Hostetler, Dessie Yoder (1876-1976)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1971 Jun 24 p. 7

Birth date: 1876 Jun 19

text of obituary:

Passes 95th Milestone

Great-Grandmother's Life Touched Many Others By Mrs. Ella M. Miller Nampa, Idaho

THE SILVER-HAIRED lady with a twinkle in her eye and a smile for all fits into many categories — wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, neighbor and friend.

Mrs. Dessie Hostetler of Nampa, commonly referred to as Grandma Hostetler, observed her 95th milestone on June 19.

Grandma Hostetler spent her childhood in Missouri and her early married years in Kansas. In 1905 she with her husband, Dr. Franklin H. Hostetler, and three children moved to Nampa where she still resides at 611 12th Avenue North. Two more children came into the family after they moved here.

WITH HER FIVE children, she was a busy wife and mother. She often assisted her veterinarian husband with small animal surgeries. She was very active in church and Sunday school work and in the Women's Service Auxiliary, of which she was a charter member. She spent much time sewing and knitting bandages, ever lending a helping hand to those in need.

In earlier years when our women canned and dried much fruit for foreign as well as home relief, one would find her running the fruit dryer, as well as helping to can gallons of fruit and jam for children's homes and needy families.

The Hostetler home was the stopping place for hundreds of visitors through the years, as well as for her children's school and college friends. It would be impossible to tell how many folks have crossed the threshhold [sic] of her home and been made welcome.

HER MOTTO must be, "little hands are the devil's workshop," for even at her advanced age she still pieces crib comforters and makes mittens for abroad. A few years ago she made hundreds of little pants and footwear for Korean orphans, for which she received lovely letters of commendation from the doctor and nurse at the Pusan Hospital. I've no idea how many bandages her fingers have knit for leprosy patients abroad. She has also written many letters of cheer and encouragement to missionaries and friends.

Along with her five children, she also raised a niece's son whose mother died when he was a baby. Crippled from infantile paralysis, he still makes his home with her.

Grandma Hostetler uses a wheel chair in her home not to over tire herself, and a cane to assist her in walking at church, where she is seldom absent from Sunday morning services.

AMONG her children and grandchildren one finds teachers, businessmen, musicians, government workers, artists, a dentist, and many other skills and vocations.

Grandma Hostetler is a courageous, independent person, keeping house and cooking for herself and her nephew. Through the years she has shared abundantly from her table, her purse and her golden heart.

Gospel Herald - Volume 69, Number 50 - December 28, 1976 ­ page 997[1]