Esch, Menno (1879-1967)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1968 Jan 11 p. 10

Birth date: 1879 Jul 14

text of obituary:

Retired Bishop Dies At Fairview, Mich.

Fairview, Mich. — Funeral services were held Friday afternoon, Dec. 29, at the Fairview Mennonite Church for the congregation's retired bishop, Menno Esch, who died from cancer on Dec. 27 at the age of 88.

Bishop Esch was the oldest ordained man of the Indiana-Michigan Conference of the (Old) Mennonite Church. He was ordained to the ministry in 1906 at the Fairview Church, retired in 1952 and preached his last sermon on the 60th anniversary of his ordination.

Born July 14, 1879 near Wellman, Ia., he moved to Oscoda County, Mich. in 1905 where he lived the rest of his life. Bishop Esch was one of the early pioneers both in the community and in the church.

Surviving him are eight children, 36 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, one brother and two sisters. Mrs. Esch, the former Nettie Yoder, preceded him in death.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1968 Feb 1 p. 10

text of obituary:

MENNO ESCH

Menno Esch, son of David and Fannie (Kanagy) Esch, was born July 14, 1879 near Wellman, Iowa, and died of cancer on Dec. 27, 1967 at the home of his son Claude near Fairview, Mich. where he had made his home for nearly two years. He lived 88 years, five months and 13 days.

He was married to Nettie Yoder on March 25, 1906. They were parents of nine children of whom eight survive: Three daughters, Mrs. Lilly Gillis of Peyton, Colo., Mrs. Esther Yoder of Mio, Mich., and Mrs. Ellen Schrock of Clarkesville, Mich.; five sons, Reuben, Floyd, Chriss, Ira, and Claude, all of Mio. He is also survived by 36 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren; one brother, Samuel of New Holland, Pa., two sisters, Lizzie Smucker of Elkhart, Ind. and Fannie Miller of El Cajon, Calif., and many nieces, nephews, and friends. His wife died in August 1964. One daughter, Velma, died in early childhood.

He came to Oscoda County, Mich. in April 1905 where he lived the rest of his life. He was among the early pioneers both in the community and the church. He bought a tract of land near Smith Lake which he cleared and developed into a productive farm and where he raised his family. He was a leader in the economic development in the community during those difficult early pioneer days.

He became a leader in the early years of the church when he was ordained a minister in 1906 and later a bishop in 1909. He retired from the active ministry in 1952 after 46 years of untiring service. He preached his last sermon on the 60th anniversary of his ordination. He retained a keen interest and concern for the church until the last.

The funeral service was at the Fairview Mennonite church on Dec. 29 with Virgil Hershberger in charge. Interment was in the Fairview cemetery.