Kauffman, Eleanor Aneda Ruth (1940-1962)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1962 Apr 26 p. 3

Birth date: 1940 Oct 8

text of obituary:

Two Fatal Accidents In Indiana, Michigan

Pigeon, Mich. — Funeral services were conducted at the Riverside Mennonite Church on April 3 for Mrs. Robert Kauffman, the former Eleanor Ruth, who was fatally injured in a highway accident near Three Rivers, Mich.

Mrs. Kauffman was the daughter of Rev. and Mrs. Melvin Ruth of the Sunnyslope Mennonite Church, Phoenix, Ariz. Her marriage to Robert Kauffman took place Dec. 28, 1961.

The couple, in Voluntary Service at Meridian, Miss., were en route to Pigeon to visit his parents when the fatal crash occurred. Exact cause of the accident is not known.

*                    *                    *

Goshen, Ind. — Six-year-old Daryl Robert Zercher, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Zercher of Nappanee, was fatally hurt April 12 when struck by a car as he ran across the road to board a school bus near his home.

Mr. Zercher is publisher of the Evangel Publishing House in Nappanee. Funeral services were held at the Locke Brethren in Christ Church.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1962 May 10 p. 11

text of obituary:

Young Bride Fatally Injured En Route to Wedding Shower

Harrisonburg, Va. — Local relatives who

attended the funeral of Mrs. Robert Vern Kauffman, accident victim, near Schoolcraft, Mich. on March 31, 1962, give the following report of the tragedy.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kauffman, employed in 1-W hospital work at Meridian, Miss., planned to spend their Easter vacant ion at the home of Mr. Kauffman's foster parents at Bayport, Mich. Mr. Kauffman's home church was planning to have a wedding shower for the couple the evening of March 31. Mr. and Mrs. Kauffman had their wedding clothes along for the occasion.

They drove all night the night of March 30, changing drivers every 60 miles. During the night they had a flat tire on the rented Renault Duphine [sic Dauphine] they were driving. They bought a new tire and noticed the car swerved a little after they had the new tire on.

Early in the morning of the 31st they stopped at the home of Mr. Kauffman's uncle at White Pigeon. They could not arouse anyone, so they decided to keep on driving. Mr. Kauffman took the wheel at White Pigeon.

Tire Blew Out

At 7:00 a.m. the new tire blew out near Schoolcraft, Mich. They were on a dual highway and a passing motorist driving in the opposite lane witnessed the accident. He said the car went off to one side of the road, then to the other side of the road, and then turned over three times and bounced like a ball. Mr. Kauffman did not lose consciousness and he said that he was thrown through the sun roof of the car and landed at the side of the road. Mrs. Kauffman was found 25 feet from the car in the middle of the road on her back.

Mr. and Mrs. Kauffman were taken to the emergency room at Three Rivers Hospital. Mrs. Kauffman lived 15 minutes after she arrived at the hospital. An autopsy was performed which disclosed that she died of a punctured liver and a damaged spleen. Mr. Kauffman had no broken bones but his hip was badly bruised. He also had a broken toe, abrasions on his back, wrist and nose.

Funeral in Michigan

The funeral was held at 2:30 p.m. April 3 at the Pigeon River Conservative Mennonite Church with Bishop Willard Mayer officiating, assisted by Pastor Titus Bender of Meridian, Miss. Mr. Kauffman chose the funeral sermon theme which was based on the parable of the ten virgins. Burial was in the church cemetery. Relatives from Arizona, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Virginia were present. Mr. Kauffman attended the funeral on crutches. His wife was buried in her wedding dress.

Ten days before the funeral Mrs. Kauffman gave a testimony to a group at Meridian telling them what the Lord meant to her. She also wrote to her mother-in-law that if the Lord wills, they will be present at the shower.

Mrs. Kauffman is survived by her husband, her foster parents, Bishop and Mrs. Melvin Ruth, Phoenix, Ariz.; a foster brother, Thomas Ruth of Phoenix, three sisters, Mrs. William S. Holsinger, Broadway, Va., Mrs. James Martin, Harleyville, Pa., and Miss Rosa Lee Comer, Harrisonburg, Va.; one brother, Donald Comer, New Market, Va.

Mrs. Kauffman, the former Eleanor Aneda Ruth of Park View, Harrisonburg, was born Oct. 8, 1940. She left the Park View community when five years of age and moved to Phoenix, Ariz. She is a graduate of the high school department of Eastern Mennonite College, class of1958. Her husband is also a graduate of this class. They were married Dec. 21, 1961 at Mrs. Kauffman's foster home at Phoenix, Ariz. and were currently engaged in VS in a hospital unit at Meridian, Miss. under the Conservative Mennonite Mission Board.