Linda Ann Snell, 55, Sebastian
Linda Ann Snell, 55, a lifetime resident of Sebastian, passed away Aug. 13, 2018.
Linda loved fishing from local piers and spending time walking the beach searching for sand glass and sharks teeth.
She enjoyed volunteering at the Humane Society of Sebastian Thrift Store. Some of her favorite times were spent traveling to Classic car shows with daughter, Amanda, and Carl “Sparkey” Revels.
Linda was a graduate of Vero Beach High School Class of ’81. She spent some time working at family owned business SNL Tackle. Nearly 15 years were spent employed at Hale Groves in Wabasso.
Linda was a long time member of the Elks Lodge in Sebastian.
In lieu of flowers the family is asking that donations be made to the Humane Society in Linda’s honor.
Linda was loved by many and will be greatly missed.
She is survived by her daughter, Amanda (husband, David), and four grandchildren of Hendersonville, N.C.; brother, Marc (wife, Vicki), of Sebastian.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Burt and Joy Snell, of Sebastian.
A Memorial Service will be led by Pastor Russell T. “Russ” Moore and will be held on Thursday Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. at Cornerstone Baptist Fellowship, 1091 Schumann Dr., Sebastian.
Arrangements are by Strunk Funeral Home and Crematory, Sebastian, FL.
Charles Christian Wurmstedt, 95, Vero Beach
Charles Christian “Chuck” Wurmstedt, 95, a longtime John’s Island resident and former senior executive and director of Sears, Roebuck & Company, died peacefully on Aug. 12, 2018. He was born March 4, 1923, in Chicago, Ill., the third child of Dr. Frederick Wurmstedt and Bertha Wurmstedt, nee Bornholt.
He was raised in the Beverly neighborhood on the south side of Chicago and attended the University of Illinois, where he joined Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
In 1943, Mr. Wurmstedt married June Boston, his wife of 61 years, who died in 2005.
In 1942, during his junior year in college, Mr. Wurmstedt enlisted in the U.S. Army. During WWII, Mr. Wurmstedt served as a combat infantry officer in Europe. He was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Combat Infantryman’s Badge. Mr. Wurmstedt held the rank of captain at his discharge in 1946.
After WWII, Mr. Wurmstedt joined Sears, Roebuck & Co. where he worked for 35 years until his retirement as a Senior Executive Vice President in 1981. Mr. Wurmstedt was among a generation of Sears leaders who built the retailer into one of the nation’s largest companies in the post-WWII era. At Sears Mr. Wurmstedt was known as a strong advocate of the company’s many far-flung retail store managers and of decentralized management. When he retired, Mr. Wurmstedt oversaw the operation of more than 950 Sears retail stores, Sears catalog operations as well as Sears corporate advertising and facility development.
Upon retirement Mr. Wurmstedt and his wife moved to Indian River Shores. They had maintained a second home since 1978 at John’s Island where Mr. Wurmstedt enjoyed playing golf. Mr. Wurmstedt was elected to the Indian River Shores City Council in 1993 and served until 2001. He was elected mayor in 1995, and served as mayor until 1998.
Mr. Wurmstedt also served for eight years as a director of the Indian River Medical Center and as chairman of the board from 1992 to 1993, a period of rapid growth at the medical center.
In addition to the boards of Sears and Indian River Medical Center, Mr. Wurmstedt served on the boards of Allstate Insurance Co., Homart Development Co. and Lake Forest Hospital in Lake Forest, Ill.
Mr. Wurmstedt was a member of John’s Island Club and past member of the Onwentsia Club in Lake Forest, Ill., the Chicago Club, the Union Club of Cleveland and The Country Club in Pepper Pike, Ohio.
Mr. Wurmstedt was preceded in death by his parents; his wife; a sister, Constance Erickson; a brother, William Wurmstedt; and his son, Robert Charles Wurmstedt.
In 2010, Mr. Wurmstedt married Mary “Bonnie” Helweg, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., and Avalon, N.J. Bonnie and Mr. Wurmstedt enjoyed many years of travel, family and life in John’s Island. Mr. Wurmstedt is survived by his daughter, June Ann Girolami, of Seattle, and her spouse; three granddaughters, Tracy Ann Sayre, Laura Elizabeth Belluomini, and Christiane Boston Wurmstedt; a step-grandson, Kevin Arden Brail; their spouses; and six great-grandchildren. Bonnie has a son, Joseph, and daughter, Diana, plus their spouses and children.
Mr. Wurmstedt’s extended family, plus his many friends of John’s Island and Vero Beach made his last years enjoyable and happy.
A memorial service for Mr. Wurmstedt will be on Sunday Sept. 2 at 3:30 p.m. at Strunk Funeral Home, 916 17th St., Vero Beach.
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Resource Center, 1506 Lake Highland Drive, Orlando, FL 32803, or to Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice Foundation, 1110 35th Lane, Vero Beach, FL 32960 in memory of Charles Christian Wurmstedt.
