Donna J. Helterbridle Wendt, 72, Waite Park

March 23, 1950 - October 28, 2022

Donna Jean Helterbridle Wendt, age 72, passed away peacefully at home with her loving husband holding her hand on Friday, October 28th, ending a long battle with dementia.

Funeral services will be Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 11:00 AM at Benson Funeral Home Chapel, St. Cloud, MN. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the funeral home on Thursday. Entombment will be in North Star Cemetery, St. Cloud, MN.

Donna was born in Beckley, West Virginia March 23, 1950 to Jeannine (Anderson) and Forrest Helterbridle. Growing up her family moved up and down the coast of California following her father’s Navy career. Stops included San Diego and Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. As the oldest of eight children, she led her siblings on adventures across the naval base, often resulting in corporal discipline when they returned home. She moved here to Minnesota with her mother in 1968. Donna farmed while raising her children, taking care of the cows, the pigs and piglets. After farming she worked at Golden Plump and later retiring from Electrolux in 2012. She married John Wendt June 22nd , 2004. John and Donna went to Alaska to get married to avoid the required marriage counseling herein Minnesota because they just didn’t think they needed it, and for the simple fact the marriage license was cheaper. Donna enjoyed driving and drove most of the way to Alaska including several hundred miles of dirt road because it was a short cut. In Alaska they met up with a longtime friend, which took them on many adventures, which included clam hunting, halibut fishing, and all the good places to eat. The joke is “they were married by an Eskimo on an iceberg.” Other adventures during their marriage included the famous ice water run; a mud run through the swamp up at the shack, (She was the hot chick on the back of John’s four wheeler), camping and four wheeling in Crosby Ironton. She wasn’t afraid to get dirty. Her life included many “sister road trips” to Chicago and Michigan. She loved horror movies, playing candy crush, going to the casino and all things Tweedy Bird.

Donna was preceded in death by her parents and brother Jerry Helterbridle.

She is survived by husband John; daughters Lisa (Francis) Vossen, Jeanie Crusoe (Chuck), Jessica Crusoe, son Jason (Sarah) Crusoe; grandchildren Michael, Mckenna, Taylor, Taryn, Morgan, Camden, Markus and Mason; siblings Pamela (Ron) Sackett, Teresa (Bruce) Schuhmacher, Stephanie (Dave) Vieau, Michael (Maureen) Helterbridle, Dawn (Joe) Sullivan and Rob Helterbridle; stepchildren Rusty Wendt, Steve (Mandy) Wendt, Jeff Wendt, Tim (Wendy) Wendt, and Jennifer (Chuck) Niedzielski.