Mennonite Weekly Review - February
2007
Bowers, Thomas P.; Good, Alvin
D.; Heinrichs, Abraham; Hofer, LeeAllen;
Hunsberger,
Orpha Lucille Brown; Lichti, Rudolph A.; Schroeder, Marlene Beth; Schumacher, Vera LaVahn; Schwartzentruber,
Elmer; Souder, Grace B.; Thesman, Jacob
“Jake”Vernon;
Mennonite Weekly
Review - February 5, 2007 - 85th Year, No. 6 - p. 11
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Rudolph
A. Lichti, 92, of
Newton, Kan., died Jan. 22, 2007, at Presbyterian Manor. He was born
June 30, 1914, to Daniel H. and Barbara (Horsch) Lichti in Paso Robles,
Calif.
He married Elda Ewert on Aug. 5, 1949, at Newton.
He grew up in Reedley, Calif., and was a member of First Mennonite
Church in Reedley until 1979. He faithfully served his local church and
Pacific District Conference in many capacities, including as country
director for Mennonite Central Committee in Vietnam from 1961 to 1964.
He worked in the fruit industry as a bookkeeper for packing operations,
and he also raised his own fruit. After their retirement, he moved with
his wife to Glendale, Ariz., where he worked at Glencroft Retirement
Center for several years in the marketing department. In 1995 they
moved to North Newton to be closer to his family, and in 2001 moved to
Presbyterian Manor in Newton. He was a current member of Grace Hill
Mennonite Church.
Survivors include his wife, Elda, of Newton; a son, Marlin Lichti and
his wife, Monica, of Newton; three brothers, Ernest Lichti and Herbert
Lichti, both of Reedley, Calif., and Alfred Lichti of North Fork,
Calif.; two sisters, Hildagard Bolinder of Selma, Calif., and Olga
Neufeld of Fortuna, Calif.; and two grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by two sisters, Dorothea Kohfeld and Peggy
Irby.
Services were held at Grace Hill Mennonite Church. Burial was in Grace
Hill Cemetery.
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Abraham
Heinrichs, 83, of
McPherson, Kan., died Nov. 21, 2006, at the Sterling House Assisted
Living Center. He was born Sept. 27, 1923, to Jacob J. and Helena
Heinrichs in Volt, Mont.
He was raised on a farm. He attended Tabor College in Hillsboro and
received his master’s degree in education in Missoula, Mont. He taught
school and worked in school administration in Lustre, Mont., Meade and
Ulysses. Although he taught many different subjects, his greatest joy
was teaching math to high school students.
He was a member of Ulysses Mennonite Brethren Church. He was active in
church teaching Sunday school and occasionally substituted for
ministers on Sunday morning.
Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Virginia (Barkman) Heinrichs;
five sons, Roger and his wife, Gail, of Denver, Colo., Ralph and his
wife, Kathy, of Wichita, Jack and his wife, Janet, of Emporia, Robert
of Ulysses and Phillip and his wife, Debbie, of Hillsboro, Ore.; two
daughters, Roseann Carter and her husband, Robert, of Ulysses, and
Cindy Harris and her husband, Kevin, of McPherson; a sister; 22
grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at Parkview Mennonite Brethren Church in
Hillsboro. Burial was in Gnadenau Cemetery in rural Hillsboro.
Mennonite
Weekly Review - February 12, 2007 - 85th Year, No. 7 - p. 12
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Elmer
Schwartzentruber, 97, of
New Hamburg, Ont., died Dec. 21, 2006, at Nithview Home. He was born
April 17, 1909, to Christian and Elizabeth (Wagler) Schwartzentruber in
Wilmot Township.
He was a member of Steinmann Mennonite Church, Baden, Ont., where he
was ordained deacon on Aug. 31, 1941, and minister on Aug. 12, 1951. He
served the congregation until 1979, when he was named pastor emeritus.
Since 1993 he was a resident of Nithview Home, where he enjoyed
assisting and encouraging fellow residents.
He was involved on the conference level with the Christian Nurture
Council and as secretary of Home Interests. He served as executive
secretary for the Amish Mennonite Conference of Ontario and saw the
name changed to Western Ontario Mennonite Conference on the journey
through to Inter-Mennonite Conference to MCEC and the fellowship of the
Mennonite Conference of Canada. He was in the first graduating class of
Ontario Mennonite Bible Institute, Kitchener, in 1954.
On Jan. 9, 1930, he married Magdalena (Mattie) Wagler. She preceded him
in death on Aug. 10, 1996.
Survivors include four daughters, Fern Erb and her husband, Carl, of
New Hamburg, Mary Otterbein and her husband, Mel, of Kitchener, Ruth
Umble and her husband, Rick, of Atglen, Pa., and Carol Joy Purves of
Kitchener; 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by two grandchildren and his brother, Solomon.
Services were held at Steinmann Mennonite Church. Burial was in
Steinmann Mennonite Cemetery, Baden.
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LeeAllen
(Lee) Hofer, 69, of
rural Tea, S.D., died Jan. 31, 2007. He was born June 28, 1937, to
Christy and Edna Hofer. They farmed near Carpenter, and it was here
that he gained a work ethic and passion for making fine food.
He spent four years in the United States Navy as a cook on a destroyer
at the end of the Korean War.
He married Doris Epp on May 25, 1957.
He loved his family and enjoyed taking them on fishing and camping
trips, tours of dams, state and national parks and other engineering
and natural wonders. In later years he loved taking his son, his
sons-in-law and grandchildren on hunting and fishing trips. He was a
pilot and loved to fly with his son.
His passion for the outdoors spawned forays into hunting and
fishing-related businesses. These included supplying several bait shops
with live bait and hand-tied lures and processing deer on the kitchen
table. He and his wife founded the family business, Lee’s Meats and
Sausages, in 1980. He was a sportsman, hunting and fishing all over the
United States, Canada and Mexico as well as in Africa. He was proud of
his collection of trophy fish and wildlife.
He was involved in numerous sportsman and wildlife conservation
organizations, as well as the Tea airport and Delp township boards. He
was an active member of Good Shepherd Community Church (Mennonite) in
Sioux Falls.
Survivors include his wife, Doris Hofer; three children, Valerie
Anderson and her husband, Jim, of Sioux Falls, Rhonda Else and her
husband, Cregg, of Sioux Falls, and Chris Hofer and his wife, Angela,
of Tea; his father, Christy Hofer, of Huron; a sister, Kaye Corcoran of
Billings, Mont.; a brother, Wayne Hofer of Huron; 10 grandchildren and
a great-grandchild.
A memorial celebration was held at First Assembly of God in Sioux
Falls. There was a private family burial at Vermillion Cemetery.
------------------
Marlene
Beth Schroeder, 79, of
Goessel, Kan., died Jan. 15, 2007, of complications from melanoma. She
was born May 22, 1927, to Jacob H. and Justina (Regier) Schroeder in
rural McPherson County.
She was baptized at Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church. She graduated from
Goessel High School in 1945. She attended Bethel College for three
summers, obtaining a certificate to teach in rural schools.
On April 11, 1950, she married Lloyd Schroeder of Goessel.
Together they ran a grain and poultry farm, while she also worked at
Mennonite Press and Ruzen Flowers in Newton. In 1976, they founded
their Pine Creek Farm Christmas tree business.
An avid craftsperson, she excelled in a variety of decorative arts. Her
hand-painted ornaments and decorated wreaths were favorites of her
Christmas tree customers.
She taught Sunday school, led the women’s mission group for many years
and was the first woman to be elected deacon at Goessel Mennonite
Church. She was the Goessel church’s correspondent for Mennonite Weekly
Review and represented her congregation at Western District and General
Conference annual meetings. She was Western District’s representative
to the General Conference Women in Mission board and was on the Bethel
College Women’s Association Council.
She delighted in praising others, always quick with an encouraging word
or card. She fought back to health from a heart attack in 1990.
Survivors include her husband; Lloyd; three daughters, Rhonda Ramsey
and her husband, Stewart, of Lenexa, Jana Schroeder and her husband,
Lauro Medina, of Tepotzlan, Mexico, and Ardie Goering and her husband,
Wynn, of Albuquerque, N.M.; two sisters, Esther Ratz-laff and Evelyn
Banman; a brother, Alden Schroeder; and three grandchildren.
She was preceded her in death by a son, JaDean, in 2001; two brothers,
Sam and Edward Schroeder; and four sisters, Sara Wunderlick, Margaret
Riesen, Edna Nickel and Alice Pankratz.
----------------
Alvin D.
Good, 86, of Tangent,
Ore., died Nov. 15, 2006, at Corvallis Hospital. He was born May 8,
1920, to Dan and Sarah (Roth) Good.
He was a grass seed farmer for 40 years. When he retired from that he
sold used equipment, specializing in John Deere tractors.
In his youth he accepted Christ and served the Lord all his life. On
Aug. 31, 1941, he married Dorothy Yoder.
Survivors include his wife, Dorothy; three children, Richard, Daniel
and Mildred, all of Oregon; two sisters, Della Hofstetter of Apple
Creek, Ohio, and Nellie Kief of Albany; eight grandchildren and seven
great-grandchildren.
Memorial services were held at Lebanon Mennonite Church.
Mennonite Weekly Review -
February 19, 2007 - 85th Year, No. 8 - p. 8
-------------------
Jacob
Vernon “Jake” Thesman,
80, of Kremlin, Okla., died Dec. 3, 2006. He was born Oct. 8, 1926, in
Kremlin to Jacob J. and Anna E. Voth Thesman.
He attended Columbia Grade School and graduated from Kremlin High
School.
He married Leora Rempel on Aug. 26, 1948, in North Enid.
He was a farmer and carpenter. He was a member of the Kremlin School
Board for 15 years. He worked for Kremlin schools as a maintenance man,
bus driver and was the clock keeper for basketball games. He was
president of Kremlin Lions Club, mayor of Kremlin and was Kremlin
Citizen of the Year in 2000. He was a member of Enid Mennonite Brethren
Church, where he served as deacon, Awana Pals leader and representative
for Mennonite Mutual Aid Insurance and sang in the choir.
Survivors include his wife, Leora; a son, Bob Thesman of Shawnee; two
daughters, Jolita “Jodi” Gossen and her husband, Roger, of Kremlin, and
Debbie Wright and her husband, Jeff, of Riverside, Calif.; two sisters,
Bertha Ann Toews and Gladys Regehr; six grandchildren and a
great-grandson.
Memorial services were held at Enid Mennonite Brethren Church. Burial
was in the church cemetery.
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Orpha Lucille Brown
Hunsberger,
96, of Broken Bow, Neb., died Dec. 20, 2006. She was born March 7,
1910, in Cleveland, Ohio.
She graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont in 1927. She taught
biology and home economics in New London, Conn., before moving to
Wadsworth, Ohio.
There she married Willard Daykin Hunsberger in 1936. He was the
grandson of Ephriam Hunsberger, the first pastor of Wadsworth Mennonite
Church in 1852, and the nephew of Noah Hirschy, the first president of
Bluffton College.
After their children began school, she began teaching fifth grade at
Lincoln School in Wadsworth, where she was a much-loved teacher for
many years. She enjoyed singing and playing the piano. She was active
in the community as a member of the Art and History Club and the
Wadsworth Peace Group. She served many terms on the local library and
hospital boards. She and Willard loved to travel. After retirement they
visited Western Europe, the former Yugoslavia, Chile, Brazil, Alaska
and many other places in the United States and Canada.
She was a member of First Mennonite Church of Wadsworth. When she was
93, she moved to Broken Bow to be closer to her family.
Survivors include four children, Deborah Hunsberger of Omaha, Grace
Gehret and her husband, Peter, of Castle Rock, Colo., Grace’s twin,
Gretchen Gallentine and her husband, James, of Broken Bow, and Frank
Hunsberger and his wife, Chris, of Grand Rapids, Ohio; eight
grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Willard.
Memorial services were held at First Presbyterian Church of Broken Bow.
Mennonite
Weekly Review - February 26, 2007 - 85th Year, No. 9 - p. 8
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Grace B.
Souder, 88, of
Sellersville, Pa., died Feb. 14, 2007, at Lehigh Valley Hospital of
Allentown after a heart attack the previous week. She was born to Elmer
and Addie (Baum) Detwiler in Blooming Glen.
Her hobbies included birdwatching, handsewing, latch hooking and
raising houseplants. She was a member of Blooming Glen Mennonite Church
and a charter member of Penn Foundation Ladies Auxiliary of
Sellersville. She loved her entire family.
Survivors include her husband of 69 years, Paul F. Souder; three
children, P. Don Souder and his wife, Sharon, of Orrville, Ohio, Grace
Marie Gerber and her husband, Steve, of Sellersville, and Feryl K.
Souder and his wife, Connie, of Sellersville; eight grandchildren;
eight great-grandchildren; three step-grandchildren and
step-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her sister, Esther Gehman, and an infant
brother, Linford.
Funeral services were held at Rockhill Mennonite Community of
Sellersville. Burial was in Blooming Glen Mennonite Church Cemetery.
---------------------
Vera
LaVahn Schumacher, 91, of
Bluffton, Ohio, died Feb. 16, 2007, at Mennonite Memorial Home after a
brief illness. She was born June 4, 1915, to Ephraim and Ida Steiner
Amstutz in Richland Township, rural Bluffton.
On June 1, 1945, she married Harold P. Schumacher. He preceded her in
death on March 16, 1996.
She was a homemaker, wife and mother. In her early years she worked at
Ruffs in Bluffton. She was an active volunteer at the MCC Et Cetera
Shop in Bluffton for 23 years and loved creating floral arrangements
from donated materials for resale.
As a longtime member of Grace Mennonite Church in Pandora, she served
as a Sunday school teacher, deacon and a member of Women in Mission.
She attended Bucher School and was a graduate of Bluffton High School.
During World War II, she joined her husband in Civilian Public Service
at the Exeter Training School in Rhode Island.
Survivors include two sons, Thomas J. Schumacher and his wife, Joyce,
and Timothy R. Schumacher and his wife, Janet, both of Pandora; two
daughters, Nancy L. Neff and her husband, Robert, of Bluffton, and
Susan Cook and her husband, Charles, of Toledo; 14 grandchildren and
nine great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Harold; four brothers,
Clarence U., Francis, Allen and Willis Amstutz; four sisters, Lillian
M. Amstutz, Burdella Geiger, Mabel Jones and Rhoda Burkholder; and an
infant son, Eugene Paul Schumacher.
Services were held at Grace Mennonite Church, Pandora. Burial was in
Pleasant Ridge Cemetery in Pandora.
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Thomas
P. Bowers, 22, an
Eastern Mennonite University student from Harrisonburg, Va., died Feb.
14, 2007, at Rockingham Memorial Hospital of complications from
Duchennes disease (childhood muscular dystrophy).
He was a junior honors student at EMU, majoring in economics with
minors in accounting and history. He was a 2003 honors graduate of
Harrisonburg High School.
“Thomas was a strong, diligent student. He kept on going even when he
was tired. He was a strong person who wanted to learn all he could,”
said Joshua Akers, an EMU senior computer science major from
Christiansburg. “You couldn’t tell from looking at his work that he was
dealing with physical limitations.” Akers assisted Bowers in the
Academic Support Center with a voice recognition computer program that
allowed him to dictate e-mails and do course assignments.
He is survived by his parents, Mark and Deborah Bowers of Harrisonburg;
a brother, John P. Bowers; a paternal grandmother, maternal
grandparents, two aunts, one uncle and nine cousins.
The funeral was held at Main Street United Methodist Church,
Petersburg, W.Va., with burial at Cherry Hill Cemetary, Upper Tract,
W.Va.
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INDIANA
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