Mennonite Weekly Review - December, 2004

 


Mennonite Weekly Review, December 6, 2004, 82nd Year, No. 49, p. 8

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Mildred Ruth Schmidt

Mildred Ruth Schmidt, 75, of Waverly, Kan., died Sept. 28, 2004, at University Medical Center in Kansas City. She was born March 19, 1929, to Henry Isaac and Bertha Elizabeth Roesch Jarboe near Iuka.
In 1941 she was baptized and joined the Dunkard Brethren Church near Hasty, Colo., where her father was a minister.
On May 15, 1955, she married Esley Earl Schmidt in Grandview, Mo.
She attended Hesston College and the La Junta (Colo.) Mennonite School of Nursing, where she received her RN degree. During her nursing career, she worked at the hospital in Harrisonville, Mo., and in a doctor's office in Grandview, Mo. While raising her family, she was employed in the Coffey County Health Office in Burlington.
She visited Canada, Mexico, Australia and nine countries in Europe. She and her husband placed and supervised more than 200 foreign exchange students attending Kansas high schools, and created a memorial scholarship fund for those students.
In 2003, she participated in a scientific medical study conducted on myasthenia gravis patients by Kansas University and Duke University and other institutions, and subsequently was hospitalized numerous times.
Survivors include her husband, Esley Earl Schmidt; four children, Rick Linn Schmidt and his wife, Cindy, of Lyndon, Jay Darwin Schmidt and his wife, Carolee, of Waverly, Lori Lee Fischer and her husband, Terry, of Waverly, and Neal Dean Schmidt and his fiance, Tammy Kolacny, of Pueblo, Colo.; a sister, Twila Irene Rife of Papillion, Neb.; and eight grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by a sister, Thelma May Jarboe; and a brother, Quentin Robert Jarboe.
A memorial service was held at Feltner Funeral Home in Lyndon. Burial will be in Tabor Mennonite Church Cemetery north of Newton.

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Floyd E. Miller

Floyd E. Miller, 95, of Filer, Idaho, died Nov. 5, 2004. He was born July 1, 1909, to Levi and Mattie (Zook) Miller in Garden City, Mo.
He attended Hesston (Kan.) Academy, where he met Freda Brunk. They were married in 1932.
In the early years, they lived in Twin Falls, where he worked for Young's Dairy. Then they moved back to Kansas, where he was a farmer. Later he returned to Idaho, where he spent the remainder of his life.
His wife, Freda, preceded him in death in 1971. He then married Lydia Stutzman, who died in 1988. In 1992 he married Erma Snyder.
Survivors include his wife, Erma; eight children, Nadine Miller and her husband, Clifford, of Hutchinson, Kan., Floyd Miller Jr. and his wife, Marge, of Twin Falls, Bill Miller and his wife, Sharon, of Pocatello, Ed Miller and his wife, Jan, of Medford, Ore., Rita Miller and her husband, Emerson, of Caldwell, Keith Miller and his wife, Vickie, of Nampa, Connie Anderson and her husband, Neal, of Bend, Ore., and Bonnie Gerig and her husband, Bob, of Lebanon, Ore.; three stepchildren, Joyce Yost and her husband, Vern, of Denver, Dale Snyder of Winnemucca, Nev., and Carol John of Seattle; a brother, Joe Miller of Eagle; 24 grandchildren and 43 great-grandchildren.
A graveside service was held at Kohlerlawn Cemetery in Nampa. A memorial service was held at Filer Mennonite Church.


Mennonite Weekly Review, December 13, 2004, 82nd Year, No. 50, p. 12

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Elda M. Plank

Elda M. Plank, 67, of Fresno, Calif., died Nov. 8, 2004, from a brain tumor. She was born to Henry A. and Margaret L. Friesen in Meade, Kan.
She received her bachelors in nursing degree from Greenville College and her PNP degree from Washington University School of Medicine.
Prior to her illness, she was a nurse practitioner with Fresno Children's Medical Group. In her career, she worked at the Minneola (Kan.) Clinic, East Petersburg Family Health Center of Lancaster, Pa., York (Pa.) Clinic, and Sarasota (Fla.) Pediatrics. She also spent six months in Zimbabwe in Africa working at a mission hospital.
She was a member of College Community Mennonite Brethren Church of Fresno.
Survivors include her husband, Ed; a daughter, Denise; a sister, Esther Smoker of Gap, Pa.; and four brothers, Pete M. Friesen of Meade, Kan., Menno Friesen of Goshen, Ind., Dan Friesen of Denver, Colo., and Marvin Friesen of Plains, Texas.
She was preceded in death by a sister, Margaret Wiens.
A graveside service was held at Clovis Cemetery. A memorial service was held at College Community Mennonite Brethren Church.


Mennonite Weekly Review, December 20, 2004, 82nd Year, No. 51, p. 12

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Robert W. Jantzi

Robert W. Jantzi, 77, of Albany, Ore., died Nov. 12, 2004. He was born May 1, 1927, to Royden B. and Anna (Gascho) Jantzi in Wood River, Neb.
His mother died when he was 7. When his father married again two years later, the family moved to the Albany area. After attending school in Tangent, he began working at age 16 in the John Glaser Seed Farms warehouse.
He was a charter member of Plainview Mennonite Church. He enjoyed the outdoors and loved fishing, hunting, camping and spending time with his grandchildren.
He married Doris Elaine Oswald on Aug. 21, 1949, at Fairview Mennonite Church. They moved to the Plainview area outside of Shedd, where they owned and operated a seed farm and warehouse. She preceded him in death in December 1987.
He married Anne (Scheffel) Smucker on Feb. 10, 1990, in Vancouver, Wash. They moved to Lebanon in August 1991, where they became active in Lebanon Mennonite Church, and he enjoyed gardening. They moved to Albany's Mennonite Village in March 2003.
Survivors include his wife, Anne; four children, Randall and his wife, Arlene, of Lebanon, Roberta Egli and her husband, Lynn, of Corvallis, Scott and his wife, Rhoda, of Salem, and Tami Jantzi of Wiesbaden, Germany; a daughter-in-law, Theresa Jantzi of Davenport, Iowa; stepchildren June and Tony Handrich of Salem, and Ray and Val Smucker of Oregon City; three sisters, Shirley Boshart of Shedd, Ruth Schlabach of Abbotsford, B.C., and Caroline Wolfer of Tangent; four brothers, Roland of Lebanon, John of Silentz, Leo of Edmonton, Alta., and Bill of Albany; 16 grandchildren and a great-grandson.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Doris; a son, Curtis, in February 2003; and by stillborn daughters Sharon and Debra.
Funeral services were held at Lebanon Mennonite Church. Burial was in Fairview Mennonite Cemetery.

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Chester Paul Miller

Chester Miller, 95, of Hesston, Kan., died Dec. 1, 2004, at Newton Medical Center. He was born Feb. 23, 1909, to Jacob P. Miller and Emma May Yoder Miller near Kalona, Iowa.
He married Lydia Leona Yoder on June 4, 1933, in the home of the bride's parents near Kalona. He was a farmer in the Wellman and Kalona area for most of his working days. For 38 years he raised turkeys, sometimes having as many as 6,000 at one time. He and Leona enjoyed traveling. In later years they spent many hours playing table games together and with their friends. He had a good sense of humor and enjoyed hearing and telling jokes. He also had the gift of a keen mind and could remember many dates of life events.
He accepted Christ as his personal Savior at an early age and was baptized at East Union Mennonite Church near Kalona. Soon after moving to the Wellman community in 1946, Chester joined Wellman Mennonite Church, where he was a member for many years before transferring his membership to Hesston Mennonite Church.
In 1971, they sold their farm near Wellman and moved to Palmer Lake, Colo., where they worked with Frontier Boys Village. He worked in maintenance. More important, he became friends with the 45 boys at the village and was soon known as "Grandpa." In 1976, they moved to Hesston. From this time until his health would no longer allow, he spent many hours in his garden.
Survivors include two sons, Arlen Miller and his wife, Gwen, of Grove City, Ohio, and Laurel Miller and his wife, Patricia, of Hesston; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife of more than 70 years, Leona; a brother, Lawrence Miller; and two sisters, Eldora Preston and Leona Mandel.
Services were held at Schowalter Villa Chapel in Hesston. Burial was in Eastlawn Cemetery near Hesston.

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Roy Wenger

Roy Wenger, 96, of Missoula, Mont., died Nov. 30, 2004. He was born May 20, 1908, to Joseph and Emma Gerig Wenger near Smithville, Ohio.
The family attended Oak Grove Mennonite Church, where he was baptized. He graduated from Bluffton (Ohio) College. After several years of schoolteaching, he went to Ohio State University, where he earned a doctorate in education.
In 1942 he was drafted and became a part of the Civilian Public Service program. He was sent to CPS Camp #5 near Colorado Springs, Colo., as the camp's educational director, but within six months was transferred to Montana to open the first camp for "smoke jumpers," who fought forest fires.
After the war, he and his wife, Florence, whom he married in 1941, moved back to Ohio and established teaching careers. In 1948 he went to Kent State University as its first director of audiovisual education. In 1954, he was awarded a Fulbright Lecturer's Grant to teach at the International Christian University in Japan. After three years in Japan, he returned to Kent State, where he began several new and innovative programs, including an international exchange program. In 1971 he helped start the university's Center for Peaceful Change. Now called the Center for Applied Conflict Management, it was one of the first programs in the U.S. to offer an undergraduate degree in conflict resolution. He remained on the Kent State faculty until 1978.
After retiring, he moved to Missoula. He helped establish the Golden College at the University of Montana, an educational program for seniors and retirees.
Survivors include his wife, Lillian, whom he married in 1992 after the death of his first wife in 1989; a daughter, Susan Duffy and her husband, Patrick, of Missoula; and two granddaughters.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Florence; and his sister, Icie Wenger Smucker.
A memorial service was held at University Congregational Church in Missoula. A later service is planned for Oak Grove Mennonite Church at Smithville, Ohio.


Mennonite Weekly Review, December 27, 2004, 82nd Year, No. 52, p. 8

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Ernest R. Hoover

Ernest R. Hoover, 82, of Goshen, Ind., died Nov. 13, 2004. He had been ill with bone cancer since January. He was born June 29, 1922, to Warren D. and Nettie (Martin) Hoover in Elkhart County.
He graduated from Concord High School in 1940. He was baptized in his youth at Wisler Mennonite Church, where he was a faithful member.
He married Lizzie L. Martin on Jan. 25, 1948.
He was a dairy farmer. In his later years he enjoyed working in the woods, cutting firewood and cooking maple syrup.
Survivors include his wife, Lizzie; six daughters, Elaine Martin and her husband, Henry, Ethel Hoover, and Vera Witmer and her husband, Dean, all of Goshen, Edna Miller and her husband, David, and Elsie Martin and her husband, Wayne, of Sanilac County, Michigan, and Rita Martin and her husband, Ronald, of Nappanee; two sons, LaVerne and his wife, Virginia, and Marlin and his wife, Berdena, both of Elkhart; three sisters, Esther J. Schrock of Goshen, Florence L. Hoover of Elkhart and Carol E. Hoover of Plymouth; 54 grandchildren and 34 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a son, Loren, on Oct. 24, 1986; a great-granddaughter, Roselyn Nusbaum; four brothers, infant Adin, Arthur M., Martin E. and Joseph R. Hoover; and a sister, Martha May Hoover.
Funeral services were held at Yellow Creek Wisler Mennonite Church. Burial was in the church cemetery.


Copyright 2003 - All rights reserved - Mennonite Publishing House, Scottdale, PA
Used with permission by the Archives of the Mennonite Church, Goshen, INDIANA
Permission granted to private family researchers to use selected portions of these files to tell their family stories.
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