Rebecca Sue (Wentzel) Slentz

Butler- Rebecca Sue Slentz, 66, loving wife, mother and grandmother was called home by our Lord God on Sunday, December 29, 2019, after a courageous fight for almost four years with cancer.

Becky was born in Fulton County, Indiana to the late Covert Wentzel and Romayne (Smith) Wentzel. She was a 1971 graduate of Kewanna High School and a 1975 graduate of Manchester College, where she met her husband and partner of 45 years, Michael Slentz.

Besides her husband Michael, Becky is survived by three children; John (Angie) Slentz of Butler, Indiana, Matt (Fei) Slentz of Austin, Texas and Rachel (Matt) Jun of Mishawaka, Indiana. Four grandchildren; Rowan, Pearl, Robby and a granddaughter on the way. Five siblings; Roger (Julie) Wentzel of Falls Church, Virginia, Tim (Jeri) Wentzel of Hicksville, Ohio, Don (Amy) Wentzel of Fishers, Indiana, Christy (Spencer) Stopa of Mesa, Arizona and Carol Holmquest of Fishers, Indiana. In-laws; Robert (Ann) Slentz of Butler, Indiana. She truly enjoyed spending time with her beloved family, many close friends and her church family.

An elementary school teacher for 40 years, the first two years at Orland Elementary and the last 38 years at Butler Elementary, teaching 5th grade, Becky loved helping and connecting with her students and she excelled at teaching math and coaching the math bowl team.

Becky was an active member in the community devoting her time to co-directing the Butler Community Food Pantry for 10 years, being a former member of the DeKalb County Young Farmers, leading the Franklin Busy Bees 4-H club and being a 4-H mother for 17 years.  She could also often be found giving of her time and talents at Butler United Methodist Church, where she was a long-time member, as a dedicated Sunday school teacher and an integral part of the United Methodist Woman’s group.

A member of Delta Kappa Gamma, Becky loved working with her Gamma Lambda chapter to receive grants to collect and place books for newborns and their families in the community hospitals, doctors’ offices and emergency rooms.

An avid reader, Becky loved visiting the library and reading. Her favorite author was Diana Gabaldon and she intensely watched the Outlander series based on her books and was often commenting on the differences between the book and the TV series. She had dreams of visiting Scotland one day.

Becky was an excellent cook and was especially proud of her fruit pies. She loved living on the farm and especially enjoyed raising and tending her flower beds, a hobby that she picked up from her two grandmothers, as many of her starts had come from their gardens. Besides the farm, animals held a very special place in Becky’s life, from bottle feeding and hand raising baby lambs to her cats and kittens and her two Australian Shepherds, Lucy and Kami.

She was a kind, caring, thoughtful, giving and a loving mother, wife, grandmother, friend, teacher and person and she will be lovingly remembered and greatly missed.

Funeral Services will be 11 AM Saturday, January 4, 2020 at Feller and Clark Funeral Home, 1860 Center Street, Auburn, IN with burial to follow in Eddy Cemetery, Hamilton. Visitation is Friday from 2 to 7PM at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the “Rebecca “Becky” Slentz fund for Early Childhood Literacy” at the Community Foundation DeKalb County, 700 South Main Street, P.O. Box 111, Auburn, IN 46706. To send condolences visit www.fellerandclark.com.