Anabaptist World, May 7, 2021, page 44-45, Vol. 2, No. 6.

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Penner, Donald Ray
January 17, 1926 - April 3, 2021

Penner-. Donald Ray, 95, of North Newton, Kan., died April 3, 2021, at Kidron Bethel Village. He was born Jan. 17, 1926, to Dan and Marie (Boese) Penner. He married Kathryn Bachman on Dec. 9, 1949. He was a farmer, worked in manufacturing, and spent most of his career in data processing, retiring from Hay and Forage in 1991. He was very involved in activities at First Mennonite Church of Newton. His love of music and airplanes brought him great enjoyment. Having family and friends around him brought him great joy and comfort.
He enjoyed a long and productive life. Even as age bore down on him, his body became frail and his eyesight failed, he felt blessed to be alive. His graceful acceptance of his frailties in his declining years gave those who loved him comfort. Survivors include his wife, Kathryn; a son, Gary (Lisa) Penner; two daughters, Jeanne (Ralph) Schmidt and Cathy (Greg Bartel) Penner; a sister, Carol (Olin) Claassen; a brother-in-law, Irvin Goertzen; six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his brother, Joe, and sister-in-law, Florene Riesen Penner. Graveside services were held at Greenwood Cemetery in Newton. Memorial services were held at First Mennonite Church, Newton. Memorials have been designated for Mennonite Central Committee and First Mennonite Church of Newton.

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Hughes, Gerald L.
November 22, 1930 - March 21, 2021

Hughes-. Gerald L., 90, of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, died March 21, 2021. He was born Nov. 22, 1930, in Philadelphia. He spent his teen years in Christiana, Pa., in rural Lancaster County. He attended Andrews Bridge Mennonite Church, was baptized and provided with music opportunities that led to his love for singing and leading congregational hymns. Throughout his high school years he was trained in agriculture and considered farming as a career choice due to being very poor. A member of the Andrews Bridge congregation encouraged him to attend Goshen College in Indiana, where he earned a degree in music education. Later he obtained a master of education degree in supervision and administration from the University of Pittsburgh.
He met Annabelle Conrad Hughes, who was in Mennonite Voluntary Service in Cleveland, where he spent several summer service assignments during college. After graduating from Goshen College in 1954, they were married and settled in Cleveland. In Cleveland, he was employed by the Cleveland public schools as a teacher and elementary school principal for 33 years. He was very active with Lee Heights Community Church, which he and Annabelle helped start with founders Vern and Helen Miller. There he served as music minister, choir director and adult Sunday school teacher for 40 years. He also served on many church committees, with Ohio Mennonite Conference, Mennonite Central Committee, High Aim and as president of the Goshen College Alumni Board. He received the Culture for Service Award from Goshen College.
He was a proud member of the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra Chorus for 53 years, performing and traveling in many countries. He blessed many people with his baritone voice by singing at churches, weddings, funerals, Mennonite conventions and conferences. Through his kind and humble manner, he was always a wonderful example of genuine Christian love and life. Sunvivors include his wife of 66 years, Annabelle; four daughters, Jeri Ann (James) Waltrip, Eleanor (Steve) Armen, Carla (Crandall) Miller and Sharon (Gordon Faith) Hughes; a brother, Ted Hughes; a sister, Estelle Hayes; and eight grandchildren.

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Lehman, Erma Yoder
July 28, 1929 - April 1, 2021

Yoder Lehman-. Erma Yoder, 91, of Newport News, Va., died in her home April 1, 2021. She was born July 28, 1929, to Harvey and Alta (Kennel) Yoder in Newport News. She married Paul Lehman of Harrisonburg on June 25, 1949. Together they were involved in raising their young family, in their growing church on Huntington Avenue and as owners of a Christian bookstore in downtown Newport News. From 1964 to 1973, she and Paul served as dorm parents at Good Shepherd School in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They returned to Africa in 1980 as host couple at the Mennonite Guest House in Nairobi, Kenya, and stayed until 1991. Fulfilling a longtime dream, she and Paul bought a house overlooking the Warwick River and lived there in active retirement for almost 30 years.
She had a gift for connecting with people and is remembered as a caring and supportive listener. She was a person of prayer and devotion to God. Her dorm boys were precious to her, and to this day many consider "Mrs. Lehman" a special mom. Her gift of hospitality was well known, and more than anything she loved a table full of people in her home sharing a meal together. Survivors include two children, Wayne (Sheryl) Lehman and Lewi/Lois (Clayton) Blosser; two sisters, Sarah Marie Weaver and Twila Brunk; six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband of 71 years, Paul, in December 2020; and by two brothers, John David and Chris Yoder.

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Miller, Fae A.
July 8, 1923 - April 5, 2021

Miller-. Fae A., 97, of Orrville, Ohio, died April 5, 2021, at the home of her niece, Rebecca and Arlin Geiser, following a period of declining health. She was born July 8, 1923, to Solomon and Ida E. (Miller) Miller. She received her RN degree at Lancaster General Hospital in Pennsylvania, her bachelor of science degree at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Va., and her master's degree in African studies at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh.
She was a woman of faith in God and spent her life serving others. She served for some 35 years as a medical missionary in Somalia and South Sudan under Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Mennonite Central Committee. She loved telling the stories of her time on the mission field and of her love for the people there. After retiring from mission work, she worked in several Ohio hospitals, taught African studies at Wayne College in Orrville and volunteered with Meals on Wheels.
She was an active member of Orrville Mennonite Church, was involved with her large family and had many friends in many places. She was an avid world traveler as long as she was able. Survivors include three sisters, Kathryn (the late Glenn) Hollopeter of Medina, Lena (Robert) Wenger of Wisconsin, and Ida G. Byer of Wooster; and a brother-in-law, Paul E. Thomas of Kidron. She was preceded in death by five brothers, Monroe, Roy, Melvin, Clarence and infant Solomon IV; and a sister, Irene Thomas. A family graveside service was held at the East Union Mennonite Church cemetery.

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Martin, John Richard
September 2, 1928 - March 23, 2021

Martin-. John Richard, 92, of Harrisonburg, Va., died March 23, 2021, at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community. He was born Sept. 2, 1928, to Perry S. and Annie Wenger Martin in Harrisonburg. On March 31, 1956, he married Marian Stover Landis of Blooming Glen, Pa. She preceded him in death in 2016. In 2018, he married Evelyn Jost Martin. He earned degrees from Eastern Mennonite College, Goshen Biblical Seminary, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Lancaster Theological Seminary.
In 1957, he was ordained to the ministry at Woodridge Mennonite Church, Washington, D.C. He pastored there three years along with serving as associate executive secretary of the National Service Board for Religious Objectors. He later pastored Neffsville Mennonite Church in Pennsylvania for 10 years. Then he served on the faculty of Eastern Mennonite College and Seminary. He taught college Bible for seven years and then served as seminary registrar and professor of church ministries for 18 years. During his years of ministry, he served on a number of denominational boards and programs, including director of 1-W Services, moderator of Virginia Mennonite Conference, president of Mennonite Board of Congregational Ministries and president of Mennonite Broadcasts. He authored four books as well as articles for various periodicals.
Survivors include his wife, Evelyn Jost Martin; three children, Don R. (Barbara) Martin of Harrisonburg, Lee (Peg) Martin of Kimball, W.Va., and Ann (Jim Stutzman) Martin of Lancaster, Pa.; and seven grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his eight siblings, Robert, J. Weldon, Mary King, Virginia Derstine, Ruth Harnish, Margaret Weaver, Perry Sanford, and Ralph. Memorial services were livestreamed from Park View Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg. The burial was private. Memorial contributions may be made to the John R. and Marian S. Martin Seminary Scholarship at Eastern Mennonite Seminary or the Compassion Fund at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community.

Transcribed by: John Ingold

Anabaptist World, May 28, 2021, pages 46-47, Vol. 2, No. 7.

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Liechty, Stanley
July 7, 1928 - April 25, 2021

Liechty.- Stanley, 92, of Goshen, Ind., died peacefully at home April 25, 2021. He was born July 7, 1928, to Ervin C. and Alice (Brenneman) Liechty in Orrville, Ohio. He lived in Goshen since 1959. He was a longtime member of Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship, Goshen. A graduate of Goshen College and Indiana University, he taught elementary school, retiring from Concord Community Schools in 1993. During many of his retirement years he was known for his harmonica playing and loved nothing more than putting a smile on your face by playing a tune or cracking a joke.
He married Ruth Conrad on Aug. 17, 1959, in Wayland, Iowa. She preceded him in death in 2009. Survivors include a daughter, Jeanne (Michael Dickens) Liechty of Goshen; two sons, Jonathan Liechty of Bloomington and Jered Liechty of Goshen; two sisters, Marilyn Moffett of North Kingston, R.I., and Wilma Eash of Orrville, Ohio; one brother, Wayne Liechty of Apple Creek, Ohio; and two grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth; and a sister, Lois Liechty. Memorial services were held at Yoder-Culp Funeral Home, Goshen. Scattering of his cremated remains was in Greencroft Memorial Gardens, Goshen. Memorials may be made to Mennonite Central Committee or the Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship library.

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Isaak, Beryl Berdeen Jantz
October 13, 1929 - April 28, 2021

Isaak.- Beryl Berdeen (Jantz), 91, of Inman, Kan., died April 28, 2021, at Pleasant View Home. She was born Oct. 13, 1929, to Emil and Sarah (Holdeman) Jantz in Newton. She graduated from Walton High School in 1947. She attended one year at Bethel College, North Newton, taking a one-year business course, after which she worked for five years at Central Securities Inc., Newton. During this time she met Paul J. Isaak, who was also attending Bethel College. They were married on May 31, 1953. They enjoyed 53 years together before he died of cancer on July 6, 2006.
They moved to Inman in 1968, when Paul became pastor of Bethel Mennonite Church. While they were in Inman she started her career as a church secretary. She was the secretary at the remaining churches they served, which became about a 35-year career. She was editor of the Bethel Voice for 13 years and a longtime congregational correspondent for Mennonite World Review. Survivors include two sons, Richard (Sue) Isaak of Hutchinson and Philip (Jill) Isaak of Columbus, Neb.; a daughter, Patricia (Loren) Baird of Cashmere, Wash.; seven grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren and a great-great- grandson.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Paul; three brothers, Milferd, Winston and Kerwin Jantz; a sister, Floris Miller; three sisters-in-law, Esther Mae Jantz, Irene Jantz and Elda Jantz; and a brother-in-law, Ivan Miller. Graveside services were held at Meridian Church Cemetery northeast of Hesston. A memorial service was held at Bethel Mennonite Church, Inman. Memorials may be sent for the Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale or Bethel Mennonite Church of Inman.

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Wiebe, Rheta Mae Hostetler
December 14, 1927 - April 15, 2021

Wiebe.- Rheta Mae (Hostetler) Wiebe, 93, of Glendale, Ariz., died April 15, 2021. She was born Dec. 14, 1927, to James and Gladys (Stoltzfus) Hostetler in Aurora, Ohio. She was the middle of three very close and loving sisters. In 1950 she married Peter Wiebe, which was the beginning of more than 70 years as a loving and supportive preacher's wife, mother and grandmother. In 1952 they started their family, which ultimately would total more than 70 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She will be remembered for her quick smile, loving touch, continuous hospitality as the hands of Jesus and warm encouragements. She was very present with everyone she encountered, listening for how she might be able to provide care for them or their situation. Though there were some difficult and trying times, the Wiebe family remains happy and engaged together with many extended family activities. Her smile and loving hospitality will live in the hearts of all who knew her.
Survivors include her husband, Peter; seven children, David (Beth) Wiebe, Lynn (Julie) Wiebe, Carl (Mary) Wiebe, Rachel (Steve) Meyer, Marcia (Gene) Nussbaum, Rose (Barry) Rybicki, and Becky. She was preceded in death by a son, Kenny. A celebration of life service will be held at 1 p.m. PDT June 12 at Trinity Mennonite Church in Glendale, Ariz. Streaming will be available at youtube/sF3A5C5hRfU. She was buried in Hesston, Kan., with her first-born son, Kenny. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Peter and Rheta Mae (Hostetler) Wiebe Scholarship Fund at Hesston College in Kansas.

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Mason.- William Henry Mason, 91, of Hesston, Kan., died April 28, 2021, at Schowalter Villa. He was born March 23, 1930, to John and Areta (Stark) Mason in Three Rivers, Mich. He graduated from Tremont High School in Illinois in 1949. On Aug. 12, 1950, he married Ruth Nafziger at Hopedale Mennonite Church in Illinois, and they shared nearly 71 years together. His early professional life included marketing for a farm equipment company and a position with an advertising agency. In 1970 he accepted an invitation from Hesston College President Laban Peachey to head west to Kansas to join the staff of the college as director of student life. This life-changing move to working for the Mennonite church and becoming a teacher and mentor to hundreds of young people reshaped his life.
In 2011, he retired from teaching at Hesston College. During the 40 years prior to that, he served 28 years at Hesston in staff and faculty roles, including public relations, student services, admissions and as a business instructor. Survivors include his wife, Ruth; four children, Stephanie Mason of Maryland, Bill (Lorna) Mason Jr. of Michigan, Jim (Becky) Mason of Kansas and Phil (Cindy) Mason of Indiana; a brother, Jerry Mason of Idaho; a niece, Joy (Avin Carter) Bailey of Texas; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a brother, John Mason Jr. A celebration of life service was held at Hesston Mennonite Church, where he was a member. Memorial contributions may be made to Hesston College, Mennonite Central Committee or Mennonite Economic Development Associates.

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Schlabach, Theron F.
December 6, 1933 - May 13, 2021

Schlabach.- Theron F. Schlabach, 87, of Goshen, Ind., died May 13, 2021, at Greencroft Health Care. He was born Dec. 6, 1933, to Ezra and Vivian (Johns) Schlabach. He married Sara Ann Kauffman on Jan. 8, 1955. He loved to remind people that he was both a professor and a trucker. He had married and begun supporting his family as a big-rig trucker before deciding to go to Goshen College and then the University of Wisconsin, where he received his doctorate in American social history. Returning to Goshen College in 1965 to teach, he resumed trucking as a hobby for a few weeks each summer while visiting historical sites.
Though he officially retired from teaching full-time from Goshen in 1995, he continued to teach part time into the early 2000s and to pursue his scholarly research and writing much longer. Known as a craftsman of clear and accessible prose, he is the author of five books and editor of more, including an acclaimed four-volume history of Mennonites in America. Though rooted in Elkhart County and the Mennonite church, his faith and intellectual curiosity combined to guide him toward an increasingly international perspective. He and Sara twice led Goshen Colleges's international studies program in Costa Rica. He led classes in Europe and traveled to China. He delighted in the international and multicultural breadth of his family, with links from Denmark to Costa Rica to Malaysia, and with great-grandchildren who share roots not only with his German-Swiss ancestors but with Africa, Central America and the Navajo.
He was baptized at Benton Mennonite Church in Benton, Ind. While studying at the University of Wisconsin he helped found Madison Mennonite Church. He was a member of College Mennonite Church for more than five decades. Survivors include a daughter, Kristina Johnson of Goshen; three sons, Gerald (Joetta) Schlabach of Michigan, J. Carlyle (Julie Birky) Schlabach of Arizona and Roderic (Mary Beth) Schlabach of Goshen; two sisters, Ruth Shaum of Goshen and Arleta (Phil) Kilmer of New Paris; a brother, Dorvin (Ruth) Schlabach of Goshen; seven grandchildren; four great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Sara, in 2009; two brothers, Dale and J. Richard Schlabach; a sister, Eudean Broni; and a grandson. Funeral services were held at College Mennonite Church in Goshen. A private family burial was held at Clinton Union Cemetery in Goshen. Memorial donations may be given to the Jubilee Fund at College Mennonite Church or the Mennonite Historical Library Endowment at Goshen College.

Transcribed by: John Ingold

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Voth.- Joanne Buhler, 91, of Rockingham, Va., died April 6, 2021, at her home. She was born Dec. 6, 1929, to Gerhard Buhler from Mountain Lake, Minn., and Leucile (Steiner) Buhler from Bluffton, Ohio. She grew up in Bluffton and attended Bluffton College. While an exchange student at Bethel College in Kansas, she met Leland Voth. They were married on Sept. 2, 1950. She graduated from Bluffton College in 1951 with a degree in elementary education. Her goal was to live for the Lord. She taught school in Columbus, Ohio, and Freeman, S.D. After four years in Freeman, she and Leland went to work at the Mennonite Vocational School for Orphan Boys in Kyungsan, South Korea, where they served nine years under Mennonite Central Committee.

When Leland joined the Agency for International Development in 1967, they worked in South Korea and then in Laos, where she worked under the Lao church and with UNICEF, producing a manual for preschool teachers. After their transfer to Zaire, she was active in leadership of the International Protestant Church and in preschool education with the government until she began working for the U.S. Embassy as the community liaison officer. Back in the U.S. for five years, she helped develop small groups in a large, growing church where she and Leland served as lay pastors. In 1985 they moved to Jamaica, where she worked for the U.S. Embassy, visiting American prisoners. After four years they returned to the U.S., where she became a spiritual counselor for women prisoners in the Fairfax County Jail in Virginia. She and Leland retired in 1993 to Bluffton. In 2000 they moved to Harrisonburg.

Surviving are four children, Nancy (Jerry) Suter of Pandora, Ohio, David (Laura) Voth of Bluffton, Pamela (Merlin) Shank of Harrisonburg and Kevin (Sandra) Voth of Atlanta; a sister, Ruth Graber of Sierra Vista, Ark.;* seven grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to Christian Friends of Korea.
*Should be AZ, not Ark.

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Metzler, Edgar James
November 12, 1929 - May 12, 2021

Metzler.- Edgar James, 91, of Goshen, Ind., died May 12, 2021, at Goshen Hospital. He was born Nov. 12, 1929, to Alta Mae and A.J. (Abram Jacob) Metzler in Masontown, Pa. He was a peacemaker who championed justice and nonviolence through ecumenical service and international development work. During his years at Eastern Mennonite High School, he joined the "seagoing cowboys" on a United Nations ship carrying horses to war-torn Poland. He attended Goshen College and in 1951 married Ethel Yake. In 1954 they moved to Washington, D.C., where he served as Mennonite Central Committee representative at the National Service Board for Religious Objectors. He became the pastor of First Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ont. He received his bachelor of divinity degree from Goshen College Biblical Seminary and was ordained in 1957.

In 1962 the family moved to Akron, Pa. As executive secretary of MCC Peace Section, he was a witness to the federal government on peacemaking and nonviolence and traveled to India and Russia. He became a participant in the civil rights movement, sharing his beliefs with his young children by taking them to protest marches in Lancaster, Pa., and Washington, D.C. He accepted an invitation to join the Peace Corps as program director in Nepal, and in 1967 moved the family to Kathmandu. For seven years, he worked as a Peace Corps director and trainer in Nepal, India, Thailand and Iran.

Returning stateside in 1974, he taught ethics and political science at Goshen College and served as director of addictions services for Oaklawn Psychiatric Center, then as director of Peace and Justice Concerns for the Mennonite Church, director of Mennonite Board of Congregational Ministries and coordinator of New Call to Peacemaking. He chaired the first steering committee of Christian Peacemaker Teams. He traveled to Asia with MCC and served as interim director of the Washington Office. In 1989, he and Ethel returned to Kathmandu as appointees of Mennonite Board of Missions and MCC to United Mission to Nepal. As Executive director, he led a staff of 2,000 Nepalis and 400 expatriates from 30 agencies.
Leaving Nepal in 1998, he and Ethel returned to Akron, where he rejoined MCC as director of international programs. In 2003 they settled into retirement in Goshen, Ind. Survivors include children Michael (Maaret Koskenalho, deceased), Mary Martha (Gordon Prieb), Peter (Kathryn Rowedder) and Philip (Sandra Anstaett); siblings Carl (Doris Gunden), Jay (Jill Lalko), Joyce (Jep) Hostetler and Alice (Willard) Roth; and four grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ethel Yake, in 2019; and a sister, Dorothy Brunk.

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Bohn, Ernest Stanley "Stan"
August 23, 1930 - May 19, 2021

Bohn.- Ernest Stanley "Stan", 90, of North Newton, Kan., died May 19, 2021, at Kidron-Bethel Health Care. He was born Aug. 23, 1930, to Nora Malinda (Lantz) Bohn and Ernest J. Bohn in Tiskilwa, Ill. He married Anita May Pannabecker on Sept. 6, 1952, shortly after they graduated from Bluffton College in Ohio. He was a pastor of Rainbow Boulevard Mennonite Church in Kansas City, Kan., First Mennonite Church in Bluffton, Ohio, Shalom Mennonite Church in Newton, Kan., and an interim pastor in Hillsboro and Wichita, Kan., and New York City.

He was Central District Conference pastor for four years, with National Conference Resource for social justice for three years and executive secretary for the Commission on Home Ministries of the General Conference Mennonite Church for nine years. He and Anita spent three years in Kingston, Jamaica, with Mennonite Central Committee, where he taught conflict resolution and philosophy at Jamaica Theological Seminary. In the last two decades he volunteered as a board member and program participant for Peace Connections, at Shalom Mennonite Church and in prison ministries.

Raised in Mennonite communities of Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio, he attended Ohio State University, where he received a master's degree, and Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, where he received a master of divinity degree. He also studied at San Francisco, Iliff, Concordia, Garrett and Auburn Theological seminaries. Survivors include his wife, Anita; four children, Charles Bohn (Stella Dettweiler) of California, Kathryn Kendrick of Arizona, Emily Coyne (Dan Coyne) of Illinois and Lorraine Bohn (Henry J. Rempel) of Winnipeg, Man.; a sister, Eleanor Unruh of Kansas; a brother, John Bohn of Indiana; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by three sisters, Helen Klassen, Esther Groves and Catherine Hartman; and a brother, Alden Bohn.

Transcribed by: John Ingold