Wendell Trogdon

Wendell Trogdon, 84, Mooresville, died May 29, 2014. Wendell was born July 23, 1929 in Heltonville, Indiana to Wesley and Edith (Cumming) Trogdon. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by siblings, George, Wayne, Mary, and Nora.

He graduated from Heltonville, High School and he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Franklin College in 1951. In 1969 he was selected and attended Stanford University for a year as a National Journalism Fellow. During the Korean War Wendell served in the U.S. Army working in the Counter Intelligence Corps for three years; upon returning to Indiana he began his 38 year newspaper career. His first newspaper job was with the Logansport Pharos-Tribune in 1954. He then worked in the Agricultural Information Department at Purdue University.

Wendell joined the Indianapolis News in 1957 as a reporter, serving as a city editor, then news editor, and retiring as managing editor in September 1992. During his years as assistant managing editor of the News, he took the paper from typewriters and hot type to computers and cold type. He embraced the new technology and made the transition a smooth one. He was known to push the staff to do stories that made a difference. He cared deeply about the city and the state, and everyone that worked for him understood and respected his passion. He continued to write for the paper while working as editor. In 1974 he began writing “Quips”, a brief daily commentary on the events of the times that ran on the front page. In the same year, he started writing “Those Were the Days”, based on his growing up in Southern Indiana during the Depression years and World War II. Wendell continued to write both of those columns until 1999, seven years after his retirement. Through the course of his career, he won numerous state awards for journalism, including “best column” and “best feature”.

After retirement Wendell continued to write about his beloved “Hoosier” state, authoring 27 books, traveling every nook and cranny of it with his loving wife, Fabian, by his side. Many of his books focused on life in Southern Indiana in the 1930’s and 1940’s. His other favorite topic was on Indiana High School Basketball one of his lifelong passions.

Wendell was also a great family man. He was married to Fabian (Lannerd) Trogdon in 1954, living the majority of their life in the same home in Mooresville, Indiana. He was the father of three grown children: Tamara Bailey of Eminence, Deanna Trogdon of Plainfield and Jenell Hadley (Jerry) of Noblesville. He also had four loving grandchildren: Travis Kersey, Kayla Hadley, Maggie Hadley and Wesley Hadley, that he had taken on many long walks through parks, pointing out the beauty of nature. Additional survivors include sisters, Nellie Mikels of Bedford and Martha Black of Bloomington; a special brother, Ken Speer of Edinburgh.

He had a lifelong love of the outdoors and spent countless hours working in his yard planting flowers and fighting the ever present moles that lived all around it. When he wasn't writing or gardening, he could be seen walking the four or five miles from his house to the Mooresville Town Park a journey which he did almost every day.

Wendell was a member of the Mooresville First United Methodist Church for over 50 years. He also helped for several years with the Mooresville Town Park Board and was instrumental in the creation of the current Pioneer Park. He also worked cooperatively with the Mooresville School Board and was a guarantor when Neil Armstrong Elementary School was started.

Wendell lived a full and blessed life, accepting the many accolades given him with quiet humility, a trait he learned from his father and passed to his children. His passions for family, journalism and nature are legacies that will live on through the many people he has touched during his life.

Friends and family will gather on Monday, June 2, 2014, 4 to 8 p.m. in the First United Methodist Church, 900 Indianapolis Road, Mooresville. The funeral service will begin at 10 a.m., Tuesday, June 3, 2014, in the church. A graveside committal service will be held in his hometown of Heltonville on Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m., in the Mundell Christian Church Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or to a favorite charity. Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Carlisle – Branson Funeral Service & Crematory, Mooresville. Visit www.carlislebranson.com to share a favorite memory or to sign the online guest registry. 30