Donald Lee Wenzel

Donald Lee Wenzel went home to the Lord on May 21, 2026. He was born on Aug 27,1943 in Waco to Herbert and Winona Sadler Wenzel, and older brother Gene. He was a prankster as a child and teen, and often told the story of living through the 1953 tornado…an experience that made him extra protective of his friends and family when the weather turned poor. He worked his first job at the Lake Air driving range, where he fell in love with golf. He played baseball and basketball at Waco High, forging relationships with buddies that lasted through every season of life. After high school he served a stint in the Texas National Guard, and then one day passing through Genie car wash on Valley Mills Drive, a beautiful young attendant caught his eye. One phone call and 56 years later, he and Carol Canuteson have raised three wonderful daughters and brought a bit of joy into thousands of Central Texas lives. He worked as a manager at Word Incorporated and a variety of other jobs throughout his life—but what he did outside of work was his life. When his girls were young, he and his friends coached softball together, where the dads all referred to each other simply as “Coach.”

 Most know him as “Paads,” which became his nickname and grandpa-name after he commonly used it on the golf course to refer to his playing “partners.” He was a prolific collector & trader of golf clubs—and would advise all to “never get rid of your putters.” When he wasn’t hitting ‘em straight, he’d rather be fishing, and spent many weekends at the Lake House in Whitney with his girls—his wife, daughters, and mother—making memories and recounting some, too.

 He loved sports, all of them. And he spent decades on the court as a basketball official, rising to the level of calling Division I games in the Southwest Conference. For 50+ years, he assigned referees and umpires to games as the Secretary of the Waco Chapter. He was a master storyteller and relationship builder. He was also a faithful, yet pessimistic Baylor fan, and was given the responsibility of rating Big 12 officials at the Lady Bears games, where his mother was a bigger fan than him. In 2019, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Texas Association of Sports Officials and in 2022, was inducted into the inaugural Texas High School Basketball Officials Association Hall of Honor. 

Paads spent his later years in Salado, enjoying grandkids and serving in various roles at the Mill Creek Golf Club, where he continued to positively impact lives. Don is survived by wife Lana Carol; daughter and son-in-law Carrie and Jason Barlow and grandson Blake of Frisco; daughter and son-in-law Julie and Nathan Self and grandkids Caleb, Noah, Elliot, and Griffin of Salado; daughter and son-in-law Shellie and Trent Monk, and grandkids Oliver and Amelia of Hewitt; brother and sister-in-law Gene and Kay Wenzel of Woodway; brother-in-law Steve Canuteson; nephews Steve Wenzel and wife Melissa, and Brian Wenzel and wife Shanie.

 A visitation will be held at Waco Memorial Funeral Home before his Memorial Service on Monday, June 1, 2026, from 10:00 am to 11:00 with the Memorial starting at 11:00 am.