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Mennonite Weekly Review - August 2007

Obituaries are emailed to MennObits before MWR is printed. Wording may vary in printed version.


   Cocanower, Charles Laverne, Jr.;     Habegger, Evelyn J.;   Hostetler, Dalton Clark;   Miller, Max Leo;   Probst, Carol M.;   Schultz, Wilmer “Willy” Franklin;   Seibel, Helen Eitzen;    Voth; Alfred H.;  


Mennonite Weekly Review - August 6, 2007 - 85th Year, No. 32 - p. 9

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Evelyn J. Habegger
, 92, of Moundridge, Kan., died July 23, 2007, at Memorial Home. She was born Oct. 18, 1914, to John F. and Kate (Gerbrand) Regier in Moundridge.
She married Loris A. Habegger on Aug. 9, 1945, in Moundridge.
She was a member of Bethel College Mennonite Church and the Newton Lioness Club. She lived a simple lifestyle, enjoyed gardening and loved the outdoors. Her times with her family were some of her happiest times.
She was a pastor’s wife with congregations in Kansas, Iowa and Ohio. In her last years she suffered from dementia. She demonstrated kindness and grace throughout her life, even through her illness. She was loved deeply by her husband and family and will be greatly missed by all who were touched by her life.
Survivors include her husband, Loris; two sons, Arman Habegger and his wife, Sue, of Pandora, Ohio, and Richard Habegger and his wife, Carol, of Winston-Salem, N.C.; a daughter, Lorna Harder and her husband, Bob, of Moundridge; a brother, John Warren Regier of Moundridge; a sister, Anna Fern Lakin of Salina; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by an infant brother, Wilbur Halley   Regier; and two sisters, Ruth B. Geist and Gertrude Regier.
Services were held at Bethel College Mennonite Church. Inurnment was at Bethel College Mennonite Church.

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Dalton Clark Hostetler, 71, of Hesston, Kan., died July 15, 2007. He was born Aug. 22, 1935, to Chancy H. and Alta S. Zimmerman Hostetler on the family farm in Harper.
On Sept. 3, 1958, he married Donnabel A. Spicher at Hesston.
At the age of 12, he placed his faith in Jesus Christ and was baptized at Pleasant Valley Mennonite Church of Harper.
He received a civil engineering degree from Kansas State University in 1961. He did engineering work in Kansas City and Wichita for the next 40 years. He viewed his retirement years as a wonderful opportunity to teach and disciple others in God’s Word. Volunteering and spending time with his grandchildren were high priorities for him.
Survivors include his wife, Donnabel; three children, Denise Prieb and her husband, Keith, of Derby, Dawn Minear and her husband, Brad, of Wichita, and Dirk Hostetler and his wife, Sonya, of Rogers, Ark.; a brother, Clifton Hostetler of Kansas City; a niece, Rachel Hostetler; and eight grandchildren.
Memorial services were held at Garden Community Church. Burial was in the church cemetery at Moundridge.

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Carol M. Probst, 70, of Bluffton, Ohio, died July 4, 2007, at Mennonite Memorial Home. She was born April 21, 1937, to John and Gladys (Huffman) Scothorn in Findlay.
She married Herbert Probst on Dec. 27, 1957.
She retired from Marathon Oil Co. in Findlay and was a pianist and organist for more than 50 years. She was a 1955 graduate of Findlay High School. She was a member of St. John Mennonite Church in Pandora and a volunteer at the Et Cetera Shop in Bluffton and at Bluffton Hospital.
Survivors include her husband, Herbert; a son, Greg Probst and his wife, Laura, of Bluffton; a brother, James Scothorn of Findlay; and seven grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at Chiles-Laman Funeral Home in Bluffton. Burial was in Maple Grove Cemetery of Bluffton.

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Wilmer “Willy” Franklin Schultz, 76, of Albany, Ore., died July 15, 2007. He was born Dec. 21, 1930, to Albert C. and Karoline (Ratzlaff) Schultz in Protection, Kan.
He attended grade school in Protection and graduated from eighth grade at Foster. He attended three years of high school at Oklahoma Bible Academy in Meno and graduated from Protection High School in 1949. He accepted Jesus Christ as his savior as a teenager.
He served in the military from 1951 to 1953. Most of his time was spent in the Korean War.
After his time in the military, he moved to Albany in 1955. After working for a short time at Montgomery Ward, he worked at Western Kraft for 29 years, retiring in 1985.
He was an avid golfer and nearly every evening after work, rain or shine, he would be swinging the clubs. After retiring, his days were spent on the golf course. He enjoyed all sports and sometimes watched two sporting events simultaneously. He loved to read, reading everything from prophecy to encyclopedias. He didn’t like to travel very much but would wear out an atlas just looking at it. In later years he became interested in researching family history.
Survivors include two sisters, Marie Selzer of Sharon Springs, Kan., and Elsie Knabe and her husband, Bob, of Rickreall; two brothers, Eldon Schultz of Hutchinson, Kan., and John Schultz and his wife, Dixie, of Albany; a sister-in-law, Faye Nofziger of Woodburn; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Vernon.
Funeral services were held at AAsum-Dufour Funeral Home. Burial was in Gilliland Cemetery.



Mennonite Weekly Review - August 13, 2007 - 85th Year, No. 33 - p. 8

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Max Leo Miller, 83, of Gulfport, Miss., died July 29, 2007. He was born July 7, 1924, to Simon J. and Lydia Bender Miller in Wellman, Iowa.
He graduated from Lyman High School. He completed two years at Goshen (Ind.) College, where he met Mary Hunsberger. They were married Nov. 5, 1949, in Doylestown, Pa.
They later moved to Gulfport, where they made their home. He served in Civilian Public Service in California, South Africa and Greece. He made his living as a dairy farmer for decades and worked for the Harrison County Dairyman’s Association. He later worked and retired from the U.S. Postal Service as a rural mail carrier.
He was a past president of Harrison County Farm Bureau and served as a Harrison County Soil Conservation Commissioner for 34 years. He was a faithful member of Gulfhaven Mennonite Church. He was also a member of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Running Club.
He was an avid organic gardener and farmer and was one of the first electric fence farmers in Harrison County. He loved to fish and write poetry.
Survivors include his wife, Mary; six children, Carol Miller and her husband, Allan Kauffman, of Goshen, Ind., Steve Miller and his wife, Dot, and Gary Miller and his wife, Red Dot, both of Gulfport, Judi Miller and her husband, Paul White, of Broadway, Va., Jan Byers and her husband, Ron, of Sarasota, Fla., and Scott Miller and his wife, Suzanne, of Gulfport; four brothers, Ralph Miller of Gulfport, Claude Miller of Kenner, La., Carl Miller and Oren Miller, both of Gulfport; two sisters, Ruth Stroup of Goshen, Ind., and Jane Thomas of Marion, S.D.; 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at Gulfhaven Mennonite Church. Burial was in the church cemetery.



Mennonite Weekly Review - August 20, 2007 -  85th Year, No. 34 - p. 8

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Alfred H. Voth, 88, of Hesston, Kan., died July 26, 2007, in Wichita. He was born Feb. 11, 1919, to Henry F. and Elizabeth Voth on the family farm.
On April 2, 1943, he married Rosella “Rosie” Funk.
He spent four years in Civilian Public Service, one year in Weeping Water, Neb., and three years at Marlboro (N.J.) State Hospital.
He spent most of his years in and around the Hesston area. He and his wife operated the Standard Service station in Heston in the 1960s and 1970s. He was active in Tabor Mennonite Church’s Mennonite Men’s group, the Hesston Lions Club, Mennonite Disaster Service and the Hesston school board.
Survivors include his wife, Rosie; four sons, Dennis of Hesston, Richard of Tulsa, Okla., Kenneth of South Bend, Ind., and Gerald of Walton; a daughter, Diana Hull of Goodyear, Ariz.; a brother, Ernie of Buffalo Mills, Pa.; three sisters, Marna Abrahams of rural Goessel, Norma Martenez of Payson, Ariz., and Lila Harris of Newton; nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at Tabor Mennonite Church of rural Goessel.



Mennonite Weekly Review - August 27, 2007 - 85th Year, No. 35 - p. 8

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Charles Laverne Cocanower Jr., 85, died July 25, 2007, at Providence Everett Medical Center in Everett, Wash., after a heart attack that afternoon. He was born Aug. 18, 1921, to Charles L. and Esther (Springer) Cocanower Sr., in Elkhart, Ind.
He married Mable E. Overholt on Sept. 18, 1948, in Elkhart. 
He grew up in Elkhart and graduated from Concord High School in 1939. He worked for Elkhart General Hospital for 32 years, retiring as vice president of finance in 1980. He was a member of the American Association of Hospital Accountants, Elkhart General Hospital Foundation, Mennonite Industry & Business Associates and the Indiana Chapter of the Hospital Financial Management Association, later renamed the Charles L. Cocanower HFMA Council of Northern Indiana in his honor. He and Mable did volunteer work for the church after retirement and enjoyed traveling in their RV and riding their tandem bicycle. Together they were active in the Mennonite church and Gideons International. In 1999 they moved to Washington state to be near their daughter. He was a member of North Creek Presbyterian Church in Mill Creek and Sunnyside Mennonite Church, Elkhart, Ind. He will be remembered for his love of the Lord and dedication to the church and Gideons International. 
Survivors include a daughter, Lynette Schmidt and her husband, Ian, of Snohomish; a daughter-in-law, Nancy Cocanower of Elkhart; a brother, Harold Cocanower of Summerfield, Fla.; a sister, Anna Cocanower of Goshen, Ind.; two granddaughters and two grandsons.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Mable, on April 11, 2006; and son Lamar.
Memorial services were held at Sunnyside Mennonite Church of Elkhart, Ind. Burial was in Pleasantview Mennonite Church Cemetery in Goshen, Ind.

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Helen Eitzen Seibel, 103, of Hillsboro, Kan., died Aug. 19, 2007, at Parkside Homes. She was born Jan. 23, 1904, to Daniel A. and Helena Bekker Eitzen in rural Hillsboro.
On June 19, 1927, she married Sam Seibel at Ebenfeld Mennonite Brethren Church of rural Hillsboro.
She was a homemaker and a member of Ebenfeld M.B. Church.
Survivors include a daughter, LaVonne Wiens and her husband, Eldon, of rural Hillsboro; seven grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Sam, in 1978; a son, Samuel Seibel Jr., at 7 yeaars of age; and a daughter, Eunice Liebelt.
Services were held at Ebenfeld Mennonite Brethren Church. Burial was in Ebenfeld Cemetery.


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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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