Gerbrandt, Jacob J. (1900-1971)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1972 Jan 6 p. 3

Birth date: 1900 Mar 19

text of obituary:

M. B. Minister, Teacher Called by Death at Reedley

Reedley, Calif. — Funeral services for Rev. Jacob J. Gerbrandt, 71, Mennonite Brethren minister and teacher, were held Dec. 23 at the M. B. Church of Reedley. He died Dec. 20 after an extended illness.

A native of Russia, Rev. Gerbrandt had been a resident here for the past 17 years. He was an ordained minister for 38 years, taught school for 29 years, and was a former administrator of Palm Haven Rest Home and Pleasant View Convalescent Hospital here. He and Mrs. Gerbrandt returned last summer from Eleuthera, the Bahamas,where they were on the staff of Windermere High School for two years.

Surviving in addition to his wife, Mary, are a son, Carl, now studying music in Germany; two daughters, Mrs. Geraldine Dueck of La Crescenta and Mrs. Pauline Willems of Long Beach; six grandchildren; seven brothers and four sisters.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1972 Feb 3 p. 10

text of obituary:

JACOB J. GERBRANDT

Jacob J. Gerbrandt, son of Jacob D. and Justina Brandt Gerbrandt, was born on March 19, 1900, in South Russia, and died on Dec. 20, 1971, at his home in Reedley, Calif. at the age of 71.

At the age of three he and his family left Russia. Three years later, in 1906, they homesteaded in Herbert, Sask. Our father found Christ at the age of 16 and was baptized in the same year, on July 30, 1916.

He attended a country school near Herbert, and later the Mennonite Collegiate Institute at Gretna, Man. and Tabor College at Hillsboro, Kan. graduating in 1926.

In August 1926 he married Mary Klassen in the M. B. Church at Reedley. After honeymooning on a freight train to Hillsboro, Kan., they spent one year studying at Tabor College in preparation for the teaching ministry.

He spent the next few years teaching in the public schools in Inman, Kan. and Hooker, Okla., and then eight years at Meade, Kan., before taking up a pastorate at the Steinreich M. B. Church near Hillsboro. During these years he spent one semester in Bible study at Biola in Los Angeles, Calif. In 1936 he was called back to Meade to establish a Bible school which later became Meade Bible Academy. He was ordained to the ministry at Meade on March 28, 1937.

The EMB Church at Marion, S. D. called him to pastor that church in 1943. While there he received a Divinity degree from a Chicago seminary. After three years at Marion, a move was made to Fresno, Calif. to teach in the newly established Pacific Bible Institute and to complete work on his B. A. degree, which he received in 1947 from Fresno State College. He then answered a call from Meade Bible Academy to be principal of that school.

After three years of service at Meade, he accepted the position of superintendent at Oklahoma Bible Academy, Meno, Okla. while serving there he completed the requirements for his Master's Degree in Education at Philips {sic Phillips] University at Enid, Okla. In 1953, he was called to teach at the Lustre Bible Academy, Lustre, Mont. After one year there, a move was made to Reedley, Calif. to accept the pastorate of the Grace E.M.B. Church. For the next few years, he assumed several teaching positions in the Fresno area and at Pacific College, as well as pursuing post-graduate study at Fresno State College.

In 1959, he became chief administrator of the Mennonite Home for the Aged in Reedley. During his administration, the Home became self-supporting and expanded its physical facilities to include the Pleasant View Manor. The ten years he spent working with the people at the home were among the most fulfilling of his ministry. Dad could be seen almost any time at the Home, encouraging someone with a laugh, a hug, a joke or a prayer.

The experience which seemed to climax his lifetime of service was the two years spent teaching and ministering to young people in the Bahama Islands under the auspices of the Gospel Missionary Union.

In July 1971 he returned to Reedley. In early October he was hospitalized for internal surgery. After overcoming severe complications, he came home in time to enjoy Thanksgiving with his entire family. The ensuing three weeks found him regaining his vibrancy and enthusiasm. On the morning of Dec. 20, the Lord suddenly called our father Home to share in fellowship with Him.

Dad's 71 years were overflowing with exuberance, dedication and love. Everyone he met he considered a potential for God's Kingdom. He worked well with all people, from children in the elementary school to elderly people in the retirement home, to the black teenagers of the Bahamas. Even until his last day on earth, his drive and ambitious spirit was obvious.

He loved to sing, and was instrumental in developing the Ambassadors Octet in his later years, as well as working with other music groups throughout his life. Above all, he had a deep love for God, and a strong desire not only to see others come to know Christ, but also to do His will at all expense.

Dad was the first of 12 children in his family to be called home. His brothers are George of Reedley, Cornelius of Herbert, Sask., Pete of Steinbach, Man., John of Santa Cruz, Calif.; Abe of San Jose, Calif.; Dick of Oklahoma City; and Ben of Salinas, Calif. The sisters are Justina Hiebert of Plum Coulee, Man., Margaret Enns of Reedley, and Helen Janzen of Visalia, Calif.

Besides his wife Mary his three children survive him: Geraldine and husband Vernon Dueck and three children of La Crescenta, Calif.; Pauline and husband Jonathan Willems and two children, of Long Beach, Calif.; and Carl and wife Marilyn (Friesen) and one daughter, currently residing in Germany.

Funeral services were held on Dec. 23 at the Reedley M. B. Church, and burial followed in the Reedley Cemetery. — The Family.