George D. Pendell

Dr. George Pendell
circa 1920s or 1930s

Dr. George D. Pendell was born in Illinois on July 6, 1883 and grew up in Nebraska. His first wife Julia (Settle) Pendell and their two children died around 1905 and are buried in Geneva, Nebraska, where he first practiced medicine.

Pendell later moved to Wellington, Kansas around 1910 to serve as one of the town's doctors. He married Esther Hobbs on April 6, 1919 and two of their four children were born in Wellington: Mary Esther and Paul. The family then moved to Wichita in June 1923. Dr. Pendell practiced medicine there and in September 1924 moved his office into the Orpheum building. The Pendells moved to Abilene, Kansas in late 1924 and moved back to Nebraska in the spring of 1925. Ivan was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in May 1927 during their brief stay back in Geneva.

Friends of George Pendell told him of the passing of Dr. W. E. Dixon in November 1927 and that Derby was in need of a doctor.

Pendell brought the family to Derby in January 1928, moving into the house located on the corner of Madison and Baltimore (the current location of Walgreen's). The owner of the house, Tom Davidson, rented it out to the Pendell family as a house and doctor's office. The upstairs was the doctor's practice with a waiting room, a patient room, and one more for the practice, but they also had two bedrooms for the family. He served as Derby's only doctor for the next eight years and their last child Elaine was born in Wichita during their stay in Derby.

Dr. Pendell passed on Feb. 18, 1936 in a Wichita hospital due to influenza and his funeral services were held in the Presbyterian Church of Derby. He was buried in Geneva, Nebraska.

Esther Pendell
1930

Esther (Hobbs) Pendell was a school teacher but couldn't find a job in the Derby area after her husband passed. She was hoping to get the postmistress job, but it went to someone else. Before school started in September 1936, Tom Davidson brought his farm truck to town and moved Esther and her four children to 1216 S. Water in Wichita, which was the residence of Esther's mother Leah (Turkelson) Hobbs. Esther passed on May 13, 1998 in Wichita, Kansas and was buried in the Resthaven Cemetery in Wichita.

Ivan Pendell was interviewed on September 1, 2020 by Bill Smith and Kristy Norman.