Gaeddert, Jessie Brown (1921-2010)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2010 Jul 19 p. 9

Birth date: 1921 Sep 27

text of obituary:

JESSIE BROWN GAEDDERT

Jessie Brown Gaeddert, 88, of Lakewood, Colo., died April 24, 2010, of injuries sustained in an automobile accident as she and her husband took relief kits for Haiti to deliver to Mennonite Central Committee in Kansas. She was born Sept. 27, 1921, to missionary parents in China.

She attended school in China through her junior year in high school, then had her senior year at Freeman (S.D.) Academy. She attended Bethel College in North Newton, Kan., receiving a bachelor’s degree and a nursing degree.

After World War II, she went with the first director of MCC to Europe to help bring food and supplies into Germany. She then returned to Bethel College, working at Bethel Deaconess Hospital and acquiring additional academic work. She became the director of the health center on campus and taught physiology, anatomy and advanced first aid.

On Aug. 27, 1952, she married Menno Gaeddert. They lived in Newton, Kan., for a year, then moved to Lawrence, Kan., where she worked as a nurse at a local hospital and taught the obstretrics [sic] course to the nurses from the Kansas University Medical Center. They moved to Kansas City in 1957, where they helped start Rainbow Mennonite Church. In 1959 they moved back to Newton, then in 1962 moved to Denver.

She served six years on the General Conference Mennonite Church foreign mission board. She and Menno traveled to Europe, Paraguay, Peru and Bolivia. They served in Taiwan in 1989, where she was in charge of the mission guest rooms and helped teach English.

She was active at Arvada (Colo.) Mennonite Church, served on the board of Arvada Resource for Missions and Service and volunteered at Ten Thousand Villages and with the Gideon Auxiliary.

Survivors include her husband, Menno; a daughter, Diane Witwer and her husband, Ray; three sons, Ken Gaeddert and his wife, Deb, Don Gaeddert and his wife, Marie, and Dwayne Gaeddert and his wife, Patti; and grandchildren.

Funeral services were held at Olinger’s Mortuary.