John Wendell Broadie

October 3, 1953 - June 17, 2022

Independence, MO. - John Wendell Broadie, age 68, passed away peacefully on June 17, 2022, at Independence Manor Care in Missouri after a brief illness. John was born on October 3, 1953, in Omaha, NE., the fourth child, and only son, to Wendell E. "Steve" and Winifred (Jones) Broadie. Growing up in Wichita, KS., he attended Wichita Public Schools, graduating from East High School in 1971. He attended Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, MO., Drury University in Springfield, MO. and earned a bachelor’s degree in Public Health from Kansas University, with post graduate work to follow. John's parents encouraged their children to develop their talents and follow their dreams. John's mother, with a music background, nurtured their development in music and the arts while his father, a businessman with a big racquet talent, inspired them to share in his love of sport, especially tennis. John, though healthy at birth, contracted polio at 18 months of age. Medical procedures were to follow throughout his youth to improve his strength and mobility. John loved music! High school years saw him in both the Madrigal and Band. He also played in a Lions Club Band, playing two summers of concerts in Japan. John met his biggest music challenge when he wrote both the vocal and instrumental scores for his arrangement of "Joy to the World", a popular 70s song, for the finale of East High School's 'All School Review' to a standing ovation from his classmates. He and younger sister, Mary, often performed their own silly renditions of the music sung by their three older sisters, a professional trio, and laughed lots. John found his athletic connection swimming for the Wichita Swim Club. He went on to captain the East High School swim team his senior year and swam for Drury University on scholarship where he set a distance record, remarkable considering his left leg weakness. John worked at Wichita's Institute of Logopedics, then moved to California for social work before returning to Kansas. He married Sharon Donovan (now Sharon Ellis) in 1983. They had a son, Dane Broadie. John is preceded in death by his sister, Jane Wilson. He is survived by his son, Dane Broadie and wife Kelli and two granddaughters, Sloane and Delaney, of Lenexa, KS, sister Joan Feldmeier and husband Ted of Eliot, ME, sister Eileen Broadie of Overland Park, KS, sister Mary Morgan and husband Donald of Houston TX, brother-in-law Rev. Richard Wilson of Marshall, MI. and many nephews and nieces. Sharon Ellis remains a treasured part of the family. The family will hold a private service at a later date.