Rodney Wetzel

St. Martinville - Funeral services will be held at 11 am on Tuesday, July 26th, at St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church, in St. Martinville Louisiana , for Rodney Joseph Wetzel, Sr., 81, who passed away on Friday, July 22, 2011 , at his residence. Interment will follow at St. Michael Cemetery in St. Martinville. Rev. Kenneth Bienvenu will be the Celebrant. Reading the scriptures will be Edgar Arbour, Jr. and Robert Hendrick.Mr. Wetzel graduated from Southwestern Louisiana Institute in 1957 with a degree in Petroleum Engineering. He raised his family in Louisiana and Texas , with his wife of 56 years, Emelina Durand Wetzel. He was an employee of Baker Oil Tools for 30 years where he rose to the position of Vice President of Engineering at Baker Sand Control. He was honored as a Hometown Hero for his volunteer work with Interfaith of The Woodlands in 2010. He was a parishioner of St. Simon and Jude Catholic Church in The Woodlands, Texas . Survivors include his wife, Emelina Durand Wetzel; his two daughters, Joellyn Wetzel Mendelson, and Alison Wetzel Hendrick and her husband Robert; Three sons, Rodney Wetzel, Jr., Dr. Stuart Wetzel, M.D. and his wife Christi, and William Wetzel; One sister, Verna Wetzel Arbour; and one brother, Raymond Wetzel; Seven grandchildren, Cherie Wetzel Champeau, Aimee Wetzel, Jake and Kehne Hendrick; Nicholas, Adam and Matthew Wetzel, and one great grandchild, Connor Champeaux. He was preceded in death by his parents, William Joseph Wetzel, Sr. and Evelyn Bienvenu Wetzel, and one brother, William Joseph Wetzel, Jr. The family requests that visiting hours be observed from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. on Monday, July 25, 2011 and continue at 7:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday. His family requests, in lieu of flowers, a donation be made to the Humane Society or to Odyssey Vistacare Hospice Foundation at www.ovhf.org or call (214)210-8858. Pellerin Funeral Home of St. Martinville, is in charge of arrangements.