Wiebe, David V. (1890-1965)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1965 Aug 12 p. 8

Birth date: 1890 Mar 24

text of obituary:

Retired Minister, Educator And Author Called by Death

Hillsboro, Kan. — Funeral services for Rev. David V. Wiebe, 75, a leader in the former Krimmer Mennonite Brethren Conference, were held Monday morning at the Parkview Mennonite Brethren Church here. Semi-retired in recent years, he had been active as a minister, educator, author and farmer.

Rev. Wiebe died shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5, of a coronary thrombosis while transacting business in an office in Hutchinson. With him at the time of his sudden death were his wife and son David.

He was born in one of the Alexanderwohl villages, Springfield near Lehigh, Kan., on March 24, 1890, the youngest son of an 1874 immigrant couple, Peter A. and Sarah Voth Wiebe.

Among his published writings are three books, “Scriptural Basis of the Principle of Nonresistance and Christian Love,” 1940 (three editions); ”My Parents,” 1955; and “They Seek A Country,” 1959, dealing with various Mennonite settlements.

He was ordained a minister of the Gospel by the KMB Conference in 1939 and served the following churches: Bethany of Hillsboro; Springfield, Lehigh; Zion of Dinuba, Calif.; and Gnadenau, Hillsboro. For a number of years he was chairman of the K.M.B. Conference Peace and Welfare Committee. He was a member of the Mennonite Central Committee for 10 years, and attended the 1952 Mennonite World Conference as a KMB delegate.

Receiving his elementary education at the Springfield School, he attended Tabor College Academy and received the A.B. degree from Tabor in 1924. Kansas University granted him the M.A. degree in 1927.

His teaching career included eight years as principal of Zoar Academy, Inman, Kan., and at Reedley Bible Academy, Reedley, Calif. He was head of the Education Department of Tabor College for one year. During his he lifetime he farmed at Lehigh, Kan., Reedley, Calif., and Abbotsford, B.C.

Surviving are his wife, the former Martha Frantz; three sons, Raymond of Wichita, David of Fresno, Calif., and John of Emporia, Kan.; one daughter, Mrs. Constance Isaac of Shafter, Calif.; and three grandchildren.

Interment was made in the Hillsboro M. B. Cemetery.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1965 Oct 14 p. 8

text of obituary:

DAVID V. WIEBE

David V. Wiebe was born March 24, 1890 to Rev. Peter A. and Sarah Voth Wiebe in the Springfield community near Lehigh, Kan. At the age of 15 he made a definite decision for Christ and joined the Springfield KMB Church.

For eight years he attended the Springfield District School after which he, together with his next older brother Dick, farmed on the parental homestead. Being interested in scientific farming, he attended the Agricultural Short Course at Kansas State University for two winters. In 1921, he entered the Tabor College Academy and received the A.B degree in 1924. Kansas University granted th M.A. degree to him in 1927 and he enrolled for additional graduate studies in the Education Departments of the University of California and the University of Chicago.

On Aug. 31, 1924, he married Martha Ruth Frantz of Hillsboro, Kan. Father and mother began their teaching careers at the Zoar Bible Academy in Inman, Kan. in 1925. Father served as principal, and taught at Zoar Bible Academy for five years. The Reedley Bible Academy asked father and mother to serve as the pioneer teachers in the new Mennonite Brethren settlement which was expanding in the beautiful San Joaquin Valley. He served for three years as principal of the secondary school which Education Department for one year during the outset of the depression.

After relocating a modest house on their farm seven miles west of Hillsboro in 1932, our family began farming activities under drought and difficult conditions. When in 1942 the opportunity opened up to rent a substantial grape and dairy ranch near Reedley, Calif., was accepted and the move to the West Coast was made.

Our father enjoyed building up a dairy and cotton ranch near Reedley until 1948 when another dairy farm was purchased two miles north of the border near Abbotsford, British Columbia. The family moved back to California a few years later so the children could enter Christian colleges.

After serving a number of years as leader of the Bethany Church, Hillsboro, and as assistant minister in the Springfield Church, he was ordained to the Gospel ministry by the KMB conference on Oct. 22, 1939. Besides the previously mentioned two churches, he served as pastor of the Zion Church, Dinuba, Calif. and the Gnadenau Church, Hillsboro. In all he had the privilege to actively serve his Lord and brotherhood in various capacities including the assistant pastorship and as pastor of local churches for a total of 16 years. In line with his desire for progress, the uniting of the Lehigh M.B. and Gnadenau churches in 1955 proved to be a great inspiration to him. The occasion of the merger of the M. B. and Krimmer Mennonite Brethren Conferences at Reedley, Calif. during the Centennial Conference in 1960 was a highlight of his ministry.

He represented his conference as a member of the Mennonite Central Committee for ten years, including the difficult World War II years. In 1952, he traveled to Europe and served as KMB delegate to the Fifth World Conference of Mennonites, held in Basel, Switzerland. During the summer of 1945 the MCC sent him to Chihuahua, Mexico as a consultant regarding Christian service possibilities to the Old Colony people. This tour awakened a longing in his heart for the establishment of a deeper spiritual life among these churches.

The collection of historical data was one of his interests in 1960 he published the book, “They Seek a Country,” which dealt with the early settlements and Mennonite-Anabaptist movements. His interests in and support for all phases of Christian work and missions continued to his last day.

The last years were spent in semi-retirement in Fresno, Calif. and Hillsboro, Kan. He experienced some heart trouble and was hospitalized for four weeks in the Salem Hospital during the summer of 1962. After a good recovery, he enjoyed activities with his immediate family and farmed on a small scale in partnership with his sons.

On Aug. 5, after attending to business matters in Hutchinson, Kan., he was stricken with heart failure. Mother and David, his son, were with him at the time and he was rushed to the Grace Hospital but had already left us to be with the Saints in Glory. He reached the age of 75 years, four months, and 12 days.

Those who preceded him in death are his parents, four sisters, five grown brothers, four sisters-in-law, and two brothers-in-law. Those who cherish the memories of his life and faith are his wife, three sons, one daughter and three grandchildren, Raymond of Wichita, Kan., David of Fresno, Calif., John, his wife (Caryl Friesen). and their three children of Emporia, Kan., and Constance, her husband (Donald J. Isaac) of Shafter, Calif.; one sister-in-law, Mrs. Frank V. Wiebe; and one brother-in-law, Henry D. Flaming, both of Hillsboro.

Funeral services were held at 10:00 a.m. August 9, 1965, in the Parkview Mennonite Brethren Church, Hillboro, Kan. Rev. John C. Ratzlaff was the officiating minister and interment was in the Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Cemetery. — The Bereaved Family.