Wendell “Wendy” Yonker, who founded Homewood Disposal in 1956, died Wednesday, May 29. He was 101.
Mr. Yonker served in World War II as a radioman on the SS William A. Coulter in the Pacific, surviving a kamikaze attack near the Philippines.
trucks from the days when the company was known as Homewood Scavenger.
(Provided photo/Homewood Disposal)
After the war, he was in the construction business. A brother-in-law in the disposal business recommended Mr. Yonker consider the profession. Mr. Yonker started small, with two or three trucks. He called his business Homewood Scavenger and he primarily served the Homewood-Flossmoor area. He ran the company from an office on Dixie Highway. His son Tom joined him after graduating college.
Mr. Yonker grew the business into a residential, commercial and industrial waste service. In the 1980s and 1990s, NuWay Disposal and Tinley Park Disposal joined the business. In the 2000s, the company expanded its single-stream recycling with facilities upgraded to handle more recyclables with greater efficiency.
Homewood Disposal has a mascot — Wendy the Waste Truck that is recognized in parades and recycling information programs. It’s named for Mr. Yonker, although most people identify it as a girl.
Homewood Disposal has remained in the Yonker family. Today Tom and his son, Kyle, operate the business. Today it serves more than 80 communities in the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana.
Mr. Yonker was devoted to his late wife, Dorothy. They were married 73 years. He also was devoted to their three children. He served as an elder and deacon for Christian organizations.
Visitation will be 3 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 6, at Colonial Chapel, 15525 S. 73rd Avenue in Orland Park. A memorial service will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday June 7, at Palos Heights Reformed Church, 7059 W. 127th St., Palos Heights.
