The Story of Wendy Pile

Wendy was born on Saturday, March 22, 1952, in Toledo, Ohio, to Wendell Jay Wood and Jill Joanne Kneorr. Her parents had married on August 30, 1950, and two years later welcomed their only child. As their only daughter, Wendy was truly the apple of her parents’ eye and grew up surrounded by their love.

Some of Wendy’s fondest childhood memories were of time spent at Clark’s Lake in Michigan. She loved being in the water, and those carefree days at the lake would always hold a special place in her heart.

Wendell and Jill divorced in 1963, when Wendy was eleven years old. Several years later, on September 13, 1969, her mother Jill married Bill, beginning another chapter in Wendy’s family story. Through that marriage, Wendy gained a stepsister, Joanie, who was born on May 9, 1958.

Joanie first met Wendy when Wendy was 15 years old, and Wendy immediately made an impression on her. Looking back on those early years together, Joanie remembered, “I met Wendy when she was 15 years old. She was my idol! So pretty and so sweet and popular in school. I just wanted to be like her!”

That memory gives a wonderful glimpse of Wendy as a teenager. Even then, she had something about her that people were drawn to. She was stylish, sweet and beautiful, with a personality that made her younger stepsister look up to her and want to follow in her footsteps.

Wendy also had a creative and artistic spirit. She loved drawing, painting, needlepoint, crafting and making things with her hands. If there was an opportunity to create something beautiful, chances are Wendy would enjoy it. She had a wonderful eye for things and a great sense of style and fashion—something she carried with her throughout her life.

As a young woman, Wendy worked at an antique store, a job she absolutely loved. Her appreciation for beautiful and interesting things made it a natural fit for her. She also spent time working in real estate when she was younger and loved that as well.

Eventually, another job would change the course of her life entirely.

While working at DuPont, Wendy met Michael Richard Pile—or, as she would lovingly come to call him, “Mikey.” Apparently, Wendy and Mikey didn’t need years to figure out that they had found the person they wanted to spend their lives with. After just six months of dating, they were married on February 14, 1981, at St. Matthew’s Church in Toledo, Ohio.

Their early married life came with some very Wendy-like arrangements. Wendy was not exactly a fan of spiders or other creepy, scary bugs. If Mikey happened to be at work when one appeared in the house, Wendy had her own solution: she would put a cup over it and leave it there. Mikey could take care of it when he got home.

Their family began to grow when their son, Evan Michael Pile, was born on June 23, 1982. Two years later, on September 4, 1984, their daughter, Jenna Ann Pile, was born.

Wendy loved being a mom, and she brought her own special kind of fun into Evan and Jenna’s childhood. She even invented games for them, including something known simply as the “ha ha” game. It wasn’t something that came from a store, a box or a rulebook. It was simply something Mom made up—and because of that, it became one of those little family memories that lasted.

In 1992, the Pile family moved to Michigan. Wendy may have had wonderful childhood memories of Michigan and Clark’s Lake, but living in the state introduced her to something she could have happily gone the rest of her life without: Michigan left turns. She hated them.

As Evan and Jenna grew, Wendy passed along plenty of wisdom—some serious and some uniquely hers.

One subject she took particularly seriously was teeth. Wendy firmly believed you needed to take care of them, and that meant flossing every single day. If Wendy loved you, there was a pretty good chance she was going to make sure you were taking care of your teeth.

She also believed in looking your best when you went out. She often reminded Jenna to “make sure you look your best because you never know who you might run into.” Wendy practiced what she preached, too. She had a great sense of fashion and always liked to look put together.

And even when she was at home, there was the all-important “kitchen lipstick.” Wendy made sure she had it on and was ready.

Wendy found happiness in so many of life’s simple pleasures. She loved going out to eat, going to the movies and spending time playing board games and card games with her family.

Movies were a particular favorite, especially Disney and Pixar movies. Of all the Disney characters, Tigger from Winnie the Pooh held a special place in her heart. His cheerful, energetic and lovable personality somehow seemed like a fitting favorite for a woman known for her infectious laugh and happy spirit.

There were, however, some definite rules when it came to Wendy and movies.

If an animal died, she couldn’t watch it. Her love and compassion for animals ran far too deep—even when she knew what she was watching was only a movie.

Scary movies weren’t exactly her thing either, and Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds had a lot to do with that. The movie left enough of an impression on Wendy that horror movies never became a favorite.

Wendy was also endlessly curious. She loved genealogy and got great pleasure from tracing the family tree, discovering relatives, making connections and learning the stories of the people who came before her.

Her curiosity didn’t stop with genealogy. Wendy seemed to collect information about just about everything. She had an impressive supply of random knowledge—much of which Jenna lovingly referred to as Wendy’s “useless facts.” You never quite knew when one of those facts would find its way into a conversation, but Wendy probably knew something about a subject that the rest of the room didn’t.

As the years went by, Wendy’s family continued to grow.

On February 5, 2010, Evan married Sarah Lynn Hididd, and before long Wendy received another title that would become one of the most treasured of her life:

Grammie.

Samantha Kennedy was born on October 29, 2013, followed by Aiden Michael Pile on May 17, 2016. Wendy adored her grandchildren, and being their Grammie brought her tremendous happiness.

She loved watching Samantha play soccer, especially seeing her granddaughter take her place in the goal as goalie. Wendy was Samantha’s number one fan, proudly watching and cheering her on.

She was just as proud of Aiden and loved watching all the different things he took on. She watched him wrestle, play football and baseball, and loved seeing him progress and advance in karate.

Whether it was a soccer game, wrestling match, football or baseball game, or another karate accomplishment, Wendy loved watching her grandchildren do what they loved. Their accomplishments mattered to her because they mattered to her.

That was Wendy.

When she loved someone, she was invested in their world.

She wanted to know what they were doing. She wanted to watch. She wanted to cheer them on. She wanted to be part of it.

And family was at the center of Wendy’s world.

She was the only little girl who was the apple of her parents’ eye. The teenage stepsister whom Joanie idolized and wanted to be like. The young woman who met a man named Mike at DuPont and quickly knew she wanted to build a life with him. Mikey’s wife. Evan and Jenna’s mom. And eventually, Samantha and Aiden’s Grammie and number one fan.

But there were also all the wonderfully little things that made Wendy unmistakably Wendy.

Her infectious laugh and the smile that so often accompanied it.

Her creativity and the things she made with her own hands.

Tigger, Disney and Pixar movies.

Clark’s Lake and her love of being in the water.

Genealogy and her endless supply of “useless facts.”

Going to the movies and going out to eat.

Board games and card games around the table.

Painting, drawing, needlepoint, crafts and antiques.

Her sense of style and always wanting to look her best.

Kitchen lipstick.

Flossing. Every. Single. Day.

Her hatred of Michigan left turns.

Refusing to watch a movie if something happened to an animal.

Avoiding scary movies because The Birds had already done enough damage.

Making up the “ha ha” game for her kids.

And putting a cup over a spider and leaving it there until Mikey came home to handle the situation.

Those little things may sound ordinary on their own, but together they are anything but ordinary.

Together, they are Wendy.

The dates tell us when the chapters of Wendy’s life happened. They tell us when she was born, when families changed and grew, when she married, when she became a mother and when she became a Grammie.

But dates can only tell a small part of someone’s story.

A life is also told through the things a family remembers years later—the sound of someone’s laugh, the phrases they always said, the things that made them happy, the things they absolutely couldn’t stand, the games they made up, the advice they gave, the traditions they created and all those ordinary moments that didn’t seem important enough to write down at the time.

Those are often the memories that become the most precious.

They are the stories that get told again and again. The ones that make you laugh because you can almost hear what she would have said. The ones that make you smile because, for a moment, you can picture her exactly as she was.

Those little memories are what make up a life.

And together, they tell the story of Wendy Pile.

A daughter. A sister. A wife. A mom. A Grammie.

An artist, an animal lover, a keeper of family history, a collector of “useless facts,” a believer in good style, kitchen lipstick and properly flossed teeth.

And, most importantly, a woman who was deeply loved and whose laughter, stories, quirks and love will continue to live in the people who knew her.

Those are the parts of Wendy’s story that don’t end.