Swartzendruber, Clifford Wenger (1918-2009)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2009 Sep 7 p. 13

Birth date: 1918 Dec 6

text of obituary:

CLIFF SWARTZENDRUBER

Clifford Wenger Swartzendruber, 90, of Goshen, Ind., died Aug. 19, 2009, at Greencroft Healthcare Center after being ill with squamous cell carinoma, a head and throat cancer. He was born Dec. 6, 1918, to Ernest and Sarah (Wenger) Swartzendruber in Versailles, Mo.

He married Eleanor Ulrich at her parents’ home in Pomeroy, Iowa, on June 1, 1942. She preceded him in death in 2003.

He formerly worked at Beneke Motor Co. in Manson, Iowa. In 1963, he and his wife, along with another partner, established S & D Chevrolet. He also worked at Garber Birkley Implement in Pomeroy prior to his retirement.

He was a former member of Manson Mennonite Church, where he held various leadership positions. He was also active in business service clubs.

In 1990, he and his wife moved to Goshen, where he was a member of Waterford Mennonite Church and the National Wood Carvers Association. At Greencroft he was well known for his talent as a woodworker and woodcarver. His fancy folk-art cane with a wormy butternut fish-head handle won second prize in the “Art is Ageless” contest.

Survivors include a daughter, Karen Kurtz and her husband, Mark, of Goshen; a brother, Emery Swartzendruber of Rocky Ford, Colo.; a special friend, Shirley Gingerich of Goshen; and 17 nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Eleanor; three sisters, LeAnna Miller, Twila Wenger and Hazel Birkey; a brother, John Swartzendruber; and a niece, Shirley Birkey.

Services were held at Evergreen Place on the Greencroft Campus. Burial was in Violett Cemetery.