Wendt, Charles Gustav

Charles Gustav Wendt, 75, of Iowa City, died peacefully Friday, July 29, 2011, surrounded by those he loved at the Pleasantview Home in Kalona. Funeral services to celebrate Charles' life will be held at 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 1, at Lensing Funeral and Cremation Service, Iowa City, where the family will greet friends after 1 p.m. Monday. Committal services will be held at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday at Oakland Cemetery.

Charles was born April 29, 1936, in Richmond, Va., the son of Frank Gustav Wendt and Grace Starr Wendt and his stepmother, Virginia Quarles Wendt. He was a graduate of The Juilliard School, New York, and Indiana University, Bloomington. He was a student of Fritz Magg and Luigi Silva. He moved to Iowa City in 1966. On Dec. 14, 1968, he married Kay Rogers Braverman in Iowa City. They later divorced but have remained friends.

Charles was professor of cello at the University of Iowa School of Music for 34 years, retiring in 2000. He was assistant principal of cello with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1964-1966 and Principal Cello with the Quad City Symphony from 1967-2008. Charles was a member of the Stradivari Quartet at University of Iowa.

Charles shared his beautiful music with people in over 140 cities and taught students all over the world at the university level as well as private students up until May 2011.

He thoroughly enjoyed his 1965 Porsche 356, and enjoyed meeting up with his fellow Porsche enthusiasts for fast drives on curvy roads, showing off his car at the Sertoma Breakfast. Charles was a pilot and member of the Green Castle Aero Club in Oxford, where he enjoyed their weekly steak fry. He was an integral part of the annual Green Castle Hangar Concert fundraiser. Charles loved any fly-in where he could get breakfast.

Survivors include his daughter, Natasha Wendt (Matthew Olson) of Iowa City; his son, Eric Wendt (Staci) of Philadelphia; grandson, Henry Olson of Iowa City; his brothers, William (Hope) Wendt of Pinehurst, N.C., and Don (Dorothy) Wendt of Waterloo; former wife. Kay Braverman of Iowa City; numerous friends and students; and Alex, his 1710 Alessandro Gagliano Cello.

In death he joins his parents, Frank Gustav Wendt and Grace Starr Wendt and stepmother Virginia Quarles Wendt; his brother, Frank Starr Wendt; and several beloved kitties.

Charles' family is extraordinarily grateful to the wonderful staff and aides at Pleasantview Home in Kalona, Legacy Pointe in Iowa City, and Iowa City Hospice.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Friends of the Animal Center Foundation or the Indiana University School of Music.

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