Wendy Sue Pannier

Wendy Sue Pannier, a most special friend to the Kennett Square and West Grove, PA communities, and people in too many states to list, passed away Sunday, October 27 at the age of 75 after a lengthy illness. Her life was an adventure, a journey, a pilgrimage and guided by a deep spiritual faith in the healing power of love. Her beloved husband Roger Gormel was by her side at their home at Jenner’s Pond Retirement Community at her passing.

Wendy was born in Chicago, Illinois as the only daughter of Wes and Lois Pannier, who maintained a family compound in Merrill, Wisconsin where she spent summers with many cousins and savored the memories. She was an exceptional student, strictly guided by her mother, who insisted Wendy was to be a student only until the time she got married. No other goals.

Fortunately, Wendy had other ideas. She attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri and graduated in 1971 to become the first graduate to immediately be hired as a teacher to take over the Journalism Department while her mentor, Elizabeth “Liz” Barnes was on sabbatical. Wendy met her best friend for life, Emilie Knud-Hansen, as one of her students. Wendy’s parents never envisioned her as a professional journalist, but grew to be immensely proud of her long career in communications.

Post graduate, Wendy moved to Philadelphia in 1972 to work with an organization dedicated to the rights of women, and she mentored several disadvantaged girls who needed a role model for success. From there, she went on to marketing a flower and plant business that focused on rehabilitating former prison inmates. As a petite, fiercely strong and beautiful woman, she had no fear counseling inmates, and in fact, commanded respect from every company for which she worked.

As Wendy’s professional career in corporate communications evolved as she became an avid volunteer and enjoyed writing a business column for The Kennett Paper. Many lifelong friendships developed as she got interested in outdoor life, kayaking, canoeing and camping, and while she never was involved in any competitive sports, she loved those years.

Wendy also had a lifelong passion for the power of dreams; she led an international organization of dream research and attended conferences around the world. While fighting cancer, Wendy wrote a pamphlet on the power of dreams to fight the disease and the perils of treatment.  Wendy emphatically proclaimed “If I dream I feel better, I wake up feeling better.” Wendy was among the first trial stem cell treatment patients at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Some 20 years later the doctors confided to her that she was only one of five patients who survived the trial.

Wendy’s career in corporate communications evolved at Capital Analysts in Radnor, PA and ended in Cincinnati, OH as Western & Southern became the primary partner. The move lasted just a few years and after she suffered a serious illness, when the opportunity came to return to the Kennett area, she and Roger enthusiastically “moved back home.” They have enjoyed more than four years in the Jenner’s Pond community, along with their beloved dogs, Brandy and Carly.

Left to mourn Wendy’s passing is her husband Roger, his children and grandchildren, her brother Jon Pannier and his family, her legion of friends spanning over 50 years, and the many lives she enriched just by being Wendy.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, December 21, 2024, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Jenner’s Pond 2000 Greenbriar Lane West Grove, PA in the Allison Building.

To view her online tributes and to share a memory with her family, please www.kuzoandfoulkfh.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Wendy Sue Pannier, please visit our floral store.