Mennonite Weekly Review - May 2006
Buhler, Leucile Genevieve Steiner;
Classen, Sara F.;
Croyle, Ellis B.;
Dyck,
Ralph Carl; Ebersole, Fern K.;
Enns, Henry Balzer; Horst, Nevin Lehman;
Nice, Beulah D.; Oswald, Martha Marianna Duerksen;
Shoup,
Mary Ellen; Wade, Paul Esrom.
Mennonite Weekly Review - May 1, 2006 -
84th Year, No. 18 - p. 11
Fern K.
Ebersole, 84, of Sun
City, Ariz., died in her sleep April 15, 2006. She was born April 26,
1921, to Ora E. and Orpha Yoder in Middlebury, Ind.
She graduated from Shipshewana High School in 1939 and attended Goshen
College for two years.
She married Lester Ebersole on Aug. 8, 1943, at the college chapel in
Goshen.
She and Lester sang duets and in other special music, including a mixed
quartet with Frank and Beaty Brunk and other groups on many occasions.
Besides being a homemaker, she was employed as a bookkeeper in Indiana
and Colorado over the years until they retired in Arizona.
She had been in failing health in recent years, especially after a hip
fracture in 1996 and a stroke in 1999. She never completely recovered
from that and was mostly confined to a wheelchair.
Survivors include her husband, Lester; two sons, Gregory and Kenneth; a
daughter, Karen Thomason; and a sister, Mabel Shriner.
She was preceded in death by four sisters, Ethel Yoder, Ruth Miller,
Margaret Ramer and Florence Frey.
Funeral services were held at the Chapel of the Chimes Mortuary in
Glendale, Ariz.
---------------
Ellis B.
Croyle, 75, of Goshen,
Ind., died unexpectedly March 31, 2006, in Wichita, Kan. He was born
Aug. 1, 1930, to Lloyd S. and Enma (Stahl) Croyle in Thomas Mills, Pa.
On Sept. 12, 1953, he married R. Charlotte Hertzler.
A graduate of Goshen College and Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminary, he was ordained to the Christian ministry Oct. 17, 1954. He
pastored Maple Grove Mennonite Church in Topeka, Ind., for eight years,
followed by 34 years at Zion Mennonite Church in Archbold, Ohio.
Post-retirement positions included interim pastorates at College
Mennonite Church, Emma Mennonite Church and Olive Mennonite Church, all
in the Goshen area. He also served as a fifth-grade teacher at
Topeka Elementary School. He was currently employed as an assistant to
the Church Relations Department at Goshen College.
An active member of each community he lived in, his voluntary
activities included 30 years as a member of the board of Sunshine
Children’s Home, Maumee, Ohio; a pastor of a television program called
Worship for Shut-ins; leading the Pastor Peer Program in Archbold;
chaplain at Goshen General Hospital and host for the Performing Arts
Series at Goshen College.
He was instrumental in starting a long-term relationship between Pastor
H.B. Savage and the Martin Luther King Jr. Kitchen for the Poor of
Toledo, Ohio, and Zion Mennonite Church in Archbold. For many
years he directed children’s camps at Little Eden Camp in Onekema,
Mich., as well as participated in directing adult camps there. He was a
member of College Mennonite Church, Goshen.
Survivors include his wife, Charlotte; two sons, Timothy Croyle of
Goshen and Thomas Croyle and his wife, Ellen, of Milford Center, Ohio;
two daughters, Nancy Entz and her husband, Loren, of Newton, Kan., and
Amy Deel and her husband, Mark, of Granger; a brother, Denton Croyle of
Wadsworth, Ohio; a sister, E. Louise Wigle of Austin, Texas; five
grandchildren and two step-granddaughters.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Dwayne Croyle.
Services were held at College Mennonite Church of Goshen.
Mennonite Weekly Review - May 8, 2006 -
84th Year, No. 19 - p. 11
-----------------
Henry
Balzer Enns, 93, of
Toutle, Wash., died April 20, 2006, at Longview Community Home Health/
Hospice. He was born Aug. 2, 1912, to Henry H. and Katherine Balzer
Enns at Hooker, Okla.
He graduated from Corn (Okla.) Bible Academy and Adams (Okla.) Public
High School. In 1942 he earned a bachelor’s degree from Panhandle
Agriculture & Mechanical College in Goodwell, Okla.
On Sept. 7, 1941, he married Ruby Bernice Reimer of Corn.
In 1946 they moved to Birch Bay, Wash. In 1950, he completed a
bachelor’s degree and teaching credentials at Western Washington
College of Education in Bellingham.
Arriving in Toutle in 1950, he taught at Toutle Lake High School for 25
years. After retirement from teaching, he and his wife, Ruby, enjoyed
extensive travel, which took them throughout North and South America,
often on volunteer mission projects. In 1979, he was a member of a
mission tour to India and Bangladesh with Mennonite Central Committee.
Henry and Ruby Enns were founding and longtime members of Toutle Lake
Community Bible Church, now Toutle Christian Fellowship. He was a
founding member of the Toutle volunteer fire department.
He was known for his woodworking skills. He built homes in the area and
created furniture and other projects in his home woodshop. He taught
special woodshop classes for Toutle Boy’s Ranch residents. Projects
from his home shop were frequently donated to the Mennonite Central
Committee relief sales in Washington and Oregon.
On July 24, 1997, he was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years,
Ruby.
Survivors include two sons, Paul Enns and his wife, Mary Anne, of
Lancaster, Calif., and Nelson Enns of Seattle, Wash.; seven
grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial service was held at Toutle Christian Fellowship. Funeral
services were provided by Columbia Funeral Service of Longview.
----------------
Sara F.
Classen, 83, of
Hesston, Kan., died April 2, 2006. She was born March 29, 1923, to John
J. and Mary J. (Friesen) Reimer in Meade.
She married Edward Classen on July 30, 1944, in Meade.
She was a homemaker. She volunteered for 30 years with organizations
Victory in the Valley, the Etcetera Shop in Newton and the Union Rescue
Mission in Wichita. She was a member of Koerner Heights Church of the
Mennonite Brethren in Newton.
Survivors include her husband, Edward Classen of Hesston; a son, Dale
Classen and his wife, Anita, of Salem, Ore.; two daughters, Regina
Yoder of Newton and Marjorie Sommerfeld and her husband, Lyle, of
Sharon Springs; four sisters, Mary Isaac, Elizabeth Isaac, Katherine
Friesen and Eva Rempel; eight grandchildren and nine
great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by a brother, John F. Reimer; and two
sisters, Agnes Classen and Anna Classen-Jantz.
Memorial services were held at Schowalter Villa Chapel in Hesston.
--------------
Leucile Genevieve
(Steiner) Buhler,
99, of Bluffton, Ohio, died April 15, 2006. Born Sept. 21, 1906, she
was the oldest graduate of Bluffton High School and the oldest member
of First Mennonite Church in Bluffton.
She married Gerhard Buhler. He preceded her in death in 1981.
She served on the program committee of the General Conference Mennonite
Church and on the literature committee for many years. She and Gerhard
served two summers in voluntary service, working in teenage work camps,
at Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind., and also at Canadian
Bible College, Winnipeg, Man.
During their 11 years in Freeman, S.D., they took time for a year of
voluntary service under Mennonite Central Committee at Saints Junior
College, Lexington, Miss. She worked in Saints Junior College Library
and taught English in the Migrant Farmers Program and the Head Start
Program. Together she and Gerhard did bridge-building between
Caucasians and African Americans. Later while serving in voluntary
service in Cincinnati, Ohio, she worked at Cokesbury Book Store and
taught in the Laubach Reading Program. One summer they served as
leaders of a college-age European work-study group, sponsored by
Mennonite and affiliated colleges. After their retirement and move back
to Bluffton, they volunteered to teach inmates at Lima State
Hospital. She also volunteered at the Mennonite Central Committee Et
Cetera Shop.
Survivors include her children, Genevieve Fast and her husband, Peter,
of Fresno, Calif.; Joanne Voth and her husband, Leland, of
Harrisonburg, Va.; daughter-in-law Inez Buhler of San Gabriel, Calif.;
and Ruth Graber and her husband, Kenneth, of Sierra Vista, Ariz.; 11
grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren and two
great-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Gerhard; a son, Gerhard
Samuel; and a grandson, Timothy Andrew Suter.
Her funeral was held at First Mennonite Church.
----------------
Martha Marianna (Duerksen)
Oswald,
86, of Glendale, Ariz., died April 2, 2006.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in religious education at Hesston (Kan.)
College in 1952, and she worked as a secretary for years. Upon retiring
at Glencroft, she became an active volunteer in various campus
activities, was a part-time secretary for her husband and devoted much
time to quilting. She loved reading and playing Scrabble. She derived
much meaning from her membership at Trinity Mennonite Church.
She worked hard but took time to notice the little things that add
meaning to life: the hummingbirds whizzing by, the Arizona wildflowers,
the brightness of the morning star, the smell of a pine forest. She
loved the outdoors and spent many happy hours hiking and camping with
her husband and daughter throughout the western United States. Her
optimistic attitude about life was with her until her last month, when
she was in the hospital three times.
Survivors include her husband of 52 years, Evan Oswald, of Glendale; a
daughter, Sylvia Beneze and her husband, Geoff, of Tempe; two sisters,
Marie Kleinsasser of Glendale and Ruth Schmidt of Ontario; a brother,
John Duerksen of Hesston, Kan.; and two grandchildren.
Memorial services were held at the Glencroft Retirement Community
auditorium. Her ashes are in the Trinity Mennonite Church columbarium
in Glendale.
May 15, 2006, there were no obituaries in this
issue of Mennonite Weekly Review.
Mennonite Weekly Review - May 22, 2006 -
84th Year, No. 21 - p. 9
--------------
Mary
Ellen Shoup, 85, of Hemet,
Calif., died April 24, 2006, after an unexpected brief illness. She was
born Aug. 13, 1920, to Harry and Lottie Shoup in Youngstown,
Ohio.
She grew up in southern California and attended Goshen (Ind.) College
in 1939-40. She served under Mennonite Central Committee as director of
orphanages in Nancy and Belfort, France, for 15 years.
Returning to the United States she worked in the office of the Attorney
for the City of Los Angeles. She also returned to college at Pepperdine
to become a teacher and graduated magna cum laude. While teaching
in Los Angeles, she still had the calling to do more, and under
Mennonite Board of Missions served seven years in Algeria, where she
taught English and earned a master’s degree in English.
She returned to Hemet and taught special education classes in Hemet
High School. After retiring she continued as a private tutor and
participated in the tutorial program of First Presbyterian Church. She
faithfully prepared and served dinners for Valley Restart, supported
Habitat for Humanity and helped fulfill the wishes and dreams of
children throughout the world, always the champion for people who were
ill or in need.
Survivors include a nephew, Dennis Shoup and his wife, Dee, of
Washington; two nieces, Robin Reesor Lowe and her husband, Mel, of
Hemet, and Luella Miller of Cheyenne, Wyo.
She was preceded in death by a sister, Elma Reesor; and a brother,
Robert Shoup.
Memorial services were held at First Presbyterian Church of Hemet and
at the Meetinghouse in Greencroft Health Care, Goshen, Ind.
------------
Ralph
Carl Dyck, 85, of West
Plains, Mo., died May 9, 2006. He was born Jan. 12, 1921, to John and
Anna Bartel Dyck in Newton, Kan.
He was educated in Elbing, Kan., and attended one year of academy in
Hillsboro. As a young man, he traveled with his brothers, helping with
wheat harvest, corn shelling and hay baling. He spent 1944-46 working
in Downey, Idaho, and Fort Collins, Colo., to fulfill his duty to his
country through Civilian Public Service.
He married Helen Elizabeth Reimer on Oct. 5, 1947, in Goessel, Kan.
His family was known to be the first in the neighborhood to try new
technology and inventions. He was also a truck driver, hauling cattle
to Kansas City. He spent most of his working years in maintenance,
performing many duties. He was well known for his mechanical abilities,
inventive mind and sense of humor. He had a story or joke to add humor
to any situation.
At age 56, he and Helen moved to Portland, Ore., and participated in a
voluntary service assignment. He spent two years working in low-income
areas of Portland reparing and remodeling houses and meeting other
construction needs. They relocated to West Plains, Mo., in 1990 to be
closer to his children. He took great joy and interest in the various
projects of his children and grandchildren.
He was baptized at age 17 at Emmaus Mennonite Church in Elbing, Kan. He
was a member of First Baptist Church of West Plains, Mo.
Survivors include his wife, Helen Dyck; three sons, Max Dyck of Kansas
City, Mo., Jay Dyck and his wife, Naomi, of Willow Springs and Bruce
Dyck and his wife, Mary, of West Plains; five grandchildren and two
great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by an infant daughter, Sandra Lee; three
brothers, Al, Elmer and John Dyck; and a sister, Helen Dyck Wiens.
Funeral services were held in Rose Chapel at Robertson-Drago Funeral
Home in West Plains. Burial was in Howell Memorial Park Cemetery.
----------------------
Nevin
Lehman Horst, 75, of
Stevens, Pa., died April 22, 2006, after a lengthy illness. He was born
June 1, 1930, to Benjamin and Martha Horst at Mason Dixon.
He was a graduate of Eastern Mennonite College and Princeton
Theological Seminary. He married Blanche Mohler on Dec. 24, 1951.
He was ordained to the ministry at Ephrata Mennonite Church in 1953. He
served as a missionary with Eastern Mennonite Missions in Ethiopia from
1954-69 and 1974-76, and in Kenya 1995-97. He pastored Warwick River
Mennonite Church, Newport News, Va., and Mount Joy Mennonite Church. He
was a member of East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church for many years.
At the time of his death, he was a member of Ephrata Mennonite Church.
He opened and managed Provident Bookstore at Park City from 1970-73. He
directed Tabor Community Services in Lancaster from 1977-85. He also
served on the board of Arbor Place in Lancaster. After he returned from
Kenya in 1997, he developed Habitat ReStore in Lancaster.
Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Blanche Mohler Horst; five
children, Adelle Horst Ward and her husband, Richard, of Scotia, N.Y.,
Philip Horst and his wife, Sandra Voth Horst, of Lancaster, Phyllis
Horst Nofziger and her husband, Harold, of Stevens, Rachel Horst
McLaughlin and her husband, Larry, of Williamsburg, Va., and N. Timothy
Horst and his wife, Donna Eberly Horst, of Leola; two sisters, Sarah
Martin of Chambersburg and Mary Horst of Hagerstown, Md.; five
brothers, Lauren Horst of Greencastle, Maurice Horst of Chambersburg,
David Horst of Broadalbin, N.Y., Glenn Horst of Winchester, Va., and
Lowell Horst of Middletown; and 15 grandchildren.
Memorial services were held at Ephrata Mennonite Church.
Mennonite Weekly Review - May 29, 2006 -
84th Year, No. 22 - p. 8
------------------
Paul
Esrom Wade, 86, of
Sterling, Ill., died May 1, 2006, at CGH Medical Center. He was born
July 12, 1919, to Glen and Grace Hauger Wade in Jordan Township in
Whiteside County.
He graduated from Sterling Township High School in 1938. He was a
lifelong member of Science Ridge Mennonite Church, where he confessed
Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
He married Mary Helen Yoder on April 30, 1944, at Oak Grove Mennonite
Church in Smithville, Ohio. They celebrated 62 years of marriage.
On Oct. 23, 1942, he entered Civilian Public Service in Camp No. 57 at
Hill City, S.D. He transferred to detached service in Lancaster County,
Pa., where he was a dairy herd improvement tester until March 20, 1946.
He then returned to Illinois, where he was a dairy farmer for many
years.
He spent several retirement years being a car wash attendant. Caring
for vegetables and flowers was his delight, and he shared much of the
produce with many people. One of his favorite hymns was “In the
Garden.” He was a friend to all he met, and a loving husband and father.
Survivors include his wife, Mary Helen; four children, Carl Wade and
his wife, Diana, Mary Kay Yoder and her husband, Jim, Dean Wade and
special friend Diane Ruchti, and Donald Wade and his wife, Melanie;
nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Graveside services were held at the Science Ridge Mennonite Church
Cemetery. A celebration of his life is being planned for July at
Science Ridge Mennonite Church.
----------------
Beulah D.
Nice, 93, of
Morrison, Ill., died May 15, 2006, at Resthaven Home after a short
illness. She was born Jan. 10, 1913, to Abner and Esther (Deter) Nice
in Morrison.
She attended Morrison schools, then Hesston (Kan.) Academy, graduating
in 1936. She then entered Mennonite School of Nursing in La Junta,
Colo., graduating in 1940 with an R.N. degree. After this she worked as
a nurse in the hospitals in Sterling, Ill., and Wauseon, Ohio. She then
enrolled at Goshen (Ind.) College, graduating with a bachelor’s degree
in natural sciences for nurses in 1949. After graduation, she returned
to the La Junta School of Nursing, where she taught and supervised the
obstetrics department. She later went to the Mennonite Hospital in
Bloomington, Ill., and taught nursing students. A highlight of her work
at Bloomington was the four weeks she spent with each class of students
as they did health care in Appalachia.
After 20 years of teaching, she retired and moved to her home are of
Morrison and assisted her sister Rachel with the care of their elderly
mother. She was an avid reader and also enjoyed gardening and bird
watching. She was a member of Science Ridge Mennonite Church in
Sterling, Ill., where she taught an adult Sunday school class for
several years.
Survivors include three siblings, Aaron Nice and Rachel Nice, both of
Morrison, and Hazel Hassan and her husband, Richard, of Goshen, Ind.;
and a sister-in-law, Mary (Yoder) Nice of Morrison.
She was preceded in death by a brother, Cecil.
Memorial services were held at Science Ridge Mennonite Church. Burial
was in Morrison Mennonite Cemetery.
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Mennonite Publishing House, Scottdale, PA
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INDIANA
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