Lisa Gascho ’03 and Andrew Hershberger ’02, West Liberty, Ohio, Braden Emery, July 24, 2008. Ellen Miller ’03 and Steve Rohrer, Orrville, Ohio, Isabelle Faith, May 16. Cara Wagler ’04 and Tyler Kauffman ’05, Harrisonburg, Va., Sienna Danae, July 2. Caleb ’04 and Sarah Miller ’05 Stitely, Harrisonburg, Va., Ryan Malachi, May 15. Heather Risser ’05 and Bryan Harper, Bergton, Va., Cassidy Faith, June 3. Elizabeth (Liz) Hagey ’07 and Jared Morgan ’06, Pinto, Md., Joshua Hagey, June 30. Jared ’09 and Adrianne (Addie) Miller ’09 Leaman, Goshen, Ind., Sophia Marie, Sept. 10.
Anniversaries
Orval ’48 and Dorothy Yoder Shank, Harrisonburg, Va., 60th, married Sept. 30, 1949.
J. Paul ’49 and Erma Yoder Lehman, Newport News, Va., 60th, married June 25, 1949. Daisy Byler ’52 and Paul T. Yoder ’50, MAL, ’92, Harrisonburg, Va., 60th, married Aug. 7, 1949. David W. ’59 and K. Grace Witmer ’59 Shenk, Mountville, Pa., 50th, married June 13, 1959. Kenneth (Ken) ’60 and Kathryn (Kass) Hunsberger Seitz, Harrisonburg, Va., 50th, married Sept. 5, 1959. Glenn R. (Sem ’79) and Velma Horst, Winchester, Va., 50th, married Sept. 12, 1959. Robert ’74, MA ’85, and Esther Troyer Mast, Chesapeake, Va., 50th, married Aug. 29, 1959.
Deaths
Martha Frances Wenger ’32, Harrisonburg, Va., died Oct. 22, at the age of 95, at Oak Lea Nursing Home. Martha had worked at Shenandoah Manufacturing, Staley's Silk Mill and EMU. She was a member of Weavers Mennonite Church. She was the last surviving member of her immediate family.
Floyd Dwight Hartman ’34, Harrisonburg, Va., died Apr. 27 at the age of 94. His parents moved to Sterling, Ill., when Floyd was two years old. Once, when Floyd and his sister, Alta, were in the house alone and playing with matches while their parents were milking, the kitchen began to burn. They ran out of the house and got their father, who put out the fire. The Hartmans moved back to Virginia in 1945. He helped his father and Uncle Carl on their 160-acre dairy farm in Waynesboro to bottle milk to sell. In his younger years, he worked at the Pickle Factory and Stehli Silk Mill, both in Harrisonburg, before entering the Air Corp in 1942. He was a member of the Disabled American Veterans and the
American Legion Post 27. In 1944 he took a job with the Harrisonburg Postal Service and retired after 30 years of service. Mary Florence Shenk (GT ’34) ’43, Harrisonburg, Va., died July 17 at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community at the age of 92. Mary Florence was a devoted and stalwart disciple of Jesus, spending a lifetime serving others and in the Christian faith community. She began teaching Sunday school as a teenager, continuing this ministry many years. She also taught in Vacation Bible Schools most of her life. Mary served 40 years, 1943-83, as an administrative assistant to deans of EMU and EMS. In this role, she served as a counselor to students from other countries. After retirement, Mary was involved in a variety of volunteer assignments, including MCC Ten Thousand Villages, Akron, Pa., and at Gift and Thrift, Harrisonburg, Va. John T. Showalter ’39, Ruther Glen, Va. died May 20 at the age of 89. John graduated from Bridgewater College. He served in the United States army in WWII. He was employed with RCA Inc./ General Electric as a field engineer until retirement. His hobbies included Ham and MARS Radio and real estate. Ruth Brubaker (BRE ’49) ’54 White, died Dec. 1 at age 92 at the Mennonite Home, Lancaster, Pa. Ruth received her RN degree from Lancaster General Hospital in 1945. She practiced nursing in West Virginia and Colorado, where she lived for 40 years. Ruth Good ’50 Krady, Harleysville, Pa., died June 8 at the age of 81. Ruth was a homemaker and an accomplished seamstress and enjoyed designing and baking wedding cakes. She cultivated indoor and outdoor flowers. Ruth was a gifted writer of poetry and scriptural meditations. Her husband, Dan ’51, survives. John L. Ropp ’50, Kalona, Iowa, died Aug. 27, at the age of 87. He and his wife Violet Martin (HS ’40) Ropp ’50, lived in Nashwauk, Minn., working as church planters over 13 years. In 1963, they moved to Kalona where he was a pastor of Fairview Conservative Mennonite Church. He also worked as a rural mail carrier and carpenter. In 1989, they moved to Carlsbad, N.M., where they enjoyed exploring the state. In 2008 he returned to Kalona. He was a member of the Fairview Mennonite Church and the Carlsbad Mennonite Church in Carlsbad. He enjoyed golfing and fishing. He is survived by his children, Leland ’76, Brighton, Mich., Lowell ’73 of Woodstock, Ga., and Ruth Ann Ropp ’78 of Carlsbad. Elsie K. Witmer ’51 Ritter, Harrisonburg, Va., died at Oak Lea Nursing Home in Harrisonburg, Oct. 22 at the age of 88. Elsie worked as a missionary, involved with starting new churches and relating to young members of those
Seminary Dean & Associate Dean Tapped for Top Roles
Mennonite Church USA Executive Board has named Ervin R. Stutzman, MAR'99, of Harrisonburg, Va., as the denomination's next executive director. Stutzman is vice president and seminary dean as well as professor of church ministries at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg. He had served on the Executive Board for Mennonite Church USA from 1999 to 2005 and as denominational moderator from 2001 to 2003. He expects to begin as executive director in early 2010. In a separate recruitment process, Sara Wenger Shenk '75, associate dean of the Ervin Stutzman seminary, was tapped to be president of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Ind., beginning on or before Oct. 1, 2010. Wenger Shenk has been a member of the faculty and administration of EMS since 1995. In addition to serving as associate dean, she is also associate professor of Christian practices. "I love my job at the seminary and I am deeply committed to the mission of EMU and EMS,” said Stutzman. "I responded Sara Wenger Shenk to the job because I love Mennonite Church USA, my gifts, interests and experience are a strong fit with the job description, and I felt a strong inner and outer sense of call." That call included a unanimous recommendation from the search committee, made up of 10 members from across the denomination. "Ervin has provided wise and innovative leadership to the seminary, enhancing the quality of its program and extending its reach," said provost Fred Kniss '79. "While we at EMU certainly regret losing him as a colleague and administrator, we know that Mennonite Church USA will benefit from his skills and experience.” Concerning the departure of Wenger Shenk, "it is obvious to me why Sara would have been on the AMBS search committee's radar from the beginning," said president Loren Swartzendruber. "She is gifted and prepared to take on this significant role in the life of the church, and I have pledged my support in the transition and beyond.” Addressing EMU’s faculty and staff in an e-mail, Swartzendruber discovered a bit of humor in the loss of two talented, experienced leaders: “I was reminded of a speech by a presidential colleague in the state who said it is his professional goal to place as many vice presidents in other presidential roles as possible. I’ve never considered that to be my goal but perhaps I should reconsider that possibility! To be sure, the alternative of hiring individuals that are not wanted elsewhere does not seem to be a good idea.” Wenger Shenk's varied career includes a study/service assignment in Bosnia and Croatia for nine years, pastoral ministry for four years, extensive speaking in academic and church venues, the writing of six books, as well as many articles and chapters in various publications, and leadership in a new, experimental community of worship called The Table. She previously served as interim dean of the seminary during 1999-2000. —Jim Bishop ’67, Public Information Officer www.emu.edu | crossroads | 63