Anabaptist World, March 3, 2023, pages 46-47, Vol. 4, No. 3.

---------------------

Kilmer, Phillip Roy
February 1, 1946 - February 2, 2023

Kilmer-. Phillip Roy, 77, of Benton, Ind., died Feb. 2, 2023. He was born Feb. 1, 1946, in Goshen to Herman and Katheryn (Yoder) Kilmer. On June l, 1968, he married Arleta Schlabach. He worked several careers, from a hospital orderly in Flint, Mich., as his alternative service in the mid-1960s, to a certified nursing assistant at Greencroft, where he retired. In between he was a bank teller, office manager, bookkeeper and receptionist. His first job was catching chickens for Ezra Schlabach, and that is how he met Arleta. He was a member of the Benton Mennonite Church, where he served in several positions. He was a 31-year veteran of the Benton Township Fire Department, where he also served as an Emergency Medical Technician for 20 years.
He had many interests, from drawing and art to architecture. He enjoyed woodworking and built several pieces of furniture that his family treasures. One of his greatest passions was working his hobby farm and raising Belgian horses. He will be most remembered for his relationships with people. A husband, father, son, brother, cousin, uncle, friend and, most important, grandpa, he occupied these roles completely and relished each relationship. He made sure that all who were lucky enough to know him knew that they were special.
Arleta survives, along with five children, Kevin (Karilyn), Keith (Kim), Kenton (Jenny), Daniel and Crystal; six grandchildren; four step-grandchildren; a step-great-grandchild; sister Wanda Cross; sister-in-law Kate (Delbert) Yoder; and brother-in-law Charlie Smith. He was preceded in death by brothers Delbert Yoder and Ralph Kilmer; sisters Marcia Kilmer and Connie Smith; and brother-in-law Al (Wanda) Cross.

-------------------

Gaeddert, Menno Paul
February 21, 1928 - January 27, 2023

Gaeddert-. Menno Paul, 94, of Lakewood, Colo., died Jan. 27, 2023. He was born Feb. 21, 1928, to Gustav Gaeddert and Anna Ratzlaff in Buhler, Kan. He grew up in a devout Mennonite family along with two brothers, Roland and Sam. Influenza took his mother when he was 13. Due to her death and the Depression, his father moved the family to Reedley, Calif., to be next to Menno's uncle.
Soon after high school, Menno moved back to Kansas to attend Bethel College. He took a break from college to work with Mennonite Central Committee in Washington, D.C., at a boys home as a guidance counselor. Then he served two and a half years in Espelkamp, Germany, with the MCC program Pax, building homes for refugees from World War II. He completed a business degree at the University of Kansas and married Jessie Brown on Aug. 25, 1952. He sold insurance for Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Co. in Newton, Kan., Kansas City, Kan., and Denver. In 1974, he started his own Christ-centered business, Gaeddert Insurance Agency, in Denver. Although he downsized his business in later years, he was still doing business when he was taken ill several weeks ago.
He and Jessie were members of Arvada Mennonite Church and participated in Western District Conference of the General Conference Mennonite Church and later Mennonite Church USA. He was active with global projects through MCC, Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite Economic Development Associates. He helped start Rainbow Mennonite Church in Kansas City in 1957. He and Jessie served with MCC in Taiwan from 1989 to 1991. For 65 years he was a passionate Gideon, helping to place Bibles in motels and handing out Bibles to students. Daily prayer and Bible study were disciplines he loved. In addition to Arvada Mennonite Church, he was part of the Lutheran Church and regularly attended Sunday morning services at both churches.
Survivors include his three sons, Dwayne (Patti) Gaeddert of Golden, Colo., Don (Marie) Gaeddert of Larned, Kan., and Ken (Debra) Gaeddert of Hesston, Kan., a son-in-law, Ray Wittwer, of Jefferson City, Colo.; nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jessie, in 2010, and daughter, Diane Wittwer (Ray), in 2018. The funeral was held at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Lakewood. Memorial gifts may be given to the Gideons, Mennonite Christian Hospital in Hualian, Taiwan, or Mennonite Mission Network.

--------------------

Dunn, James Lewis "Jim"
December 3, 1941 - February 13, 2023

Dunn-. James "Jim" Lewis, 81, of Hesston, Kan., died Feb. 13, 2023. He was born Dec. 3, 1941, in McPherson, Kan., to Jasper and Linda (Ewy) Dunn. Jim had two callings: pastor and farmer. While a student at Bethel College, studying Industrial Arts and Bible and Religion, he agreed to preach one Sunday at the local African Methodist Episcopal Church. A congregational leader introduced him as "our new preacher," so his single Sunday preaching gig became a two-year ministry internship.
He graduated from Bethel in 1963. At Bethel he met Ann Suderman, and they married on Aug. 4, 1964. He told her she would be a farmer's wife, but he also continued to love preaching and the church. Wondering if God was calling him to ministry, he enrolled in Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Ind. His first full-time pastorate was in Carlock, Ill., from 1967 to 1970. The second was at First Mennonite Church of Champaign, Ill., from 1970 to 1980. In 1980 the family moved to Newton, Kan., where he worked at the General Conference Mennonite Church office for six years and then served as campus pastor at Bethel College for three years.
In 1987, Jim and Ann bought a small farm on the outskirts of Hesston, where he raised cattle and wheat. Ultimately, he ran cattle in four counties. His next ministry call was as lead pastor at First Mennonite Church of Newton from 1989 to 1992. During this time, he admitted he had engaged in ministerial misconduct while at Champaign. Today we call it abuse. He took responsibility, resigned from First Mennonite and completed a censure and restoration process in Western District Conference. He assumed he would never minister again, but Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church of Goessel called him to be their pastor from 1998 to 2004, followed by Burrton Mennonite Church from 2004 to 2015.
He continued farming and ranching until 2019, when he and Ann sold their beloved farm and moved to Schowalter Villa. He got a diagnosis of cancer in July 2022. Surviving are his wife, Ann; a son, Michael (Kathy) Neufeld Dunn; two grandchildren; a great-grandson; and three siblings, Kenneth, Donald and Kathy. He was preceded in death by a son, Jeff; and a sister, Linda Dunn. The memorial service will be at 3 p.m. April 1 at Whitestone Mennonite Church, Hesston.

------------------

Nunemaker, John Edward
November 19, 1927 - February 9, 2023

Nunemaker-. John Edward, 95, of Goshen, Ind., died Feb. 9, 2023, at his home. He was born Nov. 19, 1927, in Elkhart County to Carl W. and Mary (Dils) Nunemaker. On Aug. 28, 1948, he married Doris Jean (Wenger) Nunemaker, and she died Aug. 18, 2017. He was the owner and operator of Nunemaker Fertilizer and a farmer. He was a member of Holdeman Mennonite Church.
He loved spending time with his family, including watching his son's farm. He enjoyed fishing and watching Indiana University basketball. An avid hunter, one of his joys in life was going to Wyoming. He was a seagoing cowboy a member of a group of men who volunteered after World War II to tend livestock shipped to war-devastated countries. He loved to be barefoot.
Surviving are a daughter, Connie (Mark) Haarer of Elkhart; three sons, Dale (Edna) Nunemaker of Goshen, Robert (Ronda) Nunemaker of Goshen and Brian (Nancy) Nunemaker of Coldwater, Mich.; 11 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandson. Preceding him in death are his wife, Doris; daughter Sandra Garber; four grandchildren; one great-grandchild; daughter-in-law Gwen Nunemaker and siblings Ivan and Willis Nunemaker. Memorial donations may be directed to Mennonite Central Committee.

Transcribed by: John Ingold

Anabaptist World, March 24, 2023, pages 42-43, Vol. 4, No. 4.

-------------

Brenneman, Grace Bergey
March 28, 1924 - February 14, 2023

Brenneman-. Grace Bergey, 98, died Feb. 14, 2023, at Souderton Mennonite Home. She was born March 28, 1924, in Doylestown, Pa., the daughter of Oliver and Elizabeth (Ruth) Bergey. She graduated from Doylestown High School in 1941, attended Hesston College and taught in a one-room school in Arkansas for one year. She married Paul G. Brenneman on Jan. 11, 1945.
She was a lifelong member of Doylestown Mennonite Church, where she taught Sunday school, summer Bible school, women's Bible studies and was a member of the Women's Sewing Circle. During the summer, she hosted many Fresh Air Brenneman children at their farm. Her community involvement included the Bucks County Christian Women's Club and the Women's Auxiliary of the Bucks County Medical Society. She was a volunteer for Care and Share Thrift Store, Mennonite Heritage Center, Mennonite Resource Center and feeding the elderly at Souderton Mennonite Homes. She and Paul served two years in Puerto Rico with Mennonite Board of Missions (1951-53) and six months in Monrovia, Liberia, in 1991 with Church World Service.
Her interests included swimming, skiing, reading, golfing, quilting and traveling (she visited every continent). Known for her kindness and hospitality, she served delicious meals to family and friends. She loved the Lord and everyone around her.
She is survived by four children: William Brenneman (Marsha Robertson), Beth (James) Styer, Susan Brenneman (Archie Vomachka), Joanne (Wayne) Speigle; daughter-in-law Ann Detwiler Brenneman; eight grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and siblings Chester Bergey, Eunice Hess, Lois Swartzendruber and Ted Bergey. She was predeceased by husband Paul, sons Donald and Timothy, a grandson, and brothers John Bergey and Richard Bergey. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. April 1 at Souderton Mennonite Home Auditorium.

--------------

Hohmann, Fern Nadine Krehbiel
April 21, 1930 - February 8, 2023

Hohmann-. Fern Nadine (Krehbiel), 92, formerly of Deer Creek, Okla., died Feb. 8, 2023, in Liberty, Mo. She was born on April 21, 1930, to Ben J. and Helen (Albright) Krehbiel of Pretty Prairie, Kan. After high school, she graduated from Bethel Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing in Newton, Kan. She maintained friendships with classmates from nursing school for most of her life. She earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Colorado in Boulder and was employed as a surgical nurse.
In 1955, she married Carl Hohmann at Pretty Prairie Mennonite Church. They made their home in Kansas during the early years of their marriage. In 1959, they moved to Deer Creek to run the family farm. She was focused on her family, serving in Deer Creek Mennonite Church and using her nursing skills to aid her local community. An accomplished pianist, she enjoyed music and ensured that all her children learned to play the piano. She and Carl enjoyed traveling to see family, attend electric cooperative events and explore local areas. They traveled to Norway to visit their daughter. While challenged with dementia and limited mobility, she still displayed her sense of humor and personality.
She is survived by her four children, Karla (Brian) Leuenberg, Max (Becky) Hohmann, Tresa Hohmann and Kyle (Nancy) Hohmann; seven grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister, Phyllis (Krehbiel) Schmidt; and sister-in-law Florine (Hohmann) LeClerc.

-------------

Heese, John D.
January 5, 1935 - February 16, 2023

Heese-. John D., 88, formerly of Philadelphia and New Holland, Pa., died Feb. 16, 2023, at Landis Homes, Lititz. He was preceded in death by his wife, Clara D. (Harder) Heese in 2016. Born in Rosthern, Sask., he was the son of John and Lena (Pauls) Heese. He was a printer who enjoyed photography and woodworking and served on the board of Historic Rittenhouse Town for many years. He had attended New Holland Mennonite Church.
Surviving are three children, Garrett (Yvonne) Heese of Kitchener, Ont., Jeffrey Heese of Philadelphia and Joylynn (David) Keener of East Petersburg; four grandchildren; a great-granddaughter; and four brothers, Heinz, Paul, Bill and Edward. He was preceded in death by a sister, Agnes; and a brother, Victor. A memorial service was held March 18 at James Street Mennonite Church in Lancaster.

----------------

Reedy, Stanley Gene
November 13, 1940 - December 30, 2022

Reedy-. Stanley Gene, 82, died Dec. 30, 2022, at his home in Washington, D.C., after living with Parkinson's disease for 10 years. The third and youngest child of Velda (Grieser) and Clinton Reedy, he was born Nov. 13, 1940, in Pontiac, Ill., and grew up in Graymont, Ill. He graduated from Goshen College, where he spent his junior year at International Christian University in Japan. He received his M.D. from the University of Illinois College of Medicine. As a new medical graduate, he was drafted during the Vietnam War. As a conscientious objector, he served his alternative service at Tayu Christian Hospital in rural Java, Indonesia, under Mennonite Central Committee from 1967 to 1971.
Returning to the U.S., he completed his preventive medicine residency and earned a master's degree in public health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He then served as director of the Elkhart County Public Health Department. As a public health physician, he often said his patients were the whole county. He balanced his passion for public health work with his weekly bread baking, pancake making and knitting, a skill learned from his mother-in-law.
His career in public health included stints with MCC in Thailand and Vietnam, where he and his wife, Janet, opened the first postwar MCC office. He was college physician at Goshen College and held medical director positions in Ottawa County and Washtenaw County, Mich. He was a vigorous proponent of public health and social justice efforts, including vaccination and anti-poverty programs, women's health and family planning, and accessible and affordable health care.
He married Janet Umble on Aug. 25, 1962. After retirement, they moved to Washington to be closer to family. He was a member of Hyattsville Mennonite Church in Maryland. In addition to his wife, he is survived by two daughters, Ann (Jim) Longacre of Barto, Pa., and Jill Reedy (Andrew Martin) of Washington, D.C.; five grandchildren; and a sister, Joan Griffith of Goshen, Ind. Another sister, Nancy Miller, preceded him in death.

----------------

Shenk, Jean Kraybill
January 12, 1932 - February 19, 2023

Shenk-. Jean Kraybill, 91, died Feb. 19, 2023, at Landis Homes, Lititz, Pa., after a long battle with dementia. She was born Jan. 12, 1932, near Elizabethtown, Pa., a preacher's daughter, the fifth of six children of Martin R. Kraybill and Suie Garber Kraybill. She actively lived for others. Wherever she saw unfairness, she tried to put things right. She was the partner of 70 years to her beloved husband, Norman Groff Shenk, in his roles as pastor of Erisman Mennonite Church and executive with Eastern Mennonite Missions, Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite Disaster Service.
At Lancaster Mennonite School (1950), she sang alto in a women's quartet and caught the gloved hand of her suitor (Norman) skating on the Mill Creek. Weeks after they wed (1952), she worked as psychiatric aide at Fairfield State Hospital in 1-W alternative service. Later she sold encyclopedias, interpreted culture and faith for tourists at the Mennonite Information Center in Lancaster, Pa., and retold the biblical story at its Tabernacle reproduction.
In the 1980s, ardently supported by Norman, she forged a path as a hospital chaplain in Lancaster, the first woman in Lancaster Mennonite Conference formally trained in Clinical Pastoral Education and credentialed (1997) in that role. She aided thousands of families with Anabaptist connections, writing pastoral reports on each hospital visit. She prayed daily by name for each grandchild and great-grandchild until dementia eroded that discipline. Sending family members out into the world she loved, she said, "Remember who you are and where you come from."
Surviving are her husband, Norman; sons Gerald (Sara) Shenk, Philip (Charlotte) Baker-Shenk and Steven (Kimberly) Shenk; six grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and a brother, Nevin. Four siblings preceded her in death: Arlene, Wilmer, Simon and Maribel.

---------------

Lehman, Celia Barbara Gerber
April 9, 1938 - February 8, 2023

Lehman-. Celia Barbara Gerber, 94, of Orrville, Ohio, and formerly of Kidron, died Feb. 8, 2023. She was born April 9, 1928, to Grover and Fairy (Amstutz) Gerber and married Calvin R. Lehman on March 30, 1968. She was a lifetime member of Kidron Mennonite Church, where she served as a Bible and Sunday school teacher. She taught fifth grade at Kidron School for 40 years and wrote for the Daily Record and of late wrote the "Bible Nuggets" for the Budget. She taught two years at the American School in Kinshasa, Zaire. She loved to travel, entertain and write, having written four plays, mostly about local history, and published eight books. She consistently corresponded to foreign missionaries, as well as to her own extended family, and kept a journal.
She is survived by three stepchildren, Galen (Alise) Lehman of Wooster, Judith (Seth) Ramer of Grantsville, Md., and Ethan (Karen) Lehman of South Hutchinson, Kan.; five grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Calvin Lehman; stepdaughter Audrey Lehman Willis; stepdaughter-in-law Virginia Brubaker Lehman; and siblings Dorothy (David) Schrock Ellis (Edna) Gerber and Ruth Gerber.

--------------

Chastain, Thane
August 27, 1960 - February 25, 2023

Chastain-. Thane, 62, of Wichita, Kan., died unexpectedly in his sleep Feb. 25, 2023. He was director of virtual learning and engagement for the Kansas Leadership Center. Born in Hutchinson, Kan., he graduated in 1982 from Bethel College, where he was a standout in forensics, debate and theater. From 1985 to 1992, he served Bethel in various roles, including instructor of communication arts, director of institutional marketing, resident director of Warkentin Court, manager of the radio station KBCU and assistant to President Harold Schultz.
Susan Schultz Huxman, president of Eastern Mennonite University and a fellow member of Bethel's class of 1982, remembers his astonishing ability to model opposite skill sets with ease and joy. I have never met anyone as comfortable and proficient both in front of a camera and on a stage as he was behind the scenes, running tech boards, sound, lights." Among many career roles, he was tech director at KWCH-TV in Wichita, a youth minister in the United Methodist Church and an instructor (and colleague of Huxman) at Wichita State University, where he earned a master's degree in mass communication.
Perhaps his greatest legacy is as a mentor. "His many students describe him as a man who took my questions and ideas and raised my expectations of what I could do two- or three-fold," Huxman said. Thane "selflessly offered himself as a long-term networking resource for communication arts students and graduates," said Christine Crouse-Dick, who chairs Bethel's communication arts department." I am blessed and honored to have learned from Thane and shared a precious friendship anchored by great Mennonite values. He was the best Methodist apologist for Mennonites I've ever met."
Surviving are his mother, E. Jane Chastain; and a brother, Shawn (Debbie) Chastain. He was preceded in death by his father, Phillip E. Chastain.

Transcribed by: John Ingold