Sheila Reid Brendel's Obituary
Sheila Reid Brendel, 85 of Lovettsville, Virginia passed on Monday, October 20, 2014.
Sheila was born January 9, 1929 in Washington, DC, and lived there until she left to join the Navy at the age of 21. She was a daughter of the late Robert and Jean Anderson.
Sheila served her country in the United States Navy for seven years, attaining the rank of Petty Officer 2nd Class. At that time, women were not allowed to serve in the Navy if they were married, so after falling in love with a charming Air Force Sergeant she left the Navy in 1955 to marry her husband, Arthur E Brendel. While married to Art, they enjoyed several overseas tours including Germany and Japan. After her husband retired from the Air Force they settled in Arlington,Virginia living there for 13 years before eventually moving to Lovettsville, Virginia in 1976, where she remained until her death.
Throughout her life, Sheila gave back to the community. In her earlier years she joined a service organization for Scottish descendants, and eventually was elected to the highest position in the organization and became the Grand Chief of the Daughters of Scotia in 1982. For over sixty years she served in the organization, often traveling all over the country to conduct business on behalf of the Daughters of Scotia.
At the age of 50, Sheila found a new way to give back to the community and developed a passion for Fire and Rescue work. She began as an Emergency Medical Technician and later became a Shock Trauma Technician, taught EMT classes, and was Chief of Lovettsville Fire Rescue for many years. In what spare time she had, she also served as a day crew member of Sterling Rescue for several years. In recognition of her outstanding service to EMS within the county, in 1991 Sheila Brendel was awarded the Clark J. Deener Award, the highest recognition of a provider by the Loudoun County EMS Council and the EMS community. In 2013, recognizing her decades of service and her many contributions and achievements to furthering the advancement of the Fire and EMS System in Loudoun County, Sheila was inducted into the Loudoun County Fire and EMS Hall of Fame.
She leaves her sons Robert Arthur Brendel (Nancy) of Bluemont, VA, and Kerry James Brendel of Bluemont, VA; 3 grandchildren, James Brendel of Eglin AF Base, FL, Joshua Brendel of Lovettsville, VA, and Caitlin Martin (Oliver) of Hamilton, VA.
She was predeceased by her brother James Anderson in 1965, and her beloved husband of 55 years, Arthur Emil Brendel in 2010.
The family received friends from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Friday, October 24, 2014, at Loudoun Funeral Chapel, 158 Catoctin Circle, SE, Leesburg, Virginia.
Memorial services began at 1:00 PM on Saturday, October 25, 2014 at the funeral home.
Graveside services and interment were held on Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at 2 pm at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to Lovettsville Volunteer Fire & Rescue P.O. Box 123 Lovettsville, VA 20180.
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.loudounfuneralchapel.com
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