Amstutz, Louis (1889-1977)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1977 Feb 24 p. 11

Birth date: 1889 Mar 30

text of obituary:

LOUIS AMSTUTZ

Louis Amstutz, son of Jacob A. and Fanny Gerber Amstutz, was born March 30, 1889, and died near Kidron, Ohio on Jan. 30, 1977, at the age of 87 after several years of failing health.

On April 21, 1905 he was baptized and received into the Sonnenberg Mennonite Church, where he remained a faithful member.

On Oct. 10, 1912 he married Elda Lehman, with whom he shared married life for 60 years. She passed away on May 18, 1973. To them were born one son and three daughters. They are Victor E. and Idella, Mrs. Irvin Geiser, both of Rt. 1, Apple Creek, Elsie, Mrs. Elmer Steiner of Rt. 2 Orrville, and Dorothy, Mrs. James O. Lehman of Harrisonburg, Va. Also surviving are 26 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by one grandson, Timothy Louis Amstutz; three sisters, Rhoda (Mrs. John C. Hofstetter), Lina (Mrs. Samuel E. Nussbaum), and Emma; and two brothers, Simon and Enos. Surviving are one sister, Edna (Mrs. Aaron J. Lehman), and two brothers, Daniel F. and Albert J. Amstutz.

Louis experienced the call of the Lord and of the church on March 17, 1925 when from a group of 14 candidates he was chosen by lot to serve as minister of the Sonnenberg Mennonite Church. Seven years later, on March 3, 1932, after being chosen again in a lot ceremony, he was ordained bishop of the congregation. For nearly 30 years, until retirement years, he served as bishop and minister with diligence and faithfulness.

He labored with the concern and with the consciousness of his responsibility as a leader. As bishop he experienced both joys and sorrows as he witnessed and participated in major changes in the Sonnenberg church. Under his leadership the congregation developed and for some years sustained the Sonnenberg Mennonite School, and the congregation became affiliated with the Virginia Conference. Sacrificially he gave of himself to the work of the church, and it was his earnest desire to see his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren serve the Lord.

Among many pleasant memories the family has are the ones that relate to the happy married life of Louis and Elda and the way they worked at common tasks at home as well as in the visitation work of the church. The family rejoices in the assurance that Louis is now enjoying the long-awaited homegoing as he went to be with his Lord, and that he was able to slip away peacefully and with little pain in the quietness of his home.

Funeral services were held on Feb. 2 at the Sonnenberg church with ministers Ray Himes of Sonnenberg, Reuben Hostetter of the Kidron church, and Linden Wenger of Harrisonburg, Va. participating. — The Family.