Coping with Grief
We would like to offer our sincere support to anyone coping with grief. Enter your email below for our complimentary daily grief messages. Messages run for up to one year and you can stop at any time. Your email will not be used for any other purpose.
Joseph “Joe” Allen Wendel, 52, of Noblesville, Indiana, passed away unexpectedly yet peacefully in his sleep following a cardiac event on Saturday morning, May 16, 2026.
The youngest of two children, Joe was born on June 27, 1973, to Ralph and Linda Wendel in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Joe attended Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, where he studied engineering, played soccer, and was a member of the Triangle Fraternity.
Joe had a long and successful career in business as the owner of Breakers Unlimited. After taking over the family business shortly after college, he grew Breakers Unlimited into a company with a national footprint. He considered his employees and their families an extension of his own family and cared deeply for the people who worked alongside him.
Joe married the love of his life (AKA The One), Julie Hoffman Wendel. Together they raised two sons, Luke and Jake, who were his pride and greatest accomplishment. Joe and Julie built a family centered around faith, generosity, and the beauty of Jesus Christ. They opened their home at Wendel Woods to countless people, creating a place marked by peace, laughter, hospitality, and restoration. Together, they also helped establish Seven Silos as a way to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to unreached and underreached parts of the world.
Over the course of his life, Joe wrote roughly 200 poems, many of which were assembled into his book, A Life in Poems. In his later years, he spent mornings walking and reciting poetry from memory, often for nearly an hour at a time.
Joe is survived by his wife, Julie Wendel; his sons, Luke (Gabby) Wendel and Jake (Bethany) Wendel; his parents, Ralph and Linda Wendel; and his sister, Dee Ann (Jeff) Marshall.
Family and friends will gather at 4:30 pm on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Harvest North Indy, 14550 River Road, Carmel, IN 46033, where the Memorial Service will begin at 6:30 pm. The Service will be livestreamed via Joe Wendel Memorial Service | May 26th, 2026
In lieu of flowers, and in memory of Joe, contributions may be made to The Signatry, noting "The 7 Silos Fund" in the memo line, 7171 W. 95th Street, Suite 50, Overland Park, KS 66212.
Envelopes will be available at the service.
Bussell Family Funerals is privileged to assist the family with arrangements.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Joseph "Joe" Allen Wendel, please visit our floral store.
The Signatry (Please note "The 7 Silos Fund" in the check memo line)
7171 W. 95th Street, Suite 50, Overland Park KS 66212