Mennonite World Review - September 2015
Obituaries are emailed to MennObits before MWR is printed. Wording may vary in printed version.
Mennonite World Review - September 14, 2015 - 93 rd Year, No. 19 - p. 15
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Kathleen Calfernia Baker, 79, died Aug. 16, 2015. She was born Feb. 19, 1936, to Phillip E. and Doris A. Baker in Saint Andrew, Jamaica.
She received her primary education at Swallowfield School in Kingston, Jamaica. After primary school, she took an apprenticeship with a seamstress. She accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior as a young girl at New Testament Church of God and served him her whole life. After a few years of seamstress work, she obeyed God's call to enroll at Jamaica Bible College, majoring in evangelism and received her Bible teacher ministerial credentials. After graduating, she accepted an administrative position to work at Peggy Memorial Christian Girls' Home in Kingston. For six years, she put evangelism into daily practice while mentoring, mothering and leading young girls to a better life and a relationship with Jesus Christ.
She served for many years as a missionary with the Mennonite Church of Jamaica. She served faithfully with pastors Warren Metzler, John Shank and their teams planting churches on the island. She taught Sunday school, vacation Bible school, led worship songs, mentored, encouraged and prayed for countless individuals.
She immigrated to the Bronx, N.Y., in 1964. There she received secretarial training and worked for The Yellow Pages of New York until 1967. The remainder of her working career she was a nurses' aide in New York and New Jersey.
She demonstrated her love and devotion to God through service to the Mennonite churches and communities surrounding Alpine Mennonite Church in Jamaica, Friendship Community Church in the Bronx and The Garden Chapel in Victory Gardens, N.J. Her greatest passions were serving the Lord, the church, and loving and caring for her family. She preached and taught and is best known for her one-on-one Christian discipleship.
Survivors include four sisters, Martha Adams, Esmerelda, Mavis and Claris Baker; and three brothers, Roy, Martin and Keith Baker.
She was preceded in death by siblings Kenneth, Luke, Agatha, Gladstone and Morris.
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Ronald O. Smucker, 80, of Souderton, Pa., died Aug. 18, 2015. He was born Oct. 28, 1934, to Orrin and Blanche (Hillman) Smucker in Orrville, Ohio.
He was a devoted disciple of Christ. He served the church and community in many ways as a teacher, administrator, paramedic, home builder and wood turner.
Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Mary Lu Smucker; four children, Doug Smucker and his wife, Barb, Greg Smucker and his wife, Barb, Dorine Rosenberger and her husband, Tom, and David Smucker and his wife, Sheri; four siblings, Mary Ann Roth, Carolynn Underwood, Rich Smucker and Ralph Smucker; and 11 grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Robert Smucker.
Memorial services were held at Blooming Glen Mennonite Church.