Floyd and Patricia Werntz, of Cassopolis

Published 9:43 am Monday, August 10, 2015

Floyd and Patricia (St. Clair) Werntz, Jr., 91 and 90, respectively, of Cassopolis, passed away on the same Sunday morning, July 26, 2015 in their home on Diamond Lake in Cassopolis. They began their married life together over 69 years earlier, on May 25, 1945, on the same Diamond Lake where their lives together ended.

Floyd Werntz

Floyd was born December 18, 1923 in South Bend, Indiana to Floyd, Sr. of South Bend and Bess (Norton) Wertz of Michigan.

After graduating from Central High School he joined his father’s business, a paint store on Lincoln Way West in South Bend, where the business remained until the 1980s. He was a passionate businessman and, with the help of his sons, Robert and Patrick, he built Werntz Supply into a major window, door and building hardware supplier that his sons continue to run today, after 92 years of business.

Floyd was always interested in the government and politics, and, along with his wife, Pat, was an active member of the local Republican party. He served on the city plans commission and board of zoning appeals, was part of the precinct committee and was a district chairman for over 25 years. He was a longtime member of the South Bend Rotary Club (since 1974), the Diamond Lake Yacht Club, as well as the Door & Hardware Institute. He was an avid boater who also enjoyed fishing, skiing and sailing with his sons and spending time with his family.

Pat was born June 13, 1925 in South Bend, Indiana to Lester and Ruby (Hinds) St. Clair of Indiana. She, too, was a graduate of Central High School and, as a young woman, worked at Robertson’s department store in downtown South Bend, the I&M Electric Company and the South Bend License Branch. She was also a pillar of the family business, Werntz Supply, for decades.

Patricia Wertnz

In addition to being dedicated to her work, she was active in the Service Guild Corp. Pat enjoyed playing bridge with her friends, knitting, walking Lily, collecting Studebaker memorabilia and elephant and Santa Clause figurines.

For many years, Floyd and Patricia lived in South Bend, where they raised their three sons. They were active parents, traveling with their sons, teaching them to sail and ski and encouraging their cowboy dreams. The couple gladly moved back to Diamond Lake in 1975 where they retired in 2013. They were members of the Diamond Lake Yacht Club.

Floyd and Pat loved to travel and had visited all 48 contiguous states. They took many road trips and traveled abroad, including attending their granddaughter’s wedding in Portovenere, Italy in 2009 where they celebrated with friends and family.

They had an active social life and he enjoyed spending time on Diamond Lake, participating in regattas and boating with their grandchildren. They also cruised the Great Lakes, the west coast and inter-coastal waters of Florida onboard their boat, “Romer I.”

Floyd and Pat will be greatly missed by family and friends. They are survived by their three sons: John (Jean) Werntz of Granger, Robert (Shannon) Werntz and Patrick (Cynthia) Werntz of South Bend; nine grandchildren: Ehren (Jenifer) Werntz, Hannah (Andrea) Carignani, Robert and Thomas Werntz, Joanna (Dominick) Chase, Samantha, Ryan (Megan), Allyson and Cary Werntz; and five great-grandchildren: Oliver and Andrew Werntz, Corrado Carignani, Dylan and Dorr Werntz.

Family and friends will gather Sept. 13, 2015, from noon until 3 p.m. in the Diamond Lake Yacht Club, 21324 Shore Acres Road, Cassopolis, Michigan 49031.

The family prefers memorial contributions be made in either Floyd’s name to the Wounded Warrior Project, Post Office Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas, 66675, or, in Pat’s name to the Alzhiemer’s Association, Southwest Regional Office, 350 East Michigan Avenue, Suite 20, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Connelly Chapel Wagner Family Funerals, Cassopolis. Please share a memory or a message online: wagnercares.com.