Hershberger, Ruth Alice Schmidt (1910-2005)

Newton Kansan obituary: 2005 Jan 13 p. 2; 2005 Jan 14 p. 2

Birth date: 1910 Apr 24

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2005 Jan 31 p. 9

text of obituary:

RUTH HERSHBERGER

Ruth Alice (Schmidt) Hershberger, 94, of Hesston, Kan., died Jan. 13, 2005. She was born on April 24, 1910, to Samuel G. and Alice (Shupe) Schmidt at Harper.

She graduated from Hesston Academy in 1928. She attended Goshen (Ind.) College for one year. In 1999, at age 89, she completed a course in "Introduction to Biblical Literature" at Hesston College.

In 1919, she accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Savior, was baptized and became an active member of Pleasant Valley Mennonite Church. She was also an associate member of Hesston Mennonite Church.

On May 4, 1947, she married Andrew Hershberger at her parents' home in Harper.

The family enjoyed several trips together camping in the Colorado mountains, a trip to Yellowstone Park and the Black Hills, and many outings in the southern Kansas area. Her travels took her to 46 of the 48 contiguous states.

She worked periodically as a housekeeper and in dietetics. She worked four years in Los Angeles in the late 1930s and was in charge of food service at the Civilian Public Service camp in Marietta, Ohio, 1941-43. She also worked in the Harper area over the years.

When she moved to Hesston in 1988, she continued her interests in quilting, knitting, crocheting and reading. Genealogy was also an interest, and with her computer she entered more than 1,300 names in her genealogy program. She moved to Showalter Villa on Oct. 1, 2004.

Survivors include two sons, Roy Hershberger and his wife, Aldena, of Owensboro, Ky., and Dale Hershberger and his wife, Janice, of Clay Center; a sister, Edna Curtiss of Newton; a brother, Earl Schmidt of Biglerville, Pa.; and four grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Andrew; a son, Donald; a sister, Mary Schmidt; and a brother, Vernon Schmidt.

Services were held at Schowalter Villa Chapel. Burial was in Pleasant Valley Mennonite Cemetery of Harper.