Wendy Sue Pannier    

Wendy Sue Pannier, a most special friend to the Kennett Square and West Grove communities, and people in too many states to list, passed away on 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. She savored the memories of these gatherings. 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. There were 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.

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, 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 the 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, Ohio 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 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. 

Memorial arrangements are pending.

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

Gerald Dale Brown

Gerald Dale Brown, of Oxford, passed away on November 1, 2024. He was 76. 

“Gerry” was born November 21, 1947 in West Grove, to G. Calvin Brown Jr. and Florence Graham Brown and was raised on a farm near Oxford with his brother, Joel C. Brown and sisters Linda A Lutz and Carol L Shirk. 

He was a graduate of Oxford Area High School class of 1965 and Spring Garden Institute of Technology. 

He served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper during the Vietnam War and received a Purple Heart during his service. 

Gerry owned and operated Brown Machine in Lower Oxford Township for 20 years. After selling Brown Machine, he worked at Edlon Inc. in Avondale until his retirement in 2020. 

Gerry’s hobby was anything dealing with computers, especially computer-aided designing. 

Gerry is survived by his brother, Joel C Brown (Celestine Marsha Getty), his sisters, Linda A Lutz and Carol L Shirk (Glenn Shirk), a nephew Karl S. Brown (Stacy Brown), nieces Kimberly Isenhour and Stephanie Ryan and five great-nieces and great-nephews. 

Family wishes to thank Visiting Angels caregivers for their loving care of Gerry during his last years, with special mention for Kelvin Thomas and Maryann Tomeo. 

Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at the Edward L. Collins, Jr. Funeral Home, Inc., 86 Pine St., Oxford, where friends and family may visit from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Interment will be in Oxford Cemetery. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation,  https://give.michaeljfox.org/give/489725.

Arrangements are being handled by the Edward L. Collins, Jr. Funeral Home, Inc. in Oxford. Online condolences may be made at www.elcollinsfuneralhome.com.