Ned Michael Venden
July 20, 1954 - July 10, 2016
Obituary
MADISON-Ned Michael Venden, died on Sunday, July 10, 2016. He was born on July 20, 1954 to Olaf and Lillian (Westedt) Venden. Ned resided most of his adult life in Texas and was a carpenter and played in local bands. Ned is survived by his siblings, Nancy Venden Barberi, Nick and Norman; sister-in-law, Marcia Venden; nieces and nephews, Krin (Dan Cardhart) Barberi, Ian (Claudia) Barberi, Andrew (Jennifer) Venden, Amy Venden and James Venden. He was preceded in death by his parents; and brother, Neal Venden. There will be a family gathering on Saturday, July 16, 2016. Ned will be buried at Middleton Junction Cemetery. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.
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Memories
A
Amy
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Rest in Peace Uncle Ned
TH
Ted Helleckson
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Sorry to hear of your loss. My sympathies to the family. Ted Helleckson
FB
Frayne Born
Other •
My deepest sympathy to the Venden family, Frayne
DU
Dan Uminski
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Nick, Nancy, Norm and Family - Sorry to hear about the death of your little brother. Our thoughts and prayers are with you as you say good bye to Ned. Take Care! Dan Uminski and Family
KW
Kay Endresen Weinberger
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Norman, So sorry to hear about Ned. My thoughts are with you, Marcia and the rest of your family.
AB
Arvid Berge
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I'll be forever grateful for the time I was given to share with Ned. Through a series of serendipitous coincidences, we re-connected after nearly five decades of being apart from one another both as family members and friends.
When I learned he had returned to Madison from Florida I invited him to have tea with me at Barriques Coffee Shop on Monroe. During that meeting I introduced him to Finn Berge, my nephew (Ned's 1st cousin-once removed). Finn is co-owner of Barriques. Later that year, when Barriques added a new store on Atwood Ave, , Finn hired Ned and myself to help him build the interior furnishings--booths, cabinets, wainscot, etc.
For over six weeks, Ned and I worked alongside Finn. Ned worked hard and brought a valuable skill-set to the job site. But, even more importantly for me personally, he was just "there". He was there to.listen to me rant about what didn't go right and there to laugh with me when things went stupid. We could bounce ideas off each other and help each other solve construction problems and forgive each other when we made mistakes. Our "re-connection" grew into a "true connection".
We also had other opportunities to spend a considerable amount of time together doing "odd jobs". Ned didn't often talk about himself. But, he shared enough with me to assure me that he truly was a kind and gentle soul. A person who had suffered much, but did not wish to throw his burdens onto others. Instead, he perhaps held onto more than he should have.
I understand now, better than then, what a blessing it was to work with such an even tempered, sweet person. He was my friend. Knowing he was a blood relation was just icing on the cake.