Warkentine, Julius H. (1899-1950)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1950 Oct 12 p. 6

Birth date: 1899 Mar 1

text of obituary:

JULIUS H. WARKENTINE

Julius H. Warkentine, son of Abraham and Mathilda (Hinz) Warkentine, was born in Harvey county, Kansas, a few miles east of the town of Buhler, on March 1, 1899. He departed this life on Friday, September 29, 1950, at a few minutes before three o'clock in the afternoon at the Bethel Deaconess hospital, having reached the age of 51 years, six months, and 28 days.

In the community east of Buhler where he was born, he lived all of his life. Here he received his education, grew to manhood and finished his life work.

On June 19, 1921, he was baptized upon his confession of faith by Elder Abraham Ratzlaff, and received into the membership of [sentence incomplete in original].

It seemed to be his lot to undergo much suffering. According to his own records which he kept he was hospitalized twenty times. Six of these times in the hospital required what are commonly known as major operations and in two cases it meant a double operation performed in one hospitalization. In 1926 came the first of these series of six operations when he entered Grace hospital with a ruptured appendix. A few years later, upon the advice of local physicians, he underwent major surgery for stomach trouble at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Following this operation he enjoyed fairly good health for some years. However, before final corrections had been completed on the stomach, he suffered several hemorrhages, and in May of this year he submitted to another stomach operation at the Bethel hospital. Again he rallied and at least in part regained his strength.

In all of these returns to the hospital, and through the many surgical treatments, he never lost his courage, his smile, nor his faith in God. He remained cheerful in spite of his slowly failing health.

Having been dismissed from the hospital in May, it became necessary in June that he return again, this time stricken with virus pneumonia. From this too he recovered, only to find that by September 2 he had to return once more, to what proved to be his final entry to the hospital. He received the best of medical care and all was done that medical science could do, but his health could not be restored. After four weeks of acute suffering he was finally released from all earthly cares and suffering, when on Friday, September 29, at 2:55 in the afternoon, the death angel called, and he went home to be with the Lord, in whom he believed and whose he was.

For sixteen years he served as custodian at the Willis School, and for some years prior to that he served on the school board. He was greatly interested in this work, and experienced much joy in associating with the children at school. When the Christmas season came near, he was busy preparing a little gift for each of them. Such acts of thoughtfulness and kindness seemed to characterize him in every way. To his family of brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews he likewise had tokens of kindness whereby he showed his love and affection. Yes, also to the church, for while the congregation used the Willis School building as its place of worship, he found it convenient to present to the congregation the electric clock which was also brought into the new building and continue to record time in the basement Fellowship Hall.

Living to share his memory are three brothers, Herman and family of Porterville, Calif.; Ted H. and wife of Newton; and Albert and family of Buhler, Kansas; also two sisters, Elizabeth, Mrs. John V. Regier and family, of Burrton, and Kathryn, Mrs. Jacob V. Regier and family, of Buhler. There are also a large number of relatives and a host of friends., for friends he had wherever he went. — The bereaved brothers and sisters and their families.