Mennonite World Review - February 2013
Obituaries are emailed to MennObits before MWR is printed. Wording may vary in printed version.
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Miriam Swartley, 97, of Goshen, Ind., died Jan. 16, 2013. She was born Dec. 5, 1915, to Allen M. and Mattie Kulp Landis in Mainland, Pa.
On Oct. 23, 1943, she married G. Merrill Swartley at the home of her parents with her brother, Abram Landis, officiating.
After marriage she joined Merrill, who was serving in a Civilian Public Service unit hospital in Rhode Island. Later they lived in Souderton, Pa., where their three children were born. They moved to Goshen in 1953. He preceded her in death in January 2003.
She attended Souderton High School, Eastern Mennonite College, Harrisonburg, Va., and Hesston (Kan.) College. She was a pioneer in the Franconia Mennonite Conference Rural Area Mission, teaching and working with children and families. While she was a homemaker whose primary work was the care of her family and friends, she also took various jobs when her children were in high school and older to help Merrill attain his undergraduate and graduate degrees in music and education. She enjoyed listening to classical music, writing and reading. She was a hospitable and loving person who had empathy for people she encountered every day of her life.
She was a member of College Mennonite Church of Goshen.
Survivors include children, Alan (Bonnie) Swartley, Barbara Swartley (Wilma Harder) and David Swartley and daughter-in-law Jane Luke; eight grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; three sisters-in-law.
She was preceded in death by a sister, Verna K. McDonald; and five brothers, Marvin K., Abram K., Allen K., Ernest K. and infant Henry K. Landis.
Memorial services were held at College Mennonite Church. Burial was in Violett Cemetery.
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Betty S. Ulrich, 91, of Eureka, Ill., died Dec. 24, 2012, at Maple Lawn Health Center. She was born March 5, 1921, to Lee and Sadie Yoder Stutzman in Chapell, Neb.
She married Wilfred Ulrich on May 2, 1944, in Goshen, Ind.
She was a 1944 graduate of Goshen College. She assisted Wilfred in his pastoral duties at the churches he served in Illinois, Idaho, South Dakota, Oklahoma and in Canada. She enjoyed crossword puzzles, sewing and reading books. She was a member of Roanoke Mennonite Church of Eureka.
Survivors include her husband, Wilfred; four sons, David Ulrich and his wife, Dale, of Clovis, Calif., Daniel Ulrich and his wife, Sandra, of Kitchener, Ont., Ronald Ulrich and his wife, Shirley, of Henderson, Neb., and Ross Ulrich and his wife, Jill, of Lenexa, Kan.; eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by three brothers.
Funeral services were held at Maple Lawn Homes in Eureka. Burial was in Roanoke Mennonite Cemetery.
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Joyce Rutt Eby, 71, of Dillsburg, Pa., died Nov. 24, 2012, at Harrisburg Hospital. She was born May 16, 1941, to Clarence and Elva Rutt in New Holland.
Diagnosed with cancer nearly two years ago, she maintained an active life, showing great courage and perseverance. Most recently before retirement, she worked as a hospice and home care social worker for Lutheran Social Services of South Central Pennsylvania. Earlier she worked for Mennonite Mutual Aid and taught mathematics at Eastern Mennonite, Bethany Christian, and Lancaster Mennonite high schools.
She graduated from Eastern Mennonite University and earned a master of secondary education degree from Indiana University and a master of social work degree from Temple University.
She was a member of Slate Hill Mennonite Church of Camp Hill, where she had many roles, including serving as a church board member. Service was a guiding value in her life. She with her family served for three years with Mennonite Central Committee in Botswana. She was instrumental in founding Bridge of Hope Harrisburg Area, which serves homeless women and their children.
She enjoyed reading, skiing, travel and attending her grandsons' soccer games. In nearly every community where she lived she started a book club.
Survivors include her husband of 49 years, John W. Eby; two children, Carol Eby-Good and her husband, Michael, and Scott Stoner-Eby and his wife, Anne Marie, all of Lancaster; two sisters, Mary Enck and her husband, Daniel, and Barbara Longenecker and her husband, Charles, all of Lititz; four brothers, Glenn Rutt and his wife, Pauline, of Gordonville, Clarence Rutt and his wife, Helen, of Lititz, John Rutt and his wife, Rebecca, of Strasburg, and Carl Rutt and his wife, Lovina, of Goshen, Ind.; and four grandsons.
Funeral services were held at Slate Hill Mennonite Church.
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Samuel L. Yoder, 92, of Goshen, Ind., died Dec. 23, 2012. He had been ill for three weeks. He was born Jan. 14, 1920, to Levi M. and Gertrude (Yoder) Yoder in Yoder, Kan.
He married Lillian Zook on June 15, 1951, in Orrville, Ohio.
A Goshen resident since 1961, he taught education and psychology at Goshen College from 1961 to 1986 and served as director of the teacher education department for 19 years. He was a member of College Mennonite Church, Goshen.
He served four years, 1941 to 1944, with Civilian Public Service and then went to Europe with Mennonite Central Committee from 1944 to 1946 to help build homes and work in refugee resettlement. He entered college without a high school diploma, graduating from Goshen College in 1952. He went on to earn a master's degree from Western Michigan University and a doctorate in education in 1967 from Indiana University.
After retirement he taught Elderhostels at Epworth Forest, North Webster, on the subject of Amish life and culture. He was in two documentaries, Beyond the Buggy and The Good War and Those Who Refused to Fight It.
Survivors include his wife, Lillian; a son, John S. Yoder and his wife, Queen, of Elkhart; three brothers, Alvin Yoder of Middlebury, B. William Yoder of Goshen and Lee Yoder of Thailand; and three sisters, Sara Miller and Mary Miller, both of Goshen, and Gertie Christner of Wolcottville.
He was preceded in death by a son, Michael Lee Yoder, in 1986, and three sisters, Anna Troyer, Edna Troyer and Polly Mast.
Memorial services were held at College Mennonite Church. Burial was in Violett Cemetery.
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Lois A. Ramseyer, 94, of Goshen, Ind., died Jan. 19, 2013, at Greencroft Health Center in Goshen. She was born Jan. 5, 1919, to Allen Winfred and Anna Inez (Shupe) Kuhns at Bethel Hospital, Newton, Kan.
The family moved from Harper, Kan., to LaJunta, Colo., where at age 10 she was baptized at La Junta Mennonite Church. She was a lifelong member of the Mennonite Church and a member of College Mennonite Church, Goshen. At age 11 they moved to Wichita, Kan. She graduated from Hesston (Kan.) Academy in 1942.
She received her degree of Registered Nurse at the Mennonite School of Nursing in LaJunta in 1946.
She remained on the staff at the Mennonite Hospital for a year before becoming superintendant of nurses at the Mennonite Deaconess Hospital in Beatrice, Neb. Beginning in 1952 she volunteered four years with the Mennonite Central Committee relief program in South Korea. There she met Canadian Pax volunteer J. Woodrow Ramseyer. They were married Sept. 21, 1956, at the MCC headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.
For many years she combined homemaking and nursing, along with other interests, such as the prison ministry in Goshen. She loved to play the piano and composed many songs and poems.
Survivors include her husband, Woodrow; two daughters, Elizabeth "Beth" Robie and her husband, Tim, of Goshen, and Sharon Sivanich and her husband, Jon, of Mesa, Ariz.; a son, Robert Ramseyer of Albuquerque, N.M.; a sister, Miriam Liechty of Berne, Ind.; two grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by a great-grandson; four sisters, Helen, Hazel, Eunice and Inez; and three brothers, Allen, Paul and James.
Memorial services were held at College Mennonite Church. Burial was in Elkhart Prairie Cemetery in Goshen.
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Wayne Daniel Kempf, 87, of Shickley, Neb., died Jan. 17, 2013. He was born April 26, 1925, to Roy H. Kempf and Barbara Troyer Kempf in rural Shickley.
He was baptized at Salem Mennonite Church where he was a lifelong active member.
He graduated from Shickley High School in 1941 at age 16. He worked at the local bank and on his parents' farm. He was drafted and served in Civilian Public Service at Hill City, S.D., helping to build Deerfield Dam, and then at Mennonite Central Committee headquarters in Akron, Pa. There he met Esther Lapp from Perkasie, Pa. They were married on April 24, 1948, in Perkasie.
He resumed farming with his father east of Shickley, where they operated Highway Hatchery and raised turkeys. He served on numerous churchwide and local boards including Mennonite Disaster Service, Mennonite Mutual Aid, Mennonite Property Aid, Iowa-Nebraska Conference Mission Board and conference secretary, Nebraska MCC Relief Sale Board, Grace Children's Home Board, Nebraska Mennonite Mission and Benevolent Board, Shickley School Board and Shickley Community Foundation Board, often serving as chair. He was a member of the Salem Mennonite Men's Quartet for many years. He was interested in the work of the church worldwide and traveled to Europe, Asia and Africa.
Survivors include his wife of 64 years, Esther Kempf; a sister, Edna Lichti of Shickley; three sons, Donald and his wife, Shirley, of Shickley, David and his wife, Susan, of Hellertown, Pa., and Dale and his wife, Kay, of Libertyville, Ill.; three daughters, Ellen Miller and her husband, Byron, of Waterloo, Iowa, Margaret Swartzendruber and her husband, William, of Shickley, and Anita Kempf of Third Lake, Ill.; 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by sisters Doris Roine Birky and Bernice Steider.
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Osborne, Eva L. Troyer
Eva L. Osborne, 99, of Hesston, Kan., died Dec. 20, 2012, at Schowalter Villa.
She was born Nov. 18, 1913, to Emanuel and Maizie Troyer in Miami County, Ind.
She married Chester Osborne on Dec. 24, 1933.
She attended high school at Howard Township School and graduated in 1931 as valedictorian. She studied at Ball State Teachers College in Muncie, Ind., earning a teaching certificate. She and Chester moved to Germfask, Mich., in 1936, where he pastored a small Mennonite congregation and she worked part time as a substitute teacher. In 1946 the family moved to Indiana, where he pastored a Mennonite church in Kouts until 1952, when they moved to Hesston.
She completed her education degree at Bethel College in North Newton in 1957.
She began a teaching career in Hesston's elementary school, beginning in the kindergarten class and then moving to second grade, which she taught for 20 years. She was a member of Hesston Mennonite Church.
Because a daughter, Grace, was born developmentally disabled, she, Chester and a group of other parents of developmentally disabled children founded a training school in Newton, known as the Opportunity School and later as Northview Developmental Services. She served many years as an advocate of education and training for the developmentally disabled.
Survivors include three daughters, Zonda Befort and her husband, Lloyd, of Mazeppa, Minn., Rachel Koppenhaver of El Dorado and Grace Osborne of Newton; a daughter-in-law, Lila Osborne of Wichita; three sons, Phil Osborne and his wife, Sue Lafferty, of Evanston, Ill., Dave Osborne and his wife, Sena, of Hesston, and Stan Osborne and his wife, Beth, of Wichita; 18 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Chester; son Conrad; son-in-law Ron Koppenhaver; five siblings; and two grandsons.
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Jantzen, Emma W.
Emma W. Jantzen, 92, of Beatrice, Neb., died Jan. 30, 2013, at Beatrice Manor.
She was born on Aug. 20, 1920, to Henry B. and Margaret Ensz Jantzen on a farm south of Beatrice.
She was baptized in 1938 and became a member of First Mennonite Church, rural Beatrice, where she was active her entire life. She attended District 38 school for eight years and had one year in Mennonite Bible School. She worked in the Beatrice Hospital for more than 50 years in the laundry, kitchen, housekeeping, surgery, nursery and sterile supply. She spent three years with Mennonite Voluntary Service at Brooklane Farm in Maryland from 1950 to 1953. She helped mental health patients and thoroughly enjoyed life in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She hosted in her home three summer pastoral assistants and their families and many international cultural exchange program trainees. She enjoyed traveling, reading and conversation.
Survivors include two sisters-in-law, Gretl Jantzen of Beatrice and Elizabeth McBride of Hesston, Kan.; eight nieces and nephews, Vern and Dolores Jantzen of Plymouth, Glen and Linda Jantzen of Plymouth, Sarah and Tim Peters of Silverton, Ore., Mark and Alice Jantzen of Newton, Kan., Eric and Joelle Jantzen of Overland Park, Kan., Marlene and Kevin Klassen of Goessel, Kan., Ellen and Matt Miles of Fordland, Mo., and Martha Bragg of Minneapolis, Minn.
She was preceded in death by two brothers, John and Henry E. Jantzen; two sisters, Margaret Grundman and Sarah Ann Jantzen; a brother-in-law, Milton Grundman; and a nephew, Mike Grundman.
Funeral services are Feb. 16 at First Mennonite Church of Beatrice. Burial is in the First Mennonite Cemetery.
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Miller, Robert J.
Robert J. Miller, 88, of Goshen, Ind., died Jan. 4, 2013. He was born Oct. 8, 1924, to Lee B. Miller and Priscilla (Oswald) Miller in Charm, Ohio.
He married Ellene Long in 1944.
He received his education at Goshen College and Billings Hospital in Indianapolis. He was a research/development latex foam chemist at Uniroyal Corp. in Mishawaka for nearly 40 years, retiring in 1986. He and Ellene moved to Greencroft Center, Goshen, in 2001.
He was a skilled athlete, participating in sports in school, college and on adult recreational teams. He shared his sense of adventure on annual camping trips with his young family and later enjoyed many travels near and far with Ellene.
During World War II he was in charge of an evacuation hospital's surgical unit in the South Pacific. His experiences there convinced him that the brokenness and destruction of war must be prevented by the hard work of peacemaking.
Survivors include his spouse of 68 years, Ellene Long Miller; two sons, Steve and his wife, Becky Iden, of Elkhart and Bruce and his wife, Sue Grubb, of Goshen; a daughter, Beth Kraybill and her husband, Ken, of Seattle; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by four brothers and one sister: Forrest, Ruth, Ralph, Gerald and Edward.
Memorial services were held at Hively Avenue Mennonite Church in Elkhart. Burial was in Prairie Street Cemetery.
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Hartzler, John E.
John E. Hartzler, 100, of Ashland, Ohio, died Jan. 25, 2013. He was born May 7, 1912, to John E. (Goshen College's second president) and Mamie (Yoder) Hartzler in Elkhart, Ind. He married Christine J. Blosser on Dec. 23, 1934.
A graduate of Bluffton High School, he earned a bachelor of arts degree in history at the College of Wooster, and both a master of arts in political science and a doctorate in education administration at Ohio State University. He was a teacher and principal at Ashland High School from 1936 to 1957, when he became assistant superintendent of the Akron public schools. He was an accomplished musician and enjoyed working with the AHS Music Department, the Ashland Symphony Orchestra, and the All-Ohio-Boys' Band at the Ohio State Fair.
After his retirement in 1972, he pursued his hobbies: playing the organ, woodworking, piloting his airplane, gardening and traveling throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia and the South Pacific.
Survivors include his daughters, Marsha Nickel and her husband, Vernon, of Newbury and Sara Hill and her husband, Robert, of Ashland; six grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Christine; and a sister, Helen C. Hartzler.
A private family burial will be observed at a later date at Violett Cemetery of Goshen, Ind.