Lowell Wendell Plum

Lowell Wendell Plum (known as Wendell, or Wendy to his friends) died peacefully at his home in Asheboro, NC on June 16, 2026. He lived a life packed full of love, adventure, travel, and do-it-yourself projects.

 He was raised in Mt. Morris, Illinois and graduated from Mount Morris High School in 1949. He then attended Manchester College where he met the love of his life Gail Ann Shope. They married June 22, 1955 in Carroll County, Indiana. After getting his bachelor's degree in physics, Wendell started a graduate degree program in physics, but due to financial pressures he and Ann moved to Corpus Christie, TX, to start his career in communications and supervisory control systems. During his career he was at the leading edge of the evolution of vacuum tubes to transistors to integrated circuits to computers. Most of his career was spent working for Sylvania and General Telephone and Electronics (GTE) on a wide range of projects that spanned the globe.

 Wendell and Ann lived in Sudbury, Massachusetts from 1957 to 1985, when he retired and moved to Seagrove, NC to build his dream home in a place that he and Ann grew to love. They built this home almost completely by themselves, brick-by-brick and board-by-board, including making his own boards with his portable sawmill. It took about five years to complete, partly due to spending summers in their favorite summer place on Little Diamond Island, Portland, Maine.

 The Little Diamond Island cottage was also built mostly by themselves (plus slave labor from their children) starting around 1970. From that moment forward, Ann and Wendell spent as much of their summer time as possible on the island, first only on weekends and vacations before Wendell retired, then all summer long after that. 

Ann and Wendell discovered Little Diamond Island on one of their annual cruises in their 22-foot sloop, which Wendell also made, by himself, from a kit. He loved to learn new skills and to understand how things worked. He also made an 8-inch telescope, which included grinding the glass blank into a perfect parabolic shape using a grinding system he built himself, and then making the mirror by coating the parabolic shape with a vacuum evaporation system he built himself. He also made his own gunpowder, cut and polished stones and geodes from his work in Brazil, and made many net bags that he would distribute to his friends and family, to name just a few of his projects. Wendell also loved getting involved with the local potters’ projects, for example setting up their kilns and pottery wheels. Wendell and Ann owned many beautiful art pieces and bowls created by the local potters, and Wendell’s brother was himself a potter.

 Wendell was also active in the Masonic Lodge. In 1969 he became the youngest-ever Past Master of Alpha Lodge, AF&AM. He remained active in the Biscoe, NC Lodge until he passed. During his early years in Sudbury he was Scout Master of Boy Scouts of America Troop #12 in Framingham, Massachusetts. He was also active in Amateur Radio from his high-school years until he passed. His call signs were W9ORE, K5JEE, K1ECV, WA1RRY, and finally KK4YW. During his years in Corpus Christie he got his pilot's license and flew small aircraft.

 Wendell was preceded in death by Ann, who died January 16, 2024. He is survived by their three children, Wendy Ann Labrecque (married to Mark Labrecque), Michael Plum (married to Karen Plum now deceased), and John Plum; Wendy Ann’s children Nichole Heady (married to David Heady), Jennifer Labrecque (married to Noah Kleiner), and Cory Labrecque; and Michael’s children Joshua Plum (married to Alexandra Plum) and Zachary Plum. Wendell himself died of bladder cancer.

A visitation will be held for Mr. Plum on Friday June 26, 2026 from 6:00pm - 8:00pm at Pugh Funeral Home 437 Sunset Ave. Asheboro NC 27203.

Pugh Funeral Home is proud to serve the Plum family.