Obituaries are emailed to MennObits before MWR is printed. Wording may vary in printed version.
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Esau, Paul Gerhard
Paul Gerhard Esau, 83, of Robbinsdale, Minn., and formerly of Jackson, died July 11, 2011, at North Memorial Hospital. He was born on Aug. 11, 1927, to Edward and Clara (Claassen) Esau in Whitewater, Kan.
He graduated from Whitewater High School. He attended Bethel College in North Newton, Kan., while living and working on the farm. He served in Paraguay with Mennonite Central Committee from 1950 to 1952. After that, he traveled to Europe and helped rebuild Germany after World War II until 1955. There he met his future wife, Elmira Kliewer. In 1955 he returned to Newton, Kan.
Upon his return home, he worked as a carpenter and began to develop an interest in photography. In 1959, he graduated from New York Institute of Photography. On Feb. 13, 1960, he married Elmira Kliewer in Mountain Lake. They moved to Jackson in 1964.
He and Elmira operated Paul’s Studio from 1964 until 1991. During retirement, he traveled the western United States taking photographs and worked in his darkroom. In 1993 he traveled to Germany to visit his lone surviving relative, Helene Spaet, from Russia. After Elmira died in 1995, he continued living in Jackson until he moved to Robbinsdale in April 2011.
He was a member of Alpha Mennonite Church, then Hilltop Community Church, until its closing. He then became a member of the United Methodist Church in Jackson, where he was a member in the men’s group. He enjoyed building his own photo equipment and darkroom and other carpentry work.
Survivors include two sons, Mark Esau and his wife, Amy, of Robbinsdale, and John Esau and his wife, Kimberly, of Crystal; a brother, Elbert Esau of Newton, Kan.; two sisters-in-law, Irene Schultz of Melrose and Michele LaRue of Secaucus, N.J.; and four grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Elmira; two brothers, Harold and Victor Esau; and a sister, Elma Esau.
Funeral services were held at Jackson United Methodist Church. Burial was in Mountain Lake City Cemetery.
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Zook, Alfred Glenn
Alfred G. Zook, 92, of Burbank, Calif., died May 31, 2011. He was born Jan. 11, 1919, to John E. and Sarah E. (Beyler) Zook in Orrville, Ohio.
He graduated in 1937 from Dalton (Ohio) High School and in 1941 from Goshen (Ind.) College, where he sang tenor in the college choir and in a men’s quartet. During his junior year he met his future bride, Rosemary.
He served four years in Civilian Public Service at Wells Tannery, Pa., Staunton, Va., and Belton, Mont. At Belton he was the camp director, overseeing more than 250 men in fire service for Glacier National Park.
In August 1949 he married Rosemary E. Roose of Nappanee, Ind.
They taught at Benson (Ariz.) High School from 1952 to 1954. In 1954 they moved to Lynwood, Calif. They moved to Burbank in 1955, where he became a chemistry teacher at John Burroughs High School. He was a high school teacher until 1957, when he became a real estate salesman and later a real estate broker. He had his own office for more than 30 years. He lived in Burbank from 1958 until his death.
In 1993 his wife, Rosemary, died. In 1994 he married Mary Diehl Chisholm.
He enjoyed travel to many parts of the world. He was a man of conviction and hard work who sought to be a good steward of what God entrusted to him.
Survivors include his wife, Mary; two sons, John Zook and his wife, Christine, of Burbank and David Zook and his wife, Robin, of Bonsall; a daughter, Sara Hamlin and her husband, Scott, of Longmont, Colo.; four sisters, Mildred Steiner of Denver, Colo., Lillian Yoder of Goshen, Ind., Ruth Zook of Coopersville, Mich., and Doris Hoober of Phoenix, Ariz.; a brother, Gordon Zook of Harrisonburg, Va.; seven grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Rosemary, in 1993; and his youngest son, Fred, in 2001.
Memorial services were held at First Presbyterian Church of Burbank.
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Whitermore, David M.
David M. Whitermore, 82, of Inman, Kan., died July 7, 2011. He was born Sept. 12, 1928, to Frederick and Mildred Yost Whitermore in Belgian Congo in Africa.
He was a pastor, and his service to the Lord included work as a missionary in Trinidad West Indies, a church planter for the General Conference Mennonite Church, a pastor in Pennsylvania, Kansas and Arizona, the Chicago Area Mennonite coordinator and executive director of the Church Federation of Greater Chicago.
On March 14, 1976, he married Debra Suderman.
Survivors include his wife, Debra, of Wichita; a daughter, Martha Dillon and her husband, Dennis, of Lancaster, Pa.; two sons, David J of Phoenix, Ariz., and Mark and his wife, Beth, of Whitehall, Pa.; a sister, Helen Carlin of Glendale, Ariz.; and four grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by three brothers, Bob, Donald and Gordon.
His celebration of life service will be held Aug. 6 at Bethel Mennonite Church in Inman.
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Schlabach, Erma L. Hochstetler
Erma L. Schlabach, 85, of Orrville, Ohio, died June 28, 2011, at Dunlap Community Hospital in Orrville. She was born Sept. 18, 1925, to Levi and Mary (Miller) Hochstetler in Holmes County.
She married Martin A. Schlabach on Feb. 17, 1949.
She was a member of Longenecker Mennonite Church and lived all of her life in that area of Ohio. She loved cooking, sewing, playing board games and spending time with her family.
Survivors include her husband of 62 years, Martin; six children, Leon Schlabach and his wife, Fannie, of Orrville, Linda Brenneman of Elida, Adrian Schlabach and his wife, Kathy, of Orrville, Lula Hudson of Wooster, Jerry Schlabach and his wife, Judy, of Smithville, and Dean Schlabach and his wife, Shelly, of Jackson Township; a sister, Sarah Coblentz of Walnut Creek; a brother, John Hochstetler of Benton; 13 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by a son, Levi Schlabach; a sister, Clara Miller; and a brother, Ivan Hochstetler.
Funeral services were held at Longenecker Mennonite Church. Burial was in the church cemetery.
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Unruh, Irvin W.
Irvin W. Unruh, 87, died July 17, 2011. He was born on May 6, 1924, to William and Lily (Fisher) Unruh.
He was a lifelong farmer in the Sedgwick and Newton, Kan., area. He was a member of First Mennonite Church of Newton.
Survivors include his wife, Jean Ann (Kaufman) Unruh; four children, Lynn Unruh, Michael and Denise Unruh, Lori Unruh and Tim Lewis, and Leslie (Unruh) Servantez; four grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Memorial services were held at First Mennonite Church, Newton.
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Hassan, Hazel Deter Nice
Hazel Deter Nice Hassan, 85, of Goshen, Ind., died July 24, 2011, at Greencroft Health Care, Goshen. She was born on Aug. 31, 1925, to Abner and Esther (Deter) Nice in Morrison, Ill.
She married W. Richard Hassan on June 18, 1960.
She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education from Goshen College and a master’s of library science from the University of Illinois. She worked as a librarian at Ball State University, Illinois State University, Rock Valley College and Rockford (Ill.) Public Library. She retired in 1985 as head of technical processes division, Rockford Public Library. She served as the volunteer librarian for the Illinois Mennonite Historical and Genealogical Society for 28 years. She belonged to the Illinois Mennonite Historical and Genealogical Society, Michiana Anabaptist Historians, a number of other genealogical organizations, and was a member of Beta Phi Mu. She enjoyed attending the Mennonite assemblies, the North American Mennonite Archivists and Historical Librarians meetings and three Mennonite World Conference sessions. She wrote and self-published a 400-page book, Six Families of Jo Daviess County, Illinois: Biographies of the Nineteenth Century Bahr, Durrstein, Hammer, Heer, Musselman and Neuschwanger Families. She also wrote and published books about the Nice, Deter and Hassan families.
She is survived by a sister, Rachel Nice of Morrison, Ill.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard; two brothers, Aaron and Cecil Nice; and a sister, Beulah Nice.
Memorial services were held at the Meeting House, Greencroft Health Care Center. Burial was in Grace Lawn Cemetery, Middlebury.
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Ulrich, Elton E.
Elton E. Ulrich, 90, of Eureka, Ill., and formerly of Roanoke, died July 13, 2011, at Maple Lawn Homes of Eureka. He was born March 13, 1921, to Andrew and Ella Unzicker Ulrich in Shelbyville.
He married Miriam B. Bachman on June 12, 1945, in Morton. She preceded him in death on Dec. 26, 1995. He then married Fern Greiser Massanari on July 4, 1997, in Fisher.
He served at the Hill City CPS Camp No. 57 starting Jan. 1, 1943, working on the Deerfield Dam Project. He transferred to the mental hospital in Marlboro, N.J., in November 1943 and served there until his release in 1945.
He worked as the plant superintendent at Ulrich Manufacturing until 1959. He then began his insurance career, selling life insurance for Lincoln National Life. He formed Elton Ulrich and Associates in Roanoke, which later became Financial Security Associates.
He was a founder of Camp Menno Haven and he served on the board from 1957 to 1968. He served on the Maple Lawn Homes board from 1984 to 1996. He led fundraising at Maple Lawn for the apartment buildings and for the Gathering Place. For his service and dedication to Maple Lawn, he received the Trustee Award of Merit. He was a member of Roanoke Mennonite Church.
Survivors include his wife, Fern; a son, Douglas Ulrich and his wife, Jenell, of Roanoke; three daughters, Cheryl Ryniak and her husband, George, of Palos Heights, Joyce Klokkenga and her husband, Jim, of Emden, and Diane Geiser and her husband, Harlan, of Roanoke; two stepdaughters, Annette Sommer and her husband, Mike, of Foosland, and Liz Ingold and her husband, Mike, of East Petersburg, Pa.; two stepsons, David Massanari and his wife, Nancy, of Green Valley, Ariz., and Dennis Massanari of San Jose, Calif.; a brother, Earl Ulrich of Osceola, Ind.; a sister, Esther Ulrich of Eureka; 11 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; nine step-grandchildren and 10 step-great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by seven brothers and a sister.
Funeral services were held at Roanoke Mennonite Church. Burial was in Roanoke Mennonite Cemetery.
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Yoder, Edward John
Edward John Yoder, 86, of Phoenix, Ariz., died July 12, 2011, after a brief illness. He was born July 1, 1925, to John M and Nancy Guengerich Yoder in Iowa County, Iowa, near Parnell.
As a youth, he lived and worked on farms in the Parnell area. In June 1945 at age 18, he joined Civilian Public Service in Terry, Mont., where he surveyed land and fought forest fires.
He married Sarah Ellen Kauffman on Dec. 27, 1951, at Sunnyslope Mennonite Church in Phoenix.
He worked for Wright Manufacturing for seven years before starting his own air conditioning business, A-1 Air Conditioning. In 1973, he sold his business and was semi-retired for 25 years, during which time he and Ellen manufactured thousands of grass catchers for commercial landscapers.
His volunteer spirit was shown by his work with Mennonite Disaster Service. Through his semi-retirement years, he served in MDS, including cleaning up flood damage in 1976 after the Grand Teton Dam failure in Idaho; cleaning homes after the 1978 flooding of Allenville and along the Agua Fria River; winterizing homes for Native Americans in Wounded Knee, S.D.; and making numerous trips to California to assess damage for MDS involvement. In his last MDS assignment, he and Ellen spent August 2009 in Dulzura, Calif., as caretakers for an MDS campsite there.
He enjoyed spending summer holidays at the family cabin in the Bradshaw Mountains near Crown King.
Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Ellen; four sons, Galen and his wife, Vera; Michael; Steven and his wife, Joanne; and Philip and his wife, Debbie; and a daughter, Saralyn Yoder, all from the Phoenix area; two sisters, Hazel Yoder and Doris Spicher, both of Glendale; seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a sister, Ruth Yoder; and a step-grandson, Jeremy Conklin.
Mennonite Weekly Review - August 22, 2011 - 89th Year, No. 30 - p. 9
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Widmer, James Glen "J.G."
James Glen (J.G.) Widmer, 93, of Wayland, Iowa, died Aug. 10, 2011, at Henry County Health Center in Mount Pleasant after battling cancer. He was born Feb. 26, 1918, to Christian G. and Elisabeth (Rediger) Widmer near Wayland.
He married Helen Yoder on June 6, 1943, at Wayland.
He was a member of Sugar Creek Mennonite Church of rural Wayland, having accepted Christ as his Savior in 1932. He attended Goshen (Ind.) College and graduated from the University of Iowa medical school in 1944. He served in the U.S. public health service until after the end of World War II. In 1946 he opened a medical practice at Wayland, where he served until 1992.
He was a member of Gideons International for 37 years. He served as secretary of the Mennonite Medical Association. He helped establish and was president of the Wayland Mennonite Home Association. He was president of the Henry County Community Mental Health Association. He helped found Wayland Mobile Meals and Crooked Creek Christian Camp. He served on the boards of the Wayland school, Wayland State Bank, Hesston (Kan.) College and the Mennonite Board of Education.
Upon retirement, he and Helen continued to reside in Wayland and volunteer in many ways. He traveled near and far to see new places and help those in need.
Survivors include his wife of 68 years, Helen; six children, Gwen Widmer and her husband, Patrick Clancy, of Kansas City, Mo., Theodore Widmer and his wife, Linda Widmer, of Mount Pleasant, Jane Widmer Yoder and her husband, Frank Yoder, of Kalona, Jean Clark and her husband, Dan, of Muscatine, James Widmer and his wife, Alice, of Mount Pleasant, and Janice Hadley of Valparaiso, Ind.; two brothers, Reuben and Daniel; 13 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and a former exchange student and family member Madjid Nader and his wife, Shirin, and their two sons.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, Henry and Paul; four sisters, Katie Roth, Esther Widmer, Mary Wenger and Frieda Freyenberger; an infant son and infant twin grandsons.
Memorial services were held at Sugar Creek Mennonite Church.
There was no August 29, 2011 issue.