Mennonite Weekly Review, September 6, 2004, 82nd Year, No. 36, p. 8
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Harold H. Lahman
Harold Heatwole Lahman, 86, of Elkton, Va., died July 18, 2004. He was born Jan. 6, 1918, to Byard Earl and Ethel Fannie Heatwole Lahman in the Dale Enterprise community of western Rockingham County.
On June 7, 1938, he married Evelyn May Miller.
He graduated from Eastern Mennonite High School in 1936 and was a dairy farmer and a Mennonite minister. On Jan. 26, 1947, he was ordained to the Christian ministry by the Middle District of Virginia Mennonite Conference. During the early part of his ministry he traveled, holding revival meetings in churches or visiting young men in 1-W service. He moved to the Elkton area in January 1949 and was pastor at Beldor, Elkton and Sandy Bottom churches.
He also served on the board of Virginia Mennonite Board of Missions, a number of years on the executive committee. One year he served as president of the board.
Survivors include his wife, Evelyn; three sons, Richard Allen of Elkton, Milford Gene of Lacombe, La., and Floyd Edwin of Harrisonburg; three sisters, Mildred L. Martin and Mabel Ethel Heatwole, both of Harrisonburg, and Doris L. Yoder of Shipshewana, Ind.; nine grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Services were held at Weavers Mennonite Church. Burial was in Weavers Mennonite Cemetery.
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Raymond P. Graber
Raymond P. Graber, 89, of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, died Aug. 21, 2004. He was born Jan. 6, 1915, to Joseph and Barbara A. (Rich) Graber southwest of Wayland.
He attended Douglas school and a short-term winter Bible school at Goshen (Ind.) College.
He married Doris M. Roth on Sept. 22, 1940, at Sugar Creek Mennonite Church of rural Wayland.
He was a charter member of Pleasant View Mennonite Church of Mount Pleasant and a member of Gideon's International for more than 40 years. He was a lifelong farmer and worked construction and factory work in Hesston, Kan., from 1961 through 1969. Returning to the Mount Pleasant area, he worked at Heatilator till 1978, then helped on the farm northwest of Mount Pleasant.
Survivors include children Marilyn Leichty and her husband, Norman, and Gary Graber and his wife, Gloria, both of Mount Pleasant, and Russell Graber and his wife, Barbara, of Newton, Kan., and special “son” Wouter P. Martens and his wife, Marianne, of Venhuizen, the Netherlands; five sisters, Rachel Wyse and Bernice Roth, both of Wayland, Lois Swartzendruber of Wellman, Sara Lu Fredrick of Eugene, Ore., and Beulah Mae Swartzendruber of Wayland; and five grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Doris, in October 1988; a sister, Welma Nelson; and three brothers, Clarence, Willis and Virgil.
Funeral services were held at Pleasant View Mennonite Church. Burial was in Sugar Creek Mennonite Cemetery of rural Wayland.
Mennonite Weekly Review, September 13, 2004, 82nd Year, No. 37, p. 8
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Ernest Goertzen
Ernest "Ernie" Goertzen, 78, of Deadwood, Ore.,
died July 22, 2004, of heart failure. He was born Feb. 14, 1926,
to Jacob S. and Pauline Unruh in Goessel, Kan.
He attended Heimbaugh country grade school, where he later taught,
and Goessel High School. During Civilian Public Service in World
War II he worked in Hill City, S.D., and in a mental hospital
in Upsilanti, Mich.
After graduating from Bethel College in North Newton, Kan., and
marrying Mary Lou Rich in 1951, he taught school in western Kansas
and Nebraska for three years. In 1957 he completed a master's
degree in library science at the University of Illinois and became
a reference librarian at Kansas State University.
In 1965, the family moved to Berkeley, Calif., where he worked
in the Berkeley Public Library. In 1969 he resigned and became
a full-time artist, singer and inventor. In 1970-71, the family
became part of a community that were caretakers of the historic
mission San Antonio de Padira in California. The mission was located
in the middle of Hunter Liggett military reservation. His gifts
of quiet and gentle peacemaking were just what was needed, as
this was during the Vietnam War.
In 1975, the family moved to an old schoolhouse in Deadwood, Ore.,
selling their art work at the Eugene Saturday Market. He was a
spiritual grandfather to many.
Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Mary Lou; three children,
David of Seattle, Wash., Anya of Deadwood and Jonevan of Richmond,
Calif.; a sister, LeWanda Banman of Goessel, Kan.; and a grandson.
Memorial services were held at Deadwood Community Center.
Mennonite Weekly Review, September 20, 2004, 82nd Year, No. 38, p. 10
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Anna Voth Nachtigall
Anna Voth Nachtigall, 94, died Aug. 16, 2004, at Hamilton
Manor in Aurora, Neb. She was born July 18, 1910, to John and
Katherine (Sperling) Voth in Enid, Okla.
She married Andy Nachtigall on Feb. 8, 1931, at Coldwater, Texas.
They farmed in the Aurora area until retirement in 1974, when
they moved to Henderson. In April 1999, they made their home in
Hamilton Manor in Aurora. He preceded her in death in November
1999.
Survivors include four children, Dorothy Thiessen and her husband,
Melvin, of Fresno, Calif., Harold Nachtigall and his wife, Eunice,
of Aurora, LuElla Janzen and her husband, Marlin, of Hillsboro,
Kan., and Dean Nachtigall and his wife, Carol, of York, Pa.; a
sister, Ella Connelly of Salem, Ore.; 12 grandchildren and 24
great grandchildren.
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Mildred Freyenberger
Mildred Louise Freyenberger, 82, of Wayland, Iowa, died
Aug. 22, 2004, at Parkview Home. She was born March 24, 1922,
to Homer and Jennie (Carr) Kephart in Washington.
She married Robert Freyenberger on April 25, 1946.
After graduation from Washington High School, she worked at the
Iowa City Airport, the Washington County Court House and several
other places prior to her marriage.
She was a member of Eicher Emmanuel Mennonite Church of rural
Wayland, where she typed the church bulletins for many years and
took part in many activities. She and her husband belonged to
the Gideon's. She was also a member of CROP, where she served
as secretary. She enjoyed family and fresh flowers.
Survivors include her husband, Robert; two sons, Ron Freyenberger
and his wife, Ruth, of Middlebury, Ind., and Steve Freyenberger
and his wife, Sue, of Wayland; two daughters, Kathleen Kennel
and her husband, Phil, of Jonesboro, Ga., and June Freyenberger
of Coralville; a brother, Laurence Kephart of San Antonio, Texas;
six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at Eicher Emmanuel Mennonite Church.
Burial was in Eicher Cemetery.
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Wilda Martin
Wilda Martin, 100, of Tompkins Memorial Health Center in
Fort Dodge, Iowa, died Aug. 31, 2004, at Trinity Regional Medical
Center. She was born June 3, 1904, in Livingston County, Ill.
As a young child she moved with her family to the Manson, Iowa,
area, where she attended Manson High School.
On Aug. 29, 1923, she married Clarence Martin at First Congregational
Church in Fort Dodge.
They farmed in the Manson and Fort Dodge areas. In 1987 they moved
to Friendship Haven. Her husband died on Aug. 4, 1987.
Since 1998, she has been a resident of Tompkins Memorial Health
Center. She enjoyed sewing, quilting and traveling.
She was an active member at First Baptist Church of Fort Dodge,
where she taught Sunday school. Later she moved her membership
to Epworth United Methodist Church in Fort Dodge.
Funeral services were held at Epworth United Methodist Church.
Burial was in Rose Hill Cemetery in Manson.
Mennonite Weekly Review, September 27, 2004, 82nd Year, No. 39, p. 8
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Goldie J. Bender
Goldie J. Bender, 84, of Kalona, Iowa, died Sept. 7, 2004,
at Pleasantview Home after a long illness. She was born Dec. 24,
1919, to Joe and Barbara (Swartzendruber) Miller in rural Parnell.
She married Delmar Bender on Aug. 20, 1940, in rural Parnell.
She lived in the Parnell, Oxford and Kalona communities.
She received her teaching certificate from Iowa State Teacher's
College in Cedar Falls. She was a teacher and homemaker and taught
school for two years in rural schools. She held local and state
offices in the Federated Women's Club, was president of the WCTU
and served at the state and local levels of WCTU. She served on
the board for Concern for Women and on the Changing Family Conference
Planning Committee at the University of Iowa. For many years she
was a discussion leader for Bible Study Fellowship, and had prayed
for 18 years that a local chapter of BSF would be established
in Iowa City.
She was a member of West Union Mennonite Church of rural Parnell,
where she served as a Sunday school teacher, vacation Bible school
superintendent and teacher, and as a song leader in the primary
and junior departments. She served in special interests for
Iowa-Nebraska
Conference, was on the library committee and served with Mennonite
Women's Home.
Survivors include her husband, Delmar, of Kalona; a son, John
David and his wife, Cathy, of Boulder, Colo.; two daughters, Alice
Golden and Virginia Rew and her husband, Ken, both of Iowa City,
and a son and daughter (twins), Les Bender and his wife, Kathy,
of Kasilof, Alaska, and Laurie Bender of Chicago; a brother, Marvin
J. Miller of Parnell; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Services were held at West Union Mennonite Church. Burial was
in West Union Cemetery.
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Elizabeth Ann Burton
Elizabeth Ann (Betty) Burton, 87, died Aug. 9, 2004, in
Glendale, Ariz. She was born on Feb. 6, 1917, to Earl Merwin and
Lydia Ann (Reynolds) Burton in Detroit, Mich. She was the third
of seven children.
Her strong faith and commitment to serve God in the local church
was a blessing to congregations in Indiana, Colorado and Arizona.
With her dear friend Matilda Gage, she served the church in whatever
ways were needed. Many young lives were changed as a result of
their commitment.
She worked throughout her life for many companies and organizations
as a bookkeeper. She had a reputation for detailed and meticulous
work. Relationships with people, whether at work, at home or at
church, were always the most important part of her life. She invested
her time and resources in sharing the experiences and wisdom God
had given her.
She was a great joy to the many people who knew her, and the
faithfulness
of her life continues to impact the lives of those God allowed
her to touch.
Survivors include a sister, Thelma Lockwood of Ohio; and a brother,
Al and his wife, Winnie, of Baldwin, N.Y.