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Mennonite Weekly Review - January 2006
 Buller, Harold W.;    Claassen, Marie M.;   Dyck, Lois Bartel;   Esh, Virginia May Smucker;   Gaede, Harvey;   Gingerich, Letha Slatter;   Habegger, Warren H. “Barney”;   Janzen, Archie Willard;   Martin, J. Horace;   Schrock, Truman William;    Stehman, Joanne Claire Grieser;   Yoder, John D.;  


Mennonite Weekly Review - January 2, 2006 - 84th Year, No. 1 - p. 8

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Lois Bartel Dyck, 78, of Bluffton, Ohio, died Dec. 8, 2005. She was born May 25, 1927, to Hugo O. and Marie (Funk) Bartel in Nokomis, Sask.
She was a graduate of Rosthern (Sask.) Junior College and Canadian Mennonite Bible College, where she joined a singing group called Octette, which toured across Canada.
On Aug. 14, 1952, she married Paul I. Dyck. They were missionaries to India from 1956 to 1968. She supervised a boarding school for boys being treated for leprosy. In 1972 they moved to Bluffton, where she worked as activities director for Mennonite Memorial Home. She retired from this position in 1983 to take on the work of home health aid under Blanchard Valley Hospital in Findlay. From 1999 to 2002 she also managed a bed and breakfast business from her home.
A member of First Mennonite Church of Bluffton, she was an avid quilter and textile artist. She was an active member of the Bluffton Scrap Artists.
Survivors include her husband, Paul; three sons, Rodney Dyck and his wife, Marie Yoder, of Bluffton, Curtis Weaverdyck and his wife, Shelly, of Ann Arbor, Mich., and Martin Dyrst and his wife, Elizabeth, of Chicago; a daughter, Doris Bartel and Su Flickinger of Riverdale, Md.; a brother, Dennis Bartel of Nanaimo, B.C.; a sister, Mildred Schroeder of Winnipeg, Man.; and 10 grandchildren.
A memorial service was held at First Mennonite Church of Bluffton.


Mennonite Weekly Review  - January 9, 2006 - 84th Year, No. 2 - p. 8

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Letha Slatter Gingerich, 92, of Bruneau, Idaho, died Dec. 5, 2005, at a local care center in Mountain Home. She was born Aug. 16, 1913, to Joseph E. and Edna Kaufman Slatter in Holstein, Neb.
She met her life companion, Jerry Gingerich, at Hesston (Kan.) College, and they were married May 2, 1937. They moved to Filer, Idaho, in 1943 to take over her father’s farm. In 1963 they moved to the Bruneau area to farm and ranch.      
In 1960 she was involved in an automobile accident, which left her partially paralyzed, and she was told she would never walk again. But with her stubborn determination, she not only proved the physicians wrong by walking again, but lived a long, productive life, not allowing her handicap to be a hindrance.
She was always very involved in her church, from teaching Bible school to working in ladies’ circles. She loved being a hostess and opened her home and dinner table to many church friends and missionary families whom she and Jerry met while doing voluntary service for charitable organizations around the world.
Survivors include four sons, Verlin and his wife, Ella, Rudy and his wife, Colleen, all of Bruneau, Donell and his wife, Frances, of Nampa, and Kermit and his wife, Clydene, of Seoul, South Korea; two daughters; Dolores Brubaker and her husband, Ervin, of Pocatello, and Mary Beth King and her husband, Loren, of Suffolk, Va.; three sisters, Florence Sheridan of Filer, Beulah Miller of Eagle, and Iola Lind of Canon City, Colo.; a brother, Carl Slatter of El Cajon, Calif.; 15 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 68 years, Jerry, who died Sept. 3, 2005; and a brother, Clifford Slatter.

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John D. Yoder, 84, of Minot, N.D., died Nov. 2, 2005, at Manor Care nursing home. He was born July 13, 1921, to Jesse and Edna King Yoder.
He married Kathryn Gregory on June 12, 1955, in Petoskey, Mich. They farmed south of Surrey, N.D., until they retired and moved to Minot in 1989.
He was active in Fairview Mennonite Church, holding a number of offices there. This later became Prairie Peace Fellowship.
Survivors include his wife, Kathryn; two daughters, Pamela Metzler of Gilman, Wis., and Carol Timm of Minot; two sisters, Marian Yoder and Annabelle Yoder, both of Minot; seven grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Funeral services were held at Prairie Peace Fellowship in Surrey. Burial was in Fairview Cemetery.


Mennonite Weekly Review - January 16, 2006 - 84th Year, No. 3 - p. 11

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Harvey Gaede, 91, died Dec. 20, 2005. He was born Aug. 16, 1914, to Henry and Katherine Gaede in Medford, Okla., a small town near the Kansas border.
His parents moved to Shafter, Calif., in 1921 and bought a small farm. He attended Maple Elementary School and excelled in sports at Wasco High School. As the Depression began to subside, he took a job selling cars at Chrysler-Plymouth.
He married Fern Wendland in 1936, and three years later established Gaede Pontiac in Shafter. The dealership was sold in 1955, upon which he entered the real estate business and became a broker for several years and served on the board of directors for Community National Bank in Shafter. He became finance chairman for the Boy Scouts of America in Shafter and served on the city council. In 1962, he was elected mayor, and in 1967 he was Shafter’s Man of the Year. He was elected Justice Court Judge for 12 years and was brought to the Municipal Court in Bakersfield to handle all traffic citations. 
He attended baseball school in Los Angeles in 1936 and played semi-professional baseball in Sam Lynn Park for the Bakersfield Coca-Cola team. Later he refereed many basketball and football games in Kern County. He often played golf, scoring two holes-in-one.
A man of great faith, he served as a Sunday school teacher for boys and adults and served on the board of trustees in Shafter Mennonite Brethren Church. He was a charter member of Laurelglen Bible Church in Bakersfield, which celebrated 25 years in 2003.  
He and Fern lived in Shafter until 1975, when they moved to Kern City. In 1999 they moved to Rosewood Retirement Community.
Survivors include his wife, Fern; a son, Ken and his wife, Joanne, of Fresno; a brother, Harold, of Beverly Hills; a sister, Hulda, of Wichita, Kan.; and two grandchildren.
A graveside service was conducted at Shafter Memorial Park, followed by a memorial service at Laurelglen Bible Church, Bakersfield, Calif.

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Archie Willard Janzen of Boise, Idaho, died Dec. 5, 2005. He was born in 1925 to John and Margaret Janzen in Newton, Kan.
He grew up on a farm outside Hesston, Kan. He married Erma Hershberger on July 28, 1948.
He began his teaching career in a three-room schoolhouse in Hesston and continued for 35 years with stints in California, Nampa and Boise in Idaho. During his teaching career he served as president of Idaho Classroom Teachers Association. He had a knack for developing athletic skills in young athletes.
He faithfully served the church in many roles. He was a skilled carpenter who built homes for his family in California and Idaho. From his early boyhood he developed a love for baseball and remained a loyal Cubs fan. Early in life he became a student of nature and longtime advocate of the Audubon Society. He nurtured both of these in his well-tended garden. In 1987 he retired from teaching, but remained an educator the rest of his life.
Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Erma; five children, Brenda, Jerald, Monica, Donnel and Thomas; a brother, Samuel Janzen of Harrisonburg, Va.; a sister, Amy Hershberger of Hesston; nine grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Waldo; and three sisters, Edna, Marie and Helen.
Memorial services were held at First Presbyterian Church of Boise.

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Marie M. Claassen, 99, of Salina, Kan., and formerly of Beatrice, Neb., died at Holiday Resort Adult Care and Rehabilitation Center on Jan. 4, 2006. She was born Nov. 6, 1906, to Cornelius and Anna Ensz Jantzen at Plymouth, Neb.
She attended country school, church school and then Hesston Academy for two years. She married John Claassen on April 27, 1933, at First Mennonite Church of rural Beatrice.
They lived and farmed in Gage County, Neb. She was a member of First Mennonite Church, where she was a member of the women’s mission society and had taught Sunday school and vacation Bible school.   She was a member of the Mennonite Hospital Auxiliary. She enjoyed reading.
Survivors include three daughters, Doris Locke and her husband, Larry, of Bryan, Texas, Ellen Berger and her husband, Jim, of Pittsburg, and Judith Goertzen and her husband, Larry, of Salina; a brother, Ernest H. Jantzen and his wife, Anna, of Plymouth, Neb.; a brother-in-law, Carl Rice of Dexter, Mo.; seven grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, John, on Oct. 27, 1971; and by seven sisters.
Funeral services were held at First Mennonite Church of rural Beatrice. Burial was in the First Mennonite Cemetery of rural Beatrice.

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Joanne Claire (Grieser) Stehman, 77, died Dec. 27, 2005, in Hesston, Kan. She was born April 6, 1928, to Chris and Catherine Grieser in Beemer, Neb.
She married Glenn Stehman on Aug. 16, 1950, in Detroit Lakes, Minn.
During the next 26 years they raised their family of five children in North Dakota and Minnesota. Many lifelong friendships were developed there. In 1976 they moved to Hesston. She worked at Hesston College in food service from 1983 until her retirement. She enjoyed cooking and entertaining friends. She was also an avid gardener and a member of the Harvey County Master Gardeners. She volunteered at the Et Cetera Shop in Newton for many years. She was a member of Hesston Mennonite Church.
She approached life with enthusiasm, energy and a deep faith. Her family was a source of great joy to her, and she will be greatly missed by both family and friends.
Survivors include her husband of 55 years, Glenn; four sons, Randy and his wife, Christine, of Goessel, Tony of Bemidji, Minn., Rick and his wife, Cathy, of Lawrence, and Jeff and his wife, Shannon, of Kabetogama, Minn.; a daughter, Sandra Toews and her husband, Larry, of Houston, Texas; two brothers, Joel and his wife, Joyce, of Goliad, Texas, and Don and his wife, Ceil, of Audubon, Minn.; a sister, Susie Knott of Minnetonka, Minn.; and nine grandchildren.
Memorial services were held at Hesston Mennonite Church.

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Warren H. “Barney” Habegger, 77, of Berne, Ind., died Jan. 2, 2006. He was born April 7, 1928, to Sylvan and Martha (Speheger) Habegger in Adams County.
He was married on Sept. 3, 1950, to Marjorie Rawley.
He was a member of First Mennonite Church. He was a former co-owner of Habegger Furniture in Berne and Fort Wayne. He was a former vice president of Mennonite Men-Mennonite Church USA, active on various committees of the local Mennonite church and a former Sunday school teacher. He served for five decades in the volunteer service at Camp Friedenswald and was a former member of the Camp Friedenswald board. He was a former member of the General Board and Commission on Home Ministries of the General Conference Mennonite Church and also worked on projects around the community, the United States, Canada and in Bogota, Colombia.
Survived include his wife, Marjorie; two sons, Ron and his wife, LaDonna, and Gary and his wife, Carla, both of Berne; three daughters, Janet Schmidt and her husband, Greg, Mary Fox and her husband, John, and Amy Tumbleson and her husband, Philip, all of Berne; two sisters, Arlene Sprunger of Berne and Erma Morgan of North Webster; 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Services were held at First Mennonite Church.


Mennonite Weekly Review - January 23, 2006 - 84th Year, No. 4 - p. 8

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Harold W. Buller, 83, of Beatrice, Neb., died Jan. 4, 2006. He was born Dec. 2, 1922, to Peter J. and Anna (Wiens) Buller near Chinook, Mont.
He was baptized in 1935 in the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Church of Mountain Lake, Minn. He graduated from Bethel College in North Newton, Kan., the Biblical Seminary in New York City and Princeton (N.J.) Theological Seminary, followed eventually by a period of Clinical Pastoral Education.
He married Anne Wiebe on Aug. 22, 1947. In 1948 they entered post-World War II relief work for three years in Europe under Mennonite Central Committee, where he also served as European area MCC director. He was then pastor at Bethel College Mennonite Church in North Newton and at First Mennonite Church of Beatrice. In addition to the pastorates and membership on various conference committees, he served on the Commission on Education for the General Conference Mennonite Church for 15 years, chairing it for six years, during which time he also served on the General Conference Mennonite Church Board of Administration.
In 1960 he began a 35-year term as chaplain of Beatrice Community Hospital and Health Center. During the final 10 years, Anne joined him as an assistant. He felt he was the church’s representative for Christ in a healing ministry.
He was a passionate artist. He expressed himself through writing poetry, articles and meditations, sculpting, writing and performing dramas, and woodworking. After retirement at age 72, his life continued to be filled with service in church and community and the joy of relating to children, grandchildren and many dear friends.
Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Anne; two sons, Paul and his wife, Deb, of Goshen, Ind., and Glenn and his wife, Judy, of Bluffton, Ohio; a daughter, Mary Anne Triller and her husband, Barry, of Waterloo, Ont.; three brothers, Peter of Goshen, Clarence of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Henry of Augusta, Ga.; two sisters, Edna Gerber of Mountain Lake, Minn., and Shirley Newman of Carthage, Mo.; and four grandchildren.


Mennonite Weekly Review - January 30, 2006 - 84th Year, No. 5 - p. 8

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Virginia May Smucker Esh, 84, of Columbus, Ohio, died Dec. 22, 2005, at Thurber Village Care Center. She was born May 4, 1921, to Clarence Smucker and Clara Martin Smucker in Orrville. 
She grew up attending Orrville Mennonite Church. She graduated from Orrville High School and went on to Goshen (Ind.) College, where she received a teaching certificate. She returned to Orrville to teach grade school.
She married Glenn Esh in 1943. They made their home in Lancaster County, Pa., where he was the pastor of Monterey Mennonite Church. In 1965, they moved to Columbus, and she began what would become a 40-year involvement with the community and life of Columbus Mennonite Church, formerly Neil Avenue Mennonite Church. When the marriage ended, she returned to school and earned a certificate in occupational therapy. She worked in this field at Ohio State University Hospital until her retirement.
She thoroughly enjoyed travel and took several international Elderhostel trips during her retirement years. Her volunteer work over the past 20 years included, but was not limited to, public school libraries, literacy council, teaching English as a second language, Ten Thousand Villages at Global Gallery and Columbus Mennonite Church.
Survivors include three children, Samuel Esh, Ellen Wiseman and Steven Esh; two sisters, Pauline Dulaney and Julia Penner; a brother, Robert Smucker; and five grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by a brother, Richard Smucker; a sister, Carol Powell; a son, Jonathan Esh; and a granddaughter, Elizabeth Esh.
A memorial service was held at Columbus Mennonite Church.

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J. Horace Martin, 80, of Landis Homes in Lititz, Pa., died Aug. 8, 2005, at Lancaster General Hospital. He was born Dec. 12, 1924, to Adam H. and Sadie (Good) Martin and grew up in Terre Hill.
He achieved degrees in nursing and professional studies. He served as administrator of Philhaven Hospital in Lebanon, then as administrator of Pleasant Hill Retirement Community in Manheim. In retirement, he and his wife, Arlene E. (Wenger) Martin, did furniture reupholstering as a hobby and business. He was a longtime active member of Steelton Mennonite Church and more recently of Mountville Mennonite Church.
Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Arlene; seven children, Philip Martin and his wife, Joyce, of Peachtree City, Ga., Miriam Frey and her husband, Nicholas, of Mountville, Thomas Martin and his wife, Louisa Weber, of Selinsgrove, Fredrick Martin of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Anne Martin and her husband, Duane Bontrager, of Harrisonburg, Va., James Martin of Lititz, and Barbara Martin and her husband, Thomas Hoglund, of Baltimore, Md.; eight siblings, Harriet Sensenig of New Holland, A. Eugene Martin of New Holland, C. Lewis Martin of Terre Hill, Laura Weaver of Lititz, Mildred Horst of New Holland, C. Edwin Martin of Bowmansville, J. Donald Martin of Lebanon and Lillian Leaman of Terre Hill; and 10 grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at Mountville Mennonite Church. Burial was in Weaverland Mennonite Church Cemetery in East Earl.

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Truman William Schrock, 85, of Kalona, Iowa, died Jan. 4, 2006, after a brief illness from acute leukemia. He was born March 6, 1920, to William and Katie (Schlabach) Schrock.
He married Nettie Miller on Feb. 15, 1948, at Fairview Mennonite Church, where he was an active member until his death.
He farmed in the rural Kalona area all his life. He served in Civilian Public Service from Dec. 9, 1941, to 1945 at Dennison, Iowa, Three Rivers, Calif., and Mount Rainier, Wash. He enjoyed telling stories to his children and grandchildren about CPS days.
Survivors include three sons, Dale and his wife, Marlene, and Phil and his wife, Roberta, all of rural Iowa City, and James of Iowa City; two daughters, Anna Marie Tillotson and her husband, Jack, of Nashwauk, Minn., and Lucille Shetler and her husband, Wilbur, of Kalona; 17 grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Nettie, on Nov. 18, 1995.
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