Wendy Anne Dust (66) of Effingham

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Published on March 23 2022 9:04 am

Wendy Anne (Burt) Dust, 66, of Effingham, Illinois passed away Thursday, March 10 at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center.

A celebration of life service will be planned at a later date in Effingham. Bauer Funeral Home is in charge.

Wendy was born in Evanston, Illinois to Harold and Patricia Burt. Growing up in Wilmette, Illinois, she briefly attended New Trier High School and later graduated from Mendota High School in 1973. Receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Illinois University in 1977 with a major in English and a minor in Theater, Wendy then went on to complete her student teaching in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She was an accomplished singer and dancer who performed in numerous theater productions during her high school and college tenure including Peter Pan, The Music Man, Godspell, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Miracle Worker and The King and I.

She began her teaching career in Dieterich and shortly thereafter met her husband Tom. Settling in Effingham, Wendy taught English and Speech/Communications at St. Anthony High School for over 20 years. During her tenure, she went on to produce and direct a number of St. Anthony's spring musicals and fall plays including Once Upon a Mattress, Anything Goes, Guys and Dolls, Leader of of the Pack, Gypsy and Dracula. During construction of the new high school wing, she was heavily involved with the design and technical layout for the new theater stage.

Outside of her work at the high school, Wendy volunteered with  FACE (Fine Arts County of Effingham) worked at The Last Straw and lent her skills to voice over and proofreading work for various groups in the Effingham area. In 2005, Wendy and her husband Tom relocated to Clarksville, Indiana and then a year later to Merced, California where she took great pride in volunteering at and running social media for the local SPCA Animal Rescue. After the passing of her husband in 2013, Wendy returned to Effingham to watch her grandchildren grow while briefly working at The Last Straw, KB Learning and substitute teaching at St. Anthony High School.

Wendy was preceded in death by her parents, Harold S. Burt and Patricia (Weitzel) Burt; husband, Tom F. Dust and her sister Bonnie Burt.

She is survived by her children, Brittany (Chris) Cuyler of Fairfax, Calif. and Tom E. Dust of Effingham; sister, Sherry (Joseph) Rivard of The Villages, Fla.; grandchildren Anthony Dust, Selene Dust and Quinn Cuyler.