Mennonite World Review - March 2018
Obituaries are emailed to MennObits before MWR is printed. Wording may vary in printed version.
Mennonite World Review - March 12, 2018 - 96th Year, No. 6 - p. 15
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Miller, John Wolf
John Wolf Miller, 90, of Ontario, died Dec. 2, 2017. He was born to Orie and Elta Miller.
He was an active member of Blenheim Ecumenical House Church. He was dedicated to family and a life of serving others.
He grew up in Akron, Pa. At age 6 he was hospitalized with life-threatening complications following scarlet fever and was left without hearing in his left ear.
He attended Eastern Mennonite High School in Harrisonburg, Va., where he met Louise Heatwole, whom he later dated at Goshen (Ind.) College and married in 1949.
He intended to become a medical doctor, but just before entering medical school an invitation to prepare for teaching at Goshen Biblical Seminary steered him in another direction. His teaching career spanned 1954 to 1992. Interjected was a decade working in the field of mental health at Chicago State Hospital.
He was involved in the founding of Reba Place Fellowship, a Christian communal church in Evanston, Ill. He was one of the leaders in this church until he moved to Ontario in 1969 in response to an invitation to join the faculty of Conrad Grebel College. The 23 years he taught at Grebel and the retirement years afterward were productive. His insights are preserved in numerous published books and a Bible study program.
To those in his house church, he was a friend and for many years a pastor. He was a family man showing love to his wife, whom he cared for faithfully during her 25 years with Parkinson’s disease.
Survivors include a son, Christopher (Hennie) Miller; two daughters Jeanette (Lowell) Ewert and Karen (Larry) Bearinger; eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at the Blenheim Church, New Dundee, Ont. Donations in his name can be made to Mennonite Central Committee.
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Lever, Terri Shuff
Terri Lever, 66, of Austin, Texas, died at home on Jan. 1, 2018, after a seven-year journey with cancer. She was born on Jan. 28, 1951, to Herb and Bertha Shuff in Champaign, Ill.
She was a loving wife and mother known for her warm friendships, her artistry in crafts (quilting, knitting, crocheting, basket weaving and cooking), her practice and teaching of the Feldenkrais Method and her interest in spirituality.
She graduated from Elgin (Ill.) High School and attended Bob Jones University and Elgin Community College.
She married Lee Lever on July 29, 1978. They lived in a variety of places: Illinois, Nebraska, Indiana, Washington, Kansas and Texas.
She worked a variety of jobs and was appreciated for the compassion she brought to caring for people in the nursing home setting.
As a pastor’s spouse, she brought the gift of emotional intelligence, a tremendous asset in church relationships. She taught Sunday school, took part in women’s gatherings and related one-on-one to people in the church.
Later in life, she became interested in meditation practices, Buddhism and a more mindful way of life. As she studied and practiced meditation and prayer, her trust in the enduring presence of God, the source of all life, was strengthened. She arrived at a sense of being as that of living within the Source of Life. She brought a bright, lively and compassionate presence to the human family. She loved and was loved deeply and now rests within the Source of Love and in the presence of the Eternal One.
Survivors include her husband, Lee Lever, pastor of Austin Mennonite Church; three children, Ezel Lever, Emma Lever and Anya Lever, all of Austin; two sisters, Betty (Duane) Frey of Freeport, Ill., and MaryLou (George) Andrews of Virginia Beach, Va.; and a brother, Charles (Jean) Shuff of Tampa, Fla.
A memorial service was held on Jan. 27, 2018, at Austin Mennonite Church.
Mennonite World Review - March 26, 2018 - 96th Year, No. 7 - p. 15
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Hiebert, Henry D., Jr.
Henry D. Hiebert Jr. died Jan. 22, 2018, of an apparent heart attack at his home in Deer Trail, Colo. He was born April 1, 1941, to Henry D. Sr. and Ruth Doris Hiebert in Newport, Wash.
He also lived in Aberdeen, Idaho; North Newton, Kan., while a student at Bethel College; Beatrice, Neb.; Arvada and Wheatridge, Colo., before they moved to Deer Trail, where they went to find grazing land for the horses. He was working toward his dream of living in Alaska, where he had been successful in hunting adventures.
He was an outfitter-guide for hunters’ trips into the Rocky Mountains, using his skill and equipment. He didn’t kill game unless they needed meat for the winter. He loved fishing and boating and included family in these activities. His girls enjoyed seasonal trips to cut Christmas trees for several churches and friends.
He served as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War era, working at the Colorado State Home and Training School in Wheatridge. Later he volunteered in Appalachia, Mexico, Colorado and other areas with Mennonite and Methodist disaster services.
He excelled in the Denver area fast-pitch softball league. He loved his horses and supported his stepdaughters in their competitive horse riding.
He worked as grounds crew foreman for the Lutheran Hospital and then at Crown Hill Cemetery and was a freelance maintenance and landscape contractor.
He sang in the Trinity United Methodist Church Choir when they went to New York to sing in Carnegie Hall, and they also sang at an NFL football game.
Survivors include his second wife, Ilona Bird Hiebert; his first wife, Ladean Lentzner Hiebert Cameron of Golden; two daughters, Melissa Hiebert McKnight of Castle Rock and LeAnn Hiebert Fritzler of Arvada; six siblings, Eva Hiebert Klink of Johnstown, RuthAnn Hiebert of Salem Ore., Linda Hiebert Sekiguch of Minden, Nev., David Hiebert of Scottdale, Pa., Elsie Hiebert Lamp Dickerson of Malad City, Idaho, and Erna Hiebert Haskins of Blackfoot, Idaho; stepdaughters Nadjia Bird Anderson of Juneau, Alaska, and Talia Bird Yates of Arvada; and numerous grandchildren and step-grandchildren.