Audrey Johnson

Audrey Johnson, 81, of Clermont, Iowa died Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018 at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  

Audrey Lavon was born April 9, 1937 to Giles and Nettie Hicks in Arlington, Iowa.  

She graduated from Arlington High School in 1956. 

She was united in marriage with Howard Lewis Johnson on Sept. 2, 1967. One child was born to this union, Valerie Lynn. 

Early on she was active with the West Clermont Lutheran Church Women’s Circle and a local Women’s Club. 

Audrey resided in Clermont most of her adult life. She moved to Oelwein in 2003 after her first battle with lymphoma. 

Audrey was an avid reader and enjoyed puzzle books, crafts, classic movies and TV series.

Wayne Wenthe returns a serve during a game of pickleball on Friday, Aug. 17, at Rainbow Land Park in Fayette. The City of Fayette is hosting a pickleball clinic on Thursdays at 6 p.m. that is designed to teach newcomers about the game. The clinic is led by Wenthe. 

Pickleball: a sport for anyone

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

In 2014, NBC News named pickleball the fastest-growing sport in America. Now, a few dedicated citizens are trying to get the sport to catch on in Fayette.

At 6 p.m. every Thursday at Rainbow Land Park, the City of Fayette hosts free pickleball clinics led by Wayne Wenthe for anyone who wants to come and learn the paddle sport. A cross between badminton, tennis, and Ping-Pong, the high-action sport is played with a wood or composite paddle that is about three times the size of a Ping-Pong paddle and a wiffle ball. 

“It is a game that you can enjoy from 8 years old to 80 years old and older,” said Wenthe, who learned to play pickleball in Arizona. “The game was developed in the 1960s but really hasn’t caught on until the last 10 to 15 years. It’s included in the Iowa Games. I tell people it is like playing Ping-Pong, only you are standing on the table. The scoring is a little different, but it is that kind of speed.”