Wendy A. Weisz

Wendy Ann Weisz passed away on July 22, 2024, surrounded by her family. Wendy is survived by a large, loving family, including her mother, Colleen Coady Weisz, her sisters Gini Weisz, Ellie (Mark) DiRutigliano, and Molly (Robert) Laks; and her brother, John (Antoinette) Weisz, nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, and countless friends.

Wendy was preceded in death by her father, John Joseph Weisz, her great grandmother, Ellen Wangler Weisz, and her grandparents, Edmund and Virginia Coady.

The Weiszes lived in Solon, Ohio, for most of Wendy’s life. After graduating from Solon High School, Wendy worked at a McDonald’s Restaurant. The Weiszes loved traveling, and they camped and hiked throughout the U.S. In addition, each summer for several decades, they camped at their favorite campsite on Lake Huron in Canada.

Wendy was an artist. She attended Cuyahoga Community College and took classes in drawing, painting, and ceramics for about 15 years. When she and her parents moved to Columbus in 2016, she joined painting classes at Whetstone Community Center and at Open Door Art Center & Gallery. Exhibits at Columbus’s Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens and Open Door Art Center & Gallery featured Wendy’s paintings. In addition, her paintings are treasured in many people’s homes. Her love of the arts also included dancing, singing, cooking, attending plays, musicals, and visiting art galleries and museums.

Wendy was a community advocate and participant. Wendy and Colleen met annually with a group of parents of babies and young children who, like Wendy, had been born with Down Syndrome. She took part in Special Olympics’ activities and competitions, including running in Ohio Stadium and bowling at a facility on The Ohio State University’s Columbus campus. She also made many speeches about Special Olympics to various groups. Wendy volunteered for a variety of other causes, including a food pantry and the Diabetes Foundation where, as a strong swimmer, she participated in annual fundraising swim-a-thons. In addition, in Columbus, she joined the Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio.

Wendy was a deeply spiritual person, and she served as a Eucharistic Minister and as a member of a women’s spirituality group at Church of the Resurrection in Solon. In Columbus, she was a member of St. Thomas More Newman Center.

In lieu of flowers, friends might consider a donation to Open Door Art Center & Gallery’s creative support services and representation to artists with disabilities across the central Ohio region. Click here: https://rb.gy/n0fr17 or mail a check to Open Door Art Center & Gallery, 1050 Goodale Avenue, Columbus, OH 43212.

A Celebration of Wendy’s Life service will begin at 11:00 am on Saturday, August 3, 2024, followed by a reception and visiting from 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm at Schoedinger Funeral Service, 6699 North High Street, Worthington, Ohio 43085. A private burial will be held at a later date.