Florentin 'Flo' Niklaus Wandeler
After suffering a massive brain aneurysm, Flo left his earthly body, on August 9, 2022. Flo was surrounded by his wife, son, and closest Utah friends for his ultimate journey.
Flo was born in Bern Switzerland on September 13, 1970, and spent some of his childhood in Pullman, WA where his father was completing his post doctorate in veterinary virology at Washington State University. After returning to Switzerland and completing high school, Flo moved to Ottawa, Canada with his parents where his father had obtained a job at the Animal Disease Research Institute. During his last year of high school in Switzerland Flo met his sweetheart Ursula who happened to be going to Canada to study English as well. Fate would have it that they ended up in the same city and at the same university where he studied Computer Mathematics, and she studied Linguistics. Flo and Ursula got married in 1997 and welcomed a son, Philippe, on December 13, 1998. After raising Philippe in Ottawa and proudly watching him graduate with a Bachelor of Music in Voice, Flo decided it was time for yet another adventure. After having worked with Adobe Canada for 28 years, he was offered a position with Adobe USA in Utah. He and his wife sold their family home, said goodbye to Ottawa, family, and friends, and moved to Draper, Utah in May 2022.
Flo was a devoted husband, father, and son and had an incredible zest for life. He was adored by his family, loved by his friends, and respected by his peers. He was a strong, kind, fair, and empathetic man who had a great sense of humor and the most infectious laugh. He was wickedly smart and loved his job as a computer engineer. Flo was extremely happy in Utah and lived life here to the fullest, traveling the state with his family who came to visit frequently in the short time after the relocation. He loved the mountains, the intense blue sky, the high desert climate, and varying geography so much you could hardly keep him at home as there was always so much more to discover, visit and re-visit. He had big plans for his stay here and was looking forward to more adventures and making even more memories with his new friends.
Flo leaves behind a large community of friends and family including wife, Ursula Wandeler-Schnewlin, son, Philippe Wandeler, father, Alexander Wandeler, and mother, Ursula Wandeler-Baechler and his Adobe Family in Utah, Canada, and Switzerland.
On Monday, August 22, 2022, a celebration of life will be held from 6:00 until 8:00 PM at Starks Funeral Parlor, 3651 South 900 East in Salt Lake City as well as one at a later date in Ottawa, Canada. Flo’s final wishes were for his ashes to be returned to his favourite places in Washington State, Canada, and Switzerland. May his soul soar like an eagle above his beloved mountains.
Special thanks to St. Marks Hospital for the amazing care Flo received in his final days, to his Utah Adobe family who went above and beyond to stand by him and offer support, and to his family and closest Utah friends who were there every step of the way to offer love and support to his wife and son. Heartfelt thanks to all his family and friends around the world who reached out across the miles.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to places that were close to Flo’s heart; US/Canadian National and State/Provincial Parks, especially Moab UT, Mount Rainier WA and Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada.