet.
He was a man of many talents, but he never stopped wanting to learn more.As a dad he always took time to be with us kids. We’d often sit with him on the organ bench, play backgammon or listen to him explain financial performs and share his philosophy on life. While he stayed busy, we always knew he was proud of us and would make time to sit and talk to us when we needed him.
About 10 years ago he decided to surrender his life to Christ and pursued his faith with a new passion. One of his greatest joys later in life was listening to Todd preach at the River Church.
He always wanted to make a difference in this world, and we know he did.
It would bless our family if you wanted to donate to the two causes that were near and dear to Ted’s heart: River Church and Rotary International.