Mennonite World Review - April 2020

No obituaries in the April 6, 2020 issue of Mennonite World Review.

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

Mennonite World Review - April 20, 2020 - 98th Year, No. 8 - p. 15

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

Linscheid, Betty Hartzler

Betty June Linscheid, 90, of Hesston, Kan., died Feb. 3, 2020, in Newton. She was born July 29, 1929, to Ed and Mary (Martin) Hartzler in Minot, N.D.

In October 1937, they moved to Jackson, Minn., because of drought. There she attended a one-room country school at Alpha. She attended high school at Jackson, but her senior year she went to Hesston Academy, graduating in 1947.

She attended Alpha Mennonite Church and was baptized as a teenager. She taught Sunday school and summer Bible school.
After high school she got bookkeeping jobs at the Ben Franklin Store and M & JR Hakes Wholesale Grocery in Jackson, Minn., and La Junta (Colo.) Mennonite Hospital. Later she worked as a secretary at La Junta Mennonite School of Nursing. She then returned to Jackson and worked at First National Bank for 15 years.

She married Ray Linscheid on May 21, 1960, at First Mennonite Church in Mountain Lake, Minn.

They attended First Mennonite Church in Mountain Lake and lived in Butterfield and Jackson. They moved to Hesston in 1967, where she worked at Hesston State Bank a short time and then at Hesston Corp. until she retired in 1986. They attended Hesston Mennonite Church.

On Nov. 1, 1988, they moved to Glencroft Retirement Community, Glendale, Ariz. She found pleasure in volunteer work and was manager of Greencroft Gift Shop for 10 years.

She helped organize and attend class reunions at Hesston College. She loved classical music and sang in choirs. She loved embroidery, table games, word search and jigsaw puzzles.

After husband died, she moved back to Hesston in 2007 to Schowalter Villa. She blessed others with the value of faith, laughter and a warm smile. The Hesston Mennonite Church family was a vital part of her life.

Survivors include a brother, Frank (Audrey) Hartzler of Marshalltown, Iowa; a sister-in-law, Vernie Hartzler of Jackson, Minn.; two nieces and four nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Ray, in August 2005; and a brother, Charles Hartzler.

Services were held at Hesston Mennonite Church.

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

Habegger, David Luther

David Luther Habegger, 94, died March 30, 2020, in Elkhart, Ind. He was born June 15, 1925, to Barbara (Hirschy) and Alfred Habegger in Busby, Mont., where his parents served as General Conference Mennonite missionaries among the Northern Cheyenne people.

He attended Busby Indian School and spent two years of high school in Berne, Ind. He graduated in 1946 from Bethel College, North Newton, Kan., where he met LaVeta Loganbill of Hillsboro, Kan. They were married Aug. 18, 1946.

He completed studies at Mennonite Biblical Seminary in 1949 in Chicago. They were commissioned by the General Conference and joined his parents serving the Northern Cheyenne. They returned to Chicago so he could study at Garrett Theological Seminary at Northwestern University, earning a master’s degree in 1953. In 1965 he completed a doctorate of religion at Claremont School of Theology in California.

In his 42-year ministry, he pastored Bethany (now White River Cheyenne) Mennonite Church, Busby, Mont.; Petter Memorial Mennonite Church, Lame Deer, Mont.; Carlock (Ill.) Mennonite Church; First Mennonite Church, Allentown, Pa.; First Mennonite Church, Upland, Calif.; Hively Avenue Mennonite Church, Elkhart; Mennonite Church of the Servant, Wichita, Kan.; and First Mennonite Church, Urbana, Ill. Other employment included I-W regional coordinator for Mennonite Central Committee, admissions counselor for Associated (now Anabaptist) Mennonite Biblical Seminary, and Western District Conference staff.

He attended all the General Conference Mennonite Church triennial sessions from 1941 to 2001 and Mennonite Church USA conventions through 2011. He promoted GC?congregations becoming dually affiliated with the Mennonite Church and was an early proponent of MC-GC integration.

He supported the church’s witness for peace by organizing peace vigils, counseling conscientious objectors, promoting social justice and advocating for the mentally ill.

His interest in family history resulted in several books and 18 articles in Mennonite Family History. In 1995 he helped found the Swiss Anabaptist Genealogical Association to bring together genealogists and digitize genealogical records.

He received the 2011 Alumni Ministry and Service Award from AMBS.

Survivors include five children, Rachel (John) Pannabecker of North Newton, Kan., Nathan Habegger of Nantes, France, Christen (Patricia) Habegger, Rebecca (Roger) Zehr and Peter Habegger, all of Elkhart; 11 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, LaVeta; and six siblings, Marden Habegger, Jeanne Boehr, Helen Fretz, Esther Sauder, Lois Habegger and Bernard Habegger.

Memorial services will be held at Hively Avenue Mennonite Church, Elkhart, with burial at First Mennonite Church of Christian Cemetery in Moundridge, Kan. Memorial contributions may be sent to White River Cheyenne Mennonite Church, AMBS, Bethel College, MCC or MC USA.

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

Bender, Wilbur J.

Wilbur J. Bender, 86, of Logan, Ohio, died Feb. 14, 2020, at “The Pickering House” in Lancaster, Ohio. He was born Jan. 12, 1934, to John H. and Barbara (Stutzman) Bender in Goshen, Ind.
He was married to Mary Jane (Sommers) Bender.

At age 19, he spent 1954 and 1955 serving in Germany in the Mennonite Central Committee Pax program, providing housing for families unable to emigrate to other countries after World War II.

From 1976 to 1979, he, his wife, Mary, and their three teenage children served in Nicaragua with Rosedale Mennonite Missions. He was administrator and director of the voluntary service program, was supervisor of personnel working in the rural medical clinics and community development programs.

He also worked as a general building contractor and was pastor of Cornerstone Mennonite Church in Hartville and St. Johns Mennonite Chapel in Logan. He was a member of Turkey Run Mennonite Church in Logan, where his son Michael is pastor.

Survivors include his wife of 64 years, Mary Jane; two sons, Michael (Ruth) Bender and Bill (Barbara) Bender, all of Logan; a daughter, Cindy (Mike) Gray of Franklin, W.Va.; a brother, John (Liz) Bender of Los Angeles; three sisters, Irene Diller of Hartville, Melva (John) Yoder of Phoenix and Wilma Miller of Goshen, Ind.; 12 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by sisters Dorothy Yoder and Joanna Bender, and three infant sisters.

Memorial services were held at Turkey Run Mennonite Church in Logan. A private family service and burial was also held at the church.

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

Entz, Helen M. Entz

Helen M. Entz, 95, died April 10, 2020, at Kidron Bethel Healthcare in North Newton, Kan. She was born Oct. 9, 1924, to B.M. and Margaret (Jantzen) Ensz of Beatrice, Neb.

She was raised on her grandparents’ farm near Beatrice. On July 29, 1960, she married Oscar R. Entz in Newton.

After high school, she worked at several hospitals in Beatrice, Goessel and Newton. She also volunteered at Brooklane Farm in Maryland for one year. After voluntary service, she got a position at Bethel Hospital in central supply and received her LPN license. She was a member of First Mennonite Church in Newton.

She spent many years helping on the farm, raising a family and working in the church by serving on several committees and teaching preschool children. In 2005, Oscar and she moved to Kidron Bethel Village. She loved all the friendships that were formed there.

Survivors include a son, Alan (Joan) Entz of Newton; a daughter, Mary (Joel) Kulp of Fort Worth, Texas; a son-in-law, Eric Buller of Inman; a sister-in-law, Edna Ensz of Beatrice; and eight grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Oscar, in January 2010; her daughter, Ruth Buller, in 2015; and her siblings Edna Goossen, Robert Ensz and Amy Regier.

A graveside service and celebration of her life is being planned for a later date. Memorials may be given to First Mennonite Church, Newton, and Mennonite Mission Network.