Mennonite Weekly Review - January 5, 2009 - 87th Year, No. 1 - p. 9
Orpha Swartzentruber, 86, of Belleville, Pa., died Nov. 29, 2008. She was born June 22, 1922, to Andrew and Mary Ann (Mullett) Schlabach in Sugar Creek, Ohio.
She married Fred Swartzentruber on Nov. 20, 1941. He preceded her in death on March 29, 2008.
She was a member of Mountain View Mennonite Chapel. She enjoyed volunteering, quilting, crocheting and sewing for her family.
Survivors include five children, Ernest Swartzentruber and his wife, Rachel, of Belleville, Herman Swartzentruber of Lewistown, Alvin Swartzentruber and his wife, Elaine, of Danville, Bernadine Schwartzentruber and her husband, Nelson, of Lowville, N.Y., and Gertrude Ann “Trudy” Hartzler and her husband, Joseph T., of Belleville; siblings Betty Troyer and her husband, David, of Apple Creek, Ohio, and Paul Schlabach of AuGres, Mich.; 11 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Fred; two sisters, Sylvia Hostetler and Sarah Jones; a brother, Roman Schlabach; and a great-grandson, Owen Garrett Martin.
Services were held at Mountain View Mennonite Chapel. Burial was in Locust Grove Cemetery.
Frey, Warren Edward
Warren Edward Frey died Dec. 27, 2008, in his home in Wauseon, Ohio. He was born Feb. 17, 1923, to Edward B. and Fannie (Rupp) Frey. He married Clara Stuckey on Aug. 1, 1946.
In his youth he was baptized and became an active member of West Clinton Mennonite Church in Wauseon, holding many positions: elder, church council and adult Sunday school teacher for as long as health permitted.
His occupation was a lifelong farmer while also selling farm implements for Liechty Farm Equipment. There he recognized the need for grain handling and storage equipment and started Frey Construction Co. in 1961. He retired to be a caretaker of his pond and woods around his house. His life’s love was being a good steward of God’s creation, planting many trees and windbreaks. He also enjoyed spending a few weeks each winter in Sarasota, Fla.
Survivors include his wife, Clara; six children, Jerry Frey and his wife, Jill, of Clinton, S.C., Shirley Rychener and her husband, Lonnie, of Sarasota, Fla., Kathy Poindexter and her husband, Gordon, of Waynesboro, Va., Samuel Frey and his wife, Deborah, of Schuylkill Haven, Pa., Mara Belle Schmucker and her husband, Douglas, of Wauseon, and Allen Frey and his wife, Amy, of Wauseon, Ohio; two sisters, Rhoda King of Archbold and Alice Yutzy of Plain City; a brother, Willard Frey of Archbold; and a brother-in-law, Charles Shenk of Columbus; 16 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by three sisters, Myrtie Baer, Helen Rychener and Ruth Shenk; and a brother, Lester Frey.
Memorial services were held at West Clinton
Mennonite
Church, Wauseon. Burial was in the Pettisville cemetery.
Mennonite Weekly Review - January 12, 2009 - 87th Year, No. 2 - p. 9
Ruth Marie Peters Fast, 85, died Dec. 24, 2008, at Hospice House of Reno County in Hutchinson, Kan. She was born Dec. 12, 1923, to John E. and Marie Thiessen Peters in McPherson County.
On Nov. 5, 1946, she married Samuel G. Fast. He preceded her in death on Sept. 10, 2006.
She was a homemaker. She was a member of Zoar Mennonite Brethren Church of Inman and a past member of the sewing circle.
Survivors include two daughters, Judy Diener and her husband, Weldon, of Hutchinson, and Nancy Tieszen and her husband, Galen, of Wellington; a son, Richard Fast of Inman; a sister, Martha Harmon of Inman; three granddaughters, two grandsons and a great-grandson.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Samuel; a son, Gary; a sister, Esther Esau; and a grandson, Jason Miller.
Graveside services were held at Zoar Cemetery of rural Inman. Memorial services were held at Pleasant View Home Chapel in Inman.
Glick, Elam H.
Elam H. Glick, 94, of Belleville, Pa., died Dec. 30, 2008, from complications of a Dec. 7 stroke. He was born June 22, 1914, to Gideon and Nannie (Yoder) Glick.
At age 16 he was baptized and became a member of Locust Grove Mennonite Church, Belleville. He completed grade school and years later earned his GED and attended and taught in Winter Bible Schools for a number of years. He took an active interest in music, led singing and directed choruses and was the founder and first director of the Big Valley Men’s Chorus in 1944.
He married Thelma A. Stoltzfus on March 12, 1938, at Maple Grove Mennonite Church of Belleville.
He was ordained in 1944 and served as deacon, minister and bishop. His pastoral ministry assignments included Maple Grove, Barrville, Otelia and Howard-Miami. He also served as interim pastor in a number of congregations in Allegheny Mennonite Conference. He was involved in district and church-wide ministries of the Mennonite church and in local Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowships. He and Thelma also served a year in voluntary service at Mennonite Board of Missions in Elkhart. In 1988 they moved to Valley View Village in Belleville and became members of Barrville Mennonite Church.
Survivors include his wife of 70 years, Thelma; three children, Esther Wert and her husband, Robert, of Goshen, Ind., Darlis of Newburgh, N.Y.; and Del Glick and his wife, Twila Frey, of Washington, D.C.; a sister, Alma Yoder of Belleville; three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a son, Loren, in 1958; a daughter-in-law, Charlotte Holsopple Glick, in 1999; two brothers, Sylvanus and Jesse; and two sisters, Cora Yoder and Elsie Peachey.
Memorial services were to be held at Maple Grove Mennonite Church. Burial was in the Locust Grove cemetery.
Paul E. Bixler,
71, of Saginaw, Mich., died Dec. 12, 2008, at Covenant HealthCare —
Cooper. He was born Oct. 15, 1937, to Reuben and Elma (Nussbaum) Bixler
in Wayne County, Ohio.
He married Lavonne Gisel on June 25, 1961, in Wauseon, Ohio.
He was employed at the Essexville Public Schools and at Arthur Eddie
School in Saginaw as a school teacher, retiring after 21 years of
service. He was very involved in his churches, active at Grace Chapel
Church and Ninth Street Church and later attended Our Redeemer
Evangelical Church. He was also a member of the NAACP and was chairman
of the education committee. He was a member of the Saginaw Landlord
Association, as he became a landlord after retiring. He enjoyed
genealogy and bird watching.
Survivors include wife, Lavonne; three children, Reginald Bixler of
Saginaw, Roderick Bixler of Lansing, and Regina Walczak and her
husband, Chris, of Nashville, Tenn.; four brothers, Vernice, Clair,
Kenneth and David; five grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
He was preceded in death by a daughter-in-law, Tammy Bixler.
Funeral services were held at Our Redeemer Evangelical Church of
Midland.
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Klaassen, Marcella M. Dick
Marcella Marie
Klaassen, 93, of Hillsboro, Kan., died Jan. 7, 2009, at Parkside
Homes. She was born Oct. 3, 1915, to Isaac J. and Helen (Schroeder)
Dick in Mountain Lake, Minn.
She married Nick A. Klaassen on Dec. 27, 1940, at Mountain Lake, Minn.
She was a registered nurse. She was a member of First Mennonite Church
of Hillsboro.
Survivors include two sons, Joel Klaassen and his wife, Nancy, of
Hillsboro, and Mark Klaassen of Tulsa, Okla.; two daughters, Janet Voth
and her husband, Orvin, of Newton, and Elaine Klaassen and her husband,
Mike Iacono, of Minneapolis, Minn.; a sister, Milly Stucky of North
Newton; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Nick, in 1990; and by a
sister, Selma Unruh.
Services were held at First Mennonite Church of Hillsboro.
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Reimer, Arnold P.
Arnold P. Reimer, 92, of Beatrice, Neb., died Jan.
12, 2009. He was born Oct. 30, 1916, at rural Beatrice.
He graduated from Beatrice High School and attended the University of
Nebraska at Lincoln. He married Edith Linscheid on June 7, 1942, at
Newton, Kan., and they made their home in Beatrice.
He worked as a grain broker for Aller and Pease in Beatrice for 22
years, was the traffic manager for Wagner Mills in Schuyler for 15
years and then worked as a rate analyst for Nebraska Public Service
Commission for 10 years. He was a member of Beatrice Mennonite Church,
where he had served as a deacon, church treasurer, Sunday school
superintendent and other committees of the church. He was also a member
of Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship and the Beatrice Civic Garden
Club. He enjoyed traveling in the winter, especially to the Christian
Retreat in Bradenton, Fla., gardening in the summer, playing Scrabble
and spending time with his children and grandchildren.
Survivors include a son, Gregory Reimer of Houston, Texas; two
daughters, Lynne Haecker of Beatrice and Nancy Reimer of Lincoln;
a daughter-in-law, Susan Reimer of McPherson, Kan.,; six grandchildren
and two great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Edith, on Dec. 8, 2001; a son,
Keith Reimer, on March 15, 2002; and a sister and brother-in-law, Anna
Margret and Arnold Claassen.
Memorial services were held at Beatrice Mennonite Church. Burial was in
the First Mennonite Cemetery west of Beatrice.
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Ediger, Raymond S.
Raymond S. Ediger,
82, died Dec. 12, 2008, at Hospice House in Hutchinson, Kan. He was
born June 3, 1926, to Henry H. and Marie Schmidt Ediger in Harvey
County.
On Oct. 7, 1951, he married Lola Beth Goering at Moundridge.
He served in Civilian Public Service. He had owned and operated Ray
Ediger Construction. He was a member of First Mennonite Church of
Hutchinson and the Hutchinson YMCA.
Survivors include his wife, Lola Beth; a daughter, Stephanie Hamilton
and her husband, Stuart, of Angel Fire, N.M.; two sons, Rob Ediger and
his wife, Deb, of Lake City, Colo., and Chris Ediger of Santa Fe, N.M.;
a brother, Sam Ediger of Hesston; two sisters, Marie Widmer of
Washington, Iowa, and Amanda Bartel of Wichita; nine grandchildren and
six great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, Curt and Henry; and three
sisters, Linda Voth, Hilda Buller and Lavina Goering.
Memorial services were held at First Mennonite Church, Hutchinson.
Mennonite
Weekly Review - January 26,
2009 - 87th Year, No. 4 - p. 9
Stutzman, Roy E.
Roy E. Stutzman,
90, of Mennonite Manor Retirement Community, South Hutchinson, Kan.,
died Dec. 23, 2008, at Mennonite Manor. He was born Dec. 21, 1918, to
Samuel E. and Barbara Slagel Stutzman in Hydro, Okla.
He was a retired farmer, a machinist for Cessna, and was very active
with the Kansas relief sale and Mennonite Disaster Service. He was a
member of the former Yoder Mennonite Church.
On Dec. 24, 1939, he married Alice E. Bontrager in rural Haven.
Survivors include his wife, Alice; a son, Gary Stutzman and his wife,
Doris, of Newton; four daughters, Eileen Burkholder and her husband,
Howard, of Hutchinson, Marilyn Yoder and her husband, Leonard, of
Hutchinson, Nancy Neff and her husband, Del, of Ronks, Pa., and Arleta
Martin and her husband, Ken, of Akron, Pa.; a brother, Howard Stutzman
of La Junta, Colo.; 13 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Myron Stutzman; and three
sisters, Dorothy Mast, Ruth Miller and Lois Waters.
Funeral services were held at Journey@Yoder Church. Burial was in the
Yoder Mennonite Church cemetery.