Mennonite Weekly Review - November, 2002


Mennonite Weekly Review
November 4, 2002
80th Year, No. 44, p. 8

Ruth V. Troyer
Ruth V. Troyer, 89, of South Hutchinson, Kan., died Oct. 23, 2002, at Mennonite Manor. She was born Feb. 21, 1913, to James Tilman and Emma Snyder Hamilton at Harper.
A resident of the Hutchinson- Yoder area since 1941, she was a homemaker. She was a member of Yoder Mennonite Church.
On Feb. 24, 1941, she married Perry A. Troyer at Harper.
Survivors include her husband, Perry; a son, Don and his wife, Mary Alice, of LaJunta, Colo.; a brother, Joe Hamilton of Arlington; and a sister, Hannah Hamilton of Harper.
She was preceded in death by three brothers, John, James and Jess Hamilton; and two sisters, Phoebe and Esther Hamilton.
Funeral services were held at Yoder Mennonite Church. Burial was in the Yoder Mennonite Church Cemetery.

Dallas C. Voran
Dallas C. Voran, 82, of North Newton, Kan., died Oct. 24, 2002, at Kidron Bethel Village. He was born July 29, 1920, to Fred and Edith (Graber) Voran on a farm near Belmont.
He graduated from Belmont High School in 1938. He majored in music at Bethel College in North Newton, graduating in 1943. He received his master's degree in social science from the University of Minnesota and University of Chicago.
He worked in Civilian Public Service in Florida and Mississippi, 1943-46. He served with Mennonite Central Committee for 10 years. During his service he worked with Church World Service and was sent to China in 1946 to coordinate shipments of food, clothing, and medical equipment for distribution to refugees. In 1951 he served with the United Nations for relief work in Korea.
He worked most of his 40-year career for the U.S. State Department Agency for International Development in the Far East. His tours of duty took him to Laos, Thailand, India, Bangladesh and the Philippines. He also had an assignment in the Washington, D.C., AID office working with refugee populations, community development and population control.
After his mandatory retirement in 1985, he accepted seven short-term consultations to the Mauritius islands, Zambia, Liberia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania.
He was a member of Kingman Mennonite Church.
Survivors include a brother, Paul of Hutchinson, and two sisters, Mary Gaeddert of North Newton and Helen Voth of Newton.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Robert.
Memorial services were held at Bethel College Mennonite Church in North Newton. Burial was in Kensington Gardens Crematory in Wichita.

Rachel A Stucky
Rachel A. Stucky, 105, of North Newton, Kan., died Oct. 25, 2002, at Kidron-Bethel Health Care Centre. She was born Dec. 14, 1896, to Adolph P. and Katie Goering Stucky on a farm southwest of Moundridge in McPherson County.
In January 1898 her family moved to a farm in Reno County, where she grew up and attended Pretty Prairie Elementary School. After graduation she attended Bethel Academy.
On June 15, 1913, she was baptized and received as a member at Pretty Prairie Mennonite Church.
On April 7, 1918, she married Naphtali P. Stucky at Pretty Prairie.
They established their home on a farm northwest of Moundridge, where they lived until their retirement. He preceded her in death on Jan. 11, 1970.
She transferred her membership to Eden Mennonite Church near Moundridge, where she was active in church until her husband's illness. She taught Sunday school, was in charge of Sunday night youth programs and participated in women's mission activities.
In 1960 they moved into Moundridge, near First Mennonite Church of Christian, where she became an associate member. She taught Sunday school and was involved with the Sisters Mission Society as long as her health permitted.
After her husband died she enjoyed travel and went on many bus trips with senior citizen tours. She attended Mennonite World Conference in Brazil and visited the Mennonite colonies in Paraguay.
She had interest in genealogies and helped families trace their ancestors. Reading poetry and hymns gave her spiritual comfort and inspiration. She enjoyed the beauty of nature and spent time in her yard and garden for relaxation.
Survivors include a son, N. Paul and his wife, Neva Belle, of North Newton, Kan.; six grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Naphtali; a son, Menno, in 1967; three sisters, Rose Mary Goering, Emma Clara Krehbiel and Bessie E. Schmidt; and a granddaughter.
Funeral services were held at Eden Mennonite Church. Burial was in the Eden Church Cemetery.


Mennonite Weekly Review
November 11, 2002
80th Year, No. 45, p. 12

Mabel W. Suderman
Mabel Wedel Suderman, 100, of Parkside Homes in Hillsboro, Kan., died Oct. 26, 2002. She was born Dec. 21, 1901, to John and Nettie Jantz Wedel near Moundridge.
At age 3, she and her family moved to a farm in Marion County near Tampa. There she grew up and enjoyed farm life.
Her education included eight years at Bell Top School, two years at Hillsboro Bible Academy and two years at Bethel College Academy. She then taught in rural schools for four years.
On Aug. 11, 1926, she married John P. Suderman.
After her marriage, she continued her education at Bethel College. After a year teaching at Hillsboro Bible Academy with her husband, they responded to God's call through the mission board to serve as missionaries in Arizona among the Hopi Indians. Except for a 19-month leave of absence in 1944-45, when her husband served as interim pastor at First Mennonite Church in Berne, Ind., they spent 1930-47 in Kykotsmovi, Ariz.
They then served three congregations: Gospel Mennonite Church in Mountain Lake, Minn., 1947-54; St. John Mennonite Church in Pandora, Ohio, 1954-61; and Glendale Mennonite Church in Lynden, Wash., 1961-67.
She enjoyed hosting family, visiting speakers and missionaries in their home. Her gifts as a Bible teacher were used in many settings.
They spent 12 years in retirement at Winona Lake, Ind. They continued to serve the Lord in children's camps and spent five months in an interim missionary assignment in Mississippi.
After her husband died in 1979, she moved back to Hillsboro in 1981.
Survivors include two children, John Mark and his wife, Alice, of North Newton, and Edith Elsie Dougherty and her husband, John, of Oneonta, N.Y.; a brother, Nathan Wedel; six grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, John; two sisters, Ida and Sadie; a brother, Waldo; and a grandson, David Dougherty.

Selma J. Graber Voth
Selma J. Graber Voth, 99, of Memorial Home in Moundridge, Kan., died Sept. 11, 2002. She was born Jan. 10, 1903, to John Joseph and Katherine (Waltner) Graber on a farm near Freeman, S.D.
She was baptized at Salem-Zion Mennonite Church of Freeman, where she served as an organist.
Her mother died of liver cancer when she was 17. Six years later her father was hospitalized with a blood infection, and she spent several days with him before he died.
She attended country school and Freeman Academy. She taught country school for several years and gave private piano lessons. She then earned a degree in piano at Bethel College in North Newton, Kan. While there she worked in the Bethel College library.
At Bethel she met Paul D. Voth, whom she married June 12, 1930, in Freeman. They moved to Chicago, where he was in graduate school at the University of Chicago while she worked until the birth of her two daughters.
When her children became older, she devoted volunteer time in the Girl Scouts and was a member of Friends in Council, a play-reading group. She was an active participant at Hyde Park Baptist Church, where she was a member.
She enjoyed bridge and always had a vegetable garden, even when they resided in a city. During their time in Chicago many relatives, students and friends were their guests.
After her husband's retirement at the University of Chicago, they moved to DeKalb, Ill., where they joined the DeKalb Friends Meeting. In 1980-81, they built and moved into a solar home near Moundridge and became active members of Eden Mennonite Church.
She made friends easily, was politically astute and widely read. She enjoyed intellectual exchange of ideas on a wide range of topics. She enjoyed listening to classical music, was a wonderful cook and excellent homemaker. Her poise and sense of humor allowed her to be equally at ease in all types of social settings.
Survivors include two daughters, Felice Goering and her husband, Clyde, and Pamela Dahlberg and her husband, Albert; eight grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Paul, in 1992; seven sisters; two brothers; and a great-grandson.



Mennonite Weekly Review
November 18, 2002
80th Year, No. 46

Clarence Burkholder
Clarence C. Burkholder, 91, of Hesston, Kan., died Aug. 26, 2002. He was born Nov. 20, 1910, to Nathaniel J. and Mary Ann Reber Burkholder near Harper.
On Jan. 18, 1933, he married Dorothy Laing at Anthony.
A resident of Hesston since 1991, moving from Harper, he was a farmer and trucker.
He belonged to Crystal Springs Mennonite Church, near Harper, and was an associate member of Hesston Mennonite Church.
Survivors include his wife, Dorothy; a daughter, Betty Shetler of Pigeon, Mich.; two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by five brothers, three sisters and a grandson.
Funeral services were held at Schowalter Villa in Hesston and at Crystal Springs Mennonite Church. Burial was in Crystal Springs Cemetery.

Ruth Mary Smith Brunk
Ruth Mary Smith Brunk, 99, died Nov. 7, 2002, at Oak Lea Nursing Home in Harrisonburg, Va., where she lived for two and a half years. She was born May 10, 1903, in West Liberty, Ohio.
She married Truman H. Brunk on Jan. 16, 1924. They moved into the Denbigh Mennonite Community in 1932. They celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on Jan. 16, 1994.
She worked beside her husband, who was a minister and bishop, for 40 years, teaching, counseling and singing. They traveled many times to Sicily and Jamaica, where they helped in the founding of Mennonite churches, which are flourishing today. He preceded her in death on Jan. 10, 1995.
She was a gifted artist and painted hundreds of pictures, which she gave to family and friends and donated to church schools and relief auctions. Survivors include three children, Evelyn Brunk Hertzler and her husband, Alvin, of Newport News; Truman H. Brunk Jr., and his wife, Betty, and Sandra Brunk Steiner and her husband, Nevin, all of Harrisonburg; a sister, Evelyn Schlosser of Newport News; seven grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Truman; and two daughters, infant Delsie in 1926 and Peggy Brunk Brydge in 1958.
Funeral services were held at Warwick River Mennonite Church of Newport News. Burial was in the church cemetery. A memorial service was held in Strite Auditorium of Virginia Mennonite Retirement Center in Harrisonburg.


Mennonite Weekly Review
November 25, 2002
80th Year, No. 47, p. 12

Samuel A. Spicher
Samuel A. Spicher, 74, of Glendale, Ariz., died Nov. 5, 2002, at his home after a lengthy illness. He was born March 6, 1928, to Aaron S. and Cleora (Ropp) Spicher near Kalona, Iowa.
On Dec. 30, 1955, he married Doris A. Yoder in Phoenix, Ariz.
He attended Goshen (Ind.) College and was a 1950 graduate of the University of Iowa. He moved to Phoenix in 1952.
He worked more than 50 years in various accounting jobs, including being the first financial controller of Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, working for Walter Eicher of Chandler, and most recently for Westwind Aviation of Phoenix.
He was a charter member of Trinity Mennonite Church in Glendale. He served on many boards, including Mennonite Board of Education, Hesston College board of overseers, Mennonite Mutual Aid, Mennonite Church Stewardship Commission and was a founding board member of Glencroft retirement Community in Glendale.
Survivors include his wife, Doris; a son, Jeff and his wife, Billie, of Phoenix; two daughters, Julie Hedine and her husband, Gary, of Tampa, Fla., and Jeannine Janzen and her husband, Bruce, of Elbing, Kan.; two sisters, Geneva Yoder of Hampton, Va., and Donna Hostetler of Hesston, Kan.; three grandchildren; two step-grandchildren and five step-great-grandchildren.
Memorial services were held at Trinity Mennonite Church. Burial was in the Trinity Mennonite Church columbarium.

Harry Orlando Beier
Harry Orlando Beier, 92, of Fresno, Calif., died Nov. 6, 2002. He was born Jan. 27, 1910, in Mountain Lake, Minn.
He married Alma Hiebert on May 1, 1936. They were married 66 years and raised four daughters and a son.
He lived his life by faith and good deeds, which were given without expectation of return. With enthusiasm, a smile and an infusion of "hilarity," he took on whatever situations might arise. It was his faith that was the keystone of his life.
He pastored churches in Kansas, Minnesota, and in Sanger and Petaluma, Calif., and served as song leader, substitute minister and visitation pastor in Cayucos, Calif., until he was more than 90 years old. He retired from ministry in January 2001 to reside at Twilight Haven.
Survivors include his wife, Alma; three daughters, Darlene Harms, Celeste Fox and Florene Tomei; a son, Harry; a sister, Hilda Martens; a brother, Lee Beier; 16 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandchild.
He was preceded in death by a daughter, Gloria Wilhelm.
Graveside services were held at Los Osos Valley Memorial Park. A memorial service was held at Twilight Haven.


Copyright 2002 - All rights reserved - Mennonite Publishing House, Scottdale, PA
Used with permission by the Archives of the Mennonite Church, Goshen, INDIANA
Permission granted to private family researchers to use selected portions of these files to tell their family stories.
May not be mass-produced in any form for commercial purposes.