JDRF honors long-time supporter, Frederick Lee Wendorf of Salem, Virginia. As a person with type 1 diabetes, Fred was a staunch advocate for JDRF. He was a volunteer leader for JDRF for many years.  This included being a Board member and past Board President of the previous Greater Blue Ridge chapter.

Fred was an avid leader and supporter and enjoyed engaging with the JDRF community.

“Fred always showed up and was enthusiastic about JDRF’s mission to cure type 1 diabetes” said past JDRF staff member and volunteer Tom Brobson.

Fred was born on October 9, 1945, at Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Yukon, FL.  He attended Cave Spring High School and Fork Union Military Academy.  Fred was a graduate of Wake Forest University with majors in Political Science and Communications, and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order.  Fred went on to serve as VP of Marketing for Dynamics, Inc. and founded American Independent Marketing Inc. where he served as President & CEO until 1973.  He later formed a consulting company, Limited Editions Ltd.  In 1988, he founded Commercial Leasing Corporation and Lenders Leasing Corp (trading as Lease Southeast) as well as Equipment Distribution Systems (EDASCO).  Fred was also involved in the executive management of AL&F Limited Partners and Wendorf Family, LLC.

Unfortunately, Fred passed away in February of 2020 after a prolonged illness but he never wavered in his commitment to JDRF.  With that in mind he decided to leave a lasting legacy through an estate gift to JDRF.  His generous contribution will help open more promising avenues in our race to cure T1D and brings key advances that are helping people with T1D lead fuller, safer lives.

To learn more about JDRF’s legacy giving opportunities, please click HERE or reach out to JDRF Executive Director, Jaclyn Toll at jtollbasse@jdrf.org.