Memorial Created By
Kay Sandacz

Wendy Whited

Please share your stories and memories here in celebration of Wendy Whited’s life. Click on the heart to let us know you were here and to receive email updates. Thank you for contributing to this lasting memorial.

OBITUARY
Wendy Whited succumbed to cancer on September 29, 2021. She is survived by her brother William (Cindy) Whited, her nephew Billy (Aemelia) Whited, and grand nieces Matilda, Penelope, and Winifred.    A teacher by temperament and profession, Wendy taught junior high classes at Burnham Grammar School in Burnham IL from 1980 and continued in the classroom after becoming Principal from 1999 until she retired in 2012. Students often return...  see more
10,696 Visits

Posts & Photos

  • Kenneth Kondell
    I had, as have many others, the sublime pleasure of spending time Wendy sama. Twice in Japan i was honored to travel with her and spend time. Whatever "IT" was she had in spades. She was unsinkble. Her spirit and and life force was...  more
  • Jane Nason
  • brenda rodriguez
  • Frank Piazza
  • Bob Ebener
    I’m very sad to hear Wendy Sensei is gone. She was fun and ferocious- at the same time! I always enjoyed being around her at seminars. I was always surprised that she remembered my name - even if it had been a couple of years since I'd last seen her....  more
  • Row K. Sky
    Sensei Wendy was always wonderful to me. Extremely welcoming. It was hard to pick just one memory to share because they all flow together. Sensei encouraged me to text her daily to check in on how I’m doing not only with my martial art disciplines but...  more
  • Row K. Sky
  • Greta Silver
    So sorry to learn of Wendy's passing.
    Her Aiki energy and enthusiasm were singular, as was her loyalty and devotion to ASU.
    She will be sorely missed, yet her spirit will live on in us all.
  • Ross Taylor
    Please accept our deepest condolences on the loss of Wendy. She will most certainly be missed in the aikido world. From everyone at West Coast Aikido Academy of Western Australia.
  • Thomas Krumroy
    My deepest and most sincere condolences to the many lives that Wendy Sensei touched - to her family, friends and aikido community. Wendy Sensei had a deep impact on many people but this photo reminds me not only the impact she had within the world of...  more
  • Thomas Krumroy
  • NOLA Aikido
    I was deeply moved by Wendy Sensei's heart, honesty, humor, directness, and wit when I finally got to meet her and practice with her at ASU Winter Camp in January 2020. That meeting left a lasting impression, and I am very grateful for the moments I...  more
  • Lee Crawford
    In 2o12 Wendy Sensei came to our dojo seminar with Ikeda Sensei. On Sunday morning she asked Sensei to give her some ukemi so he kindly did.
  • Kay Sandacz
    • Lee Crawford and Thomas Krumroy reacted on this.
    • Kay Sandacz
      Lee Crawford Love that! Do you know the year or the uke?
      • October 2, 2021
    • Kay Sandacz
      Kay Sandacz I'm guessing it's her shodan test, that would be 1979. Trying to figure out if it's Choate Sensei.
      • October 2, 2021
  • Raso Hultgren
    Wendy Sensei's strong, bright spirit will be deeply missed. Her gifts as Aikidoka, teacher, mentor and administrator were at their peak. Her contributions to ASU--maintained and even expanded during her illness--were far-reaching and significant. Her...  more
  • Lily Iatridis
    Wendy was one of my first teachers when I started aikido, and I'll never forget her. Whenever we ran into each other, she always took time to train with me. I always felt her consistent support and friendship at aikido events over the years. My deepest...  more
  • Joe Grospe
    My deepest condolences to the Inaka Dojo. I will miss Wendy Sensei. One memory I have was when I attended my first Thanksgiving Seminar in Chicago. She could sense that I was so nervous to be on the mat with all the Yundanshas. We made eye contact. I...  more
  • Jane Nason
    Wendy Sensei took me under her wing back in 1989 when I was new to the Aikido scene in the midwest and didn’t know anything or anyone. I have been the recipient of her friendship and boundless generosity all these many years since, and I am so grateful...  more
  • Suzanne Nuss
    Diane Northam, Kirste Carlson and I were named "Ladies from Hades" by Wendy sensei - Spring of 2020 through Fall 2021, weekly classes. I have few words to share: my body movements have more to say. My posture. My presence in the world in both...  more
  • Cheryl Moore-Gough
  • Cheryl Moore-Gough
    Wendy Sensei will always have a special place in my heart. We were planning to host her for a seminar in Bozeman, Montana in 2019, but that had to be cancelled. She sent me this photo to be used in our seminar flyer, and it's just too good to not share....  more
  • Mary McIntire
    We'll miss her smile, enthusiasm for life, and wonderful spirit so much. She'll definitely live on in the hearts of many people. Hugs to Wendy-san.
  • Donna Whited
  • Jonathan Serrano
  • Richard Coghill
    I was fortunate enough to have spent time with Wendy Sensei on the mat and socially on a number of occasions. I love her, and I thank her for all the moments of wit and wisdom, including the couple of times she almost made me wet my pants learning...  more
  • Erica Abayhan
  • Tymur Daudov
    Meeting Wendy Whited Sensei was one of the brightest experiences during my visit to US. I always considered myself to be extremely lucky to meet her!
  • Janet Johnson
    💙
  • Ginger Riversong
  • Matthew Wiegand
    I met and trained with Wendy Sensei a couple of times in Colorado at the fantastic Glenwood Springs retreat and a few more times in Chicago. She was never afraid to let me know she would punch me in the face, and that made an impression. At the same...  more
  • Derek Hedstrom
  • Abundant Peace
  • Hesham B
    Deepest heartfelt condolences to all. When her youngest students training overlapped with ours we saw Sensei’s compassion and her passion for teaching; she would not hesitate in having the whole Dojo partake a major effort to keep those young minds...  more
  • Carol Van Arkel
    Wendy’s happy spirit was contagious. She exuded such a gentle strength. She was the most caring and generous person I’ve ever known. She was so wonderful to me and the many others she loved so dearly. She will be so sorely missed by everyone. Wendy,...  more
  • Kerry Connell
    The years pass and dates slip away, but I remember Wendy Sensei coming to Aikido of Madison for a mini Seminar. She brought a different flavor to the training one that led me to make the long drive from Madison down to Beecher once a month for the next...  more
  • Carol Van Arkel
  • Rob Brose
    A big Wendy hug to everyone here. Thank you for posting such wonderful and funny stories. The most memorable and impactful to me was something she said in passing, as effortlessly as breathing. "You need to give 3 kindnesses for every...  more
  • Abundant Peace
    When I first met Wendy Sensei her disarming openness and inclusiveness moved me to ask her to come to our dojo to teach, even though we had just met. Because of her generosity and passion for our art we have had the privilege of several of her visits....  more
  • Mark Wise
    Such a bright, joyous light. I've known who she was since my first winter term and May Day seminars at Oberlin in the 90s. I wasn't lucky enough to be part of her inner circle. It was always good to see her on the mat though, and those hugs were justly...  more
  • Jill Penkala-Schuster
    I am one of Ms. Whited’s students from Burnham School. Class of 1992. She left a lasting impression on each and every one of us. Tough but fair, she never gave up on one of us. I was fortunate to have her after she taught in Japan. We heard many...  more
  • Marcel Uttech
  • Claude Geeroms
    She was a good friend to me whenever I had an issue or question, and to our dojo. I'll always appreciate her fierce humor, per passion for sharing aikido, and her unwavering support of Sensei and Patty. A remarkable life of contribution to this art....  more
  • Lynn Pearson
  • Amy Ellis
  • Arlene Henriques
  • Christine Leung
    I'm happy to have met Wendy Sensei at a few seminars in the past. She was extremely friendly and I remember being in one of the seminars were she was the featured instructor and I received great instruction from her. My deepest condolences to her family...  more
  • Matt Fisher
    I met Wendy in 1989, at a seminar at Aikido of Madison (my first dojo) being taught by Mary Heiny Sensei. It was "love at first beating."...

    I have never known another person in aikido who combined fierce training, gleefully homicidal crazy,...  more
  • Kay Sandacz
  • Mary Boyd
    always a fantastic experience training under you, wendy sensei. ❤️
  • Ken Gee
    From Summer Camp of the Rockies 2011. Always a joy to train with.