Harder, Ronald Ernst (1952-1968)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1969 Jan 2 p. 3

Birth date: 1952

text of obituary:

Illness Fatal to Son Of Seminary President

Ronald Ernst Harder, young son of Rev. and Mrs. Ernst Harder of Montevideo, Uruguay, died there on Dec. 25 according to word received in Newton. Rev. Harder is president of the Evangelical Mennonite Seminary in Montevideo.

Ronald, about 14 years of age, had been suffering from a kidney ailment for a number of years.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1969 Jan 16 p. 11

text of obituary:

Ronald Ernst Harder

Establish Memorial For Uruguay Hospital

Ronald Ernst Harder, son of Rev. and Mrs. Ernst Harder of Montevideo, Uruguay, died there on Dec. 25, 1968 at the age of 16. Rev. Harder is president of the Mennonite Evangelical Seminary in Montevideo.

In memory of Ronald, a memorial fund has been established to be used to buy medical instruments for the department of urology of the Evangelical Hospital in Montevideo. At present the doctors who work with urological patients must bring their private instruments from their offices. Contributions may be sent to the Mission Board office in Newton, Kan. or to the Administrator of the Seminario Evangelico Menonita de Teologia, 4392 Ave. Millan, Montevideo, Uruguay.

Funeral services for Ronald were held on Dec. 26. More than 150 people of the community attended a brief service at the Harder home in Montevideo, at which LaVerne Rutschman spoke in English and Nelson Litwiller in Spanish. Delbert Erb sang, and a neighboring priest read Scripture and prayed.

From Montevideo the body was taken to the Delta Colony for burial. The Evangelical Mennonite Seminary community had rented a bus and accompanied the family to the colony. The Delta congregation had gathered in the afternoon, for the second holy day service, at which Elder Klaus Dueck gave the message. Horst Waldemar Driedger, a young pastor from the colony who is now serving the La Paz church and attending the seminary, read Scripture in German and English at the graveside.

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RONALD ERNST HARDER

Ronald Ernst Harder, son of Ernst and Ruth Ewert Harder, was born Sept. 18, 1952 at Bloomfield, Iowa. He lived with his parents, brothers and sisters two years in Pulaski, Iowa, two years in Newton, Kan., two years in Frankfurt, Germany, and ten years in Montevideo, Uruguay. Ronald died on Christmas Day, 1968, after a long period of suffering.

In June 1956 doctors discovered that Ronald was suffering from renal insufficiency. In August of that year he submitted to kidney surgery in the University of Chicago Hospital. In January of 1966 he was admitted to the Virginia medical College, Richmond, for further medical examinations. The possibility of a kidney transplant was explored, but not found advisable. In 1967 Ronald finished his second year of Liceo in the German School of Montevideo, but was too weak to continue his formal studies last year.

He was very alert and had a variety of interests and hobbies. He enjoyed art and spent a lot of time painting with water colors and oil paints as well as making pencil drawings. He enjoyed leather work, but also did much reading in German, English and Spanish. He had a large stamp collection and thus was in contact with friends in many parts of this world.

Ronald was very conscientious and his happy and friendly nature will be remembered by his many friends. Although he was bedfast the last three months he never complained. He suffered extreme pain until at last his soul left his crippled body for a world were Jesus Christ reigns and where, according to Holy Scripture, there will be no tears or pain, but joy in the presence of God.

We were happy that Ronald knew Jesus Christ as his Saviour. He expressed his faith not in many words, but in his daily life. Many friends have prayed for him and he himself did not want to die, but life. However, our future lies beyond the experience of our human joys and suffering. We may well say that he has gone ahead and left us with the challenge to live a more useful life and to give all for God and His Kingdom.

He leaves behind his parents, two brothers, Richard and John Robert, and two sisters, Gertrude (studying at Bethel College), and Margaret; his grandparents in Canada and U.S.A.; other relatives and many friends.

The Mennonite obituary: 1969 Jan 21 p. 42