James Young
2022 Alumnus of the Year

The 2022 Alumnus of the Year is James Young!  James is the son of Charles and Martha Young.  He attended St. Wendelin School along with his eleven siblings:  Charles, Norene, Kenneth, Leo, Dolores, Donald, Stephen, Dennis, Linda, Jerome, and Joseph.  In addition his sister Norene was also a teacher at the school from 1963-1983!    On June 4, 1983 at Saint Wendelin Church, Jim married Linda Stephens and they were blessed with three children Corey, Mandy, and Bethany.  Following his graduation from St. Wendelin School, Jim attended Butler High School and currently works at Butler Tires and in the Sales department.    Jim has contributed to the growth of the school and parish over many years such as altar serving and as a parish usher.  Jim and his wife work many events as a tag team such as working the parish picnic and chairing one of the biggest school tuition assistance fundraisers for our families, the Golf Tournament for over 30 years!  Thank you to both Jim and Linda for always being a driving force towards the church and school’s missions of a strong Catholic Community in this rural area.  Congratulations to this year’s Alumnus of the Year, James Young!      

    
Lou Green

2020 Alumnus of the Year

At the Catholic Schools Week Alumni Mass on February 1, Lou was named 2020 Alumni of the Year. 

He is pictured with members of his family and Fr. Matt (top) and  with his wife, Linda, and Fr. Matt (below).

Lou attended St. Wendelin School for eight years, from 1950-1958. He has made many, many contributions to the School and Parish over the years, including:

• Pastoral Council Member

• Eucharistic Minister

• Lector

• Parish Picnic Chairperson

• School & Parish Maintenance Manager

• School & Parish Asbestos Inspector

• School & Parish Licensed 

       Water Treatment Supervisor

• Pittsburgh Diocese: 

• "Manifesting the Kingdom" Recipient​

Congratulations and Thank You, Lou!

Bob Geibel

2019 Alumnus of the Year

At the Catholic Schools Week Alumni Mass on February 2, Bob was named 2019 Alumni of the Year. He is pictured with: (left) Fr. Matt; (center) members of his family; (right) wife, Joyce. Bob attended St. Wendelin School for eight years, from 1957-1965.

He has made many, many contributions to the School and Parish over the years, including:

• PTG Board Member
• Bible Study Group Leader
• Pastoral Council Member
• Church League Volleyball Coach
• CCD Teacher
• Eucharistic Minister
• Turkey Dinner Chairperson
• Pittsburgh Diocese "Manifesting the Kingdom" Recipient
• Offertory Counter
• Knights of Columbus Officer 
• Maintenance Volunteer at the School and Parish
• Parish Hall Floor Curator!!!!!

​

Congratulations and Thank You, Bob!

2018 Alumnus of the Year

Pete Green Honored at 2018 Catholic Schools Week Closing Mass on February 3, 2018

Peter Merle Green (Pete) is the son of Peter Sylvester and Thelma Bauldoff Green. His father attended St. Wendelin School along with his nine siblings. Pete also attended St. Wendelin School along with his seven siblings: Joyce, Judy, Gail, Dave, Becky, Luann, and Bruce.  He attended Butler High School and worked for Armco Steel/AK Steel as an Air Conditioning Technician in the Electrical Construction Department.

Even after his retirement, he is always ready to help friends and family members with heating and air conditioning issues whenever they arise. In addition to his work at Armco, Pete has always worked on his farm property. He has a knack for repairing machinery. Pete’s contributions to our community are numerous.

He has been very active in the Butler Hunting and Fishing Club for years. He has been involved with the Junior Conservation School Programs to teach youth about caring for our environment and wildlife.

2017 Alumni Mass and Celebration
St. Wendelin School Alumni of the Year 2017 are:

Sis (Madeline) Neff, Ginny (Virginia) Bergbigler, and Don Weiland.

They were honored at an Alumni Mass on February 4, 2017, at the conclusion of Catholic Schools Week. The Alumni, all siblings, attended St. Wendelin School for grades 1-8, along with their six siblings, Leo, Dave, Joanne, Tom, Gabby (Frances), and Rob. They attended through the 1930s and early 1940s. Other alumni participating in the closing CSW Mass: Brenda Wolfe - 1969; Lou Green - 1958; Dick Sanderson - 1966; Mary (Geibel) Grenet - 1976; Ruth Ann (Stephenson) Nebel - 1952; Breanna Tomsey - 2014; Maria Pascazi - 2016; Conner Schaffner - 2015; Tanner Schaffner - 2013; Brandon Hesidence - 2013; Karen Mitch - 1963; Bob Stephenson - 1954; Russ Baptiste -1965; Larry Neff - 1964; John (Jack) Weiland - 1970; Brian Hesidence - 1981; James (Jim) Young - 1971; Carol (Neff) Tomasovic - 1970; Amy Mitch - 2008; Adam Voelker - 2011; Hunter Schaffner - 2010; Tyler Markilinski - 2010; and Cody Reddick - 2015. 

Fun Facts from the good old days when Sis, Ginny, and Don were at St. Wendelin!
~ Grades 1-4 shared a room in the downstairs
~ Grades 5-8 shared a room upstairs
~ There were no steps between upstairs and downstairs so to get a message from one room to the other required sending a student outside and around the building.
~ There were no school buses. Students walked to and from school from Old East Butler Road. Their route took them through the woods and a large field.  
~ As today, all students know each other; however, all teachers were nuns.

Do you have St. Wendelin School Alumni Pictures?
Either electronic or hard copy are acceptable. Contact the school office at 724-285-4986.

Madeline (Sis) Neff attended from 1931-1941. Larry Neff is Sis’s son and attended from 1955-1964. Michelle (Neff ) Zandarski is Larry's daughter and was at the school from 1980-1987.

Presently, Michelle's children are at the school, Zachary started in 2012, Zoey started in 2014.