Theo Haley Wengert

Mrs. Theo Haley “Teddi” Wengert passed away at her residence surrounded by her family on August 31, 2026. She was born on December 4, 1940 in Portland, Maine. She grew up in Westbrook, Maine and was active in Camp Fire Girls, Rainbow Girls and cheerleading. Spending summers at girls Camp Hitinowa in Maine, she enjoyed camping, swimming, canoeing, climbing mountains, making crafts and forming lifelong friendships. Teddi’s family came to the United States from England and Denmark. Her father was originally a Maine Guide in Rangeley, then was an electrician at a paper mill in Maine, before joining IBM as an engineer/manager and her mother was a school teacher before losing her eyesight at an early age. In 1956, Teddi’s father accepted a position with IBM and the family moved to Saugerties, New York where she continued to be active in Camp Fire Girls and cheerleading. Graduating from high school in 1959, she attended Westbrook Junior College in Portland, Maine and after one year transferred to the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Connecticut to complete her degree in Merchandising. In 1962, she was married to Joe W. Hemphill and they had three children, Christine Anne, Jeffrey W. and Elizabeth Luise. In 1986 Teddi moved to Lake City where she became a Pre-K teacher at First Methodist Church. She continued her education gaining her certification in Early Childhood Education from Santa Fe College. She then cared for her mother Christine Haley for many years until her death. Her husband accepted contract work in Egypt in 1986 and worked there until his death. For many years, Teddi and children would travel to Egypt to spend summers with him. Years after her divorce, she reunited with a high school classmate at their 40th high school reunion. Teddi married Paul Wengert on September 23, 2000 in Lake City, Florida. They have loved each other deeply for the rest of their lives; “Together is our favorite place” was their saying. They enjoyed travelling together, having made multiple trips to Europe and numerous visits to family and friends throughout the country, however, Floirda remained the home base. Teddi was an avid scrapbooker and card maker, enjoyed cooking, baking and reading. She made family heritage scrapbooks for each of her 3 children and 2 nephews and a niece. She chronicled the first 7 years of Aubrey’s life (her granddaughter) in multiple scrapbooks. Her life with Paul was captured in scrapbooks, picture albums and extensive computer picture files. The love for her family and friends is chronicled throughout. For many years Teddi was the Delegate to Annual Conference for the First United Methodist Church of Lake City and served on numerous committees from 1987 until 2017. She was also a member of the church choir for many on those years.

Teddi is survived by beloved husband Paul; children, Chris, Jeff and Beth; stepchildren, Chrissie and Matt; grandchildren, Joshua, Julie and Kristen; step-grandchildren, Aubrey and Kendall; great grandson, Morrison; sister, Anne Rudolph of Orange Beach, Alabama; dear friend and college roommate Ann Tripodi of St. Louis, MO.

Funeral services for Teddi will be conducted on Saturday, September 5, 2026 at 11:00 A.M. at the Gateway-Forest Lawn Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Missy Turbeville officiating. Interment will follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Lake City. Visitation with the family will be held from 10:00-11:00 A.M. (one hour before service) at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to Tunnels to Towers Foundation, 2361 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, NY 10306 (www.T2T.org). Please sign the online guestbook at www.gatewayforestlawn.com.