Wiebe, Edward (1916-2007)

Latest revision as of 09:39, 31 May 2011

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2007 Sep 24 p. 8

Birth date: 1916 Dec 26

Edward Wiebe, 90, of Huron, S.D., died Sept. 14, 2007, at Violet Tschetter Memorial Home. He was born Dec. 26, 1916, in Whitewater, Kan., to Herman and Anna (Epp) Wiebe.

He had polio as a farm boy, causing a limp that was his “trademark.” He attended Hesston College, where he met his future wife, Velma Litwiller. He also attended Goshen (Ind.) College, BIOLA University and Southwestern Baptist Seminary.

On July 20, 1946, he married Velma Litwiller on her parents’ farm at Hopedale, Ill.

He pastored churches at Go Ye Mission in Porum, Okla., at West New Hopedale Mennonite Church in Ringwood, Okla., at Mount Olivet Mennonite Church in Huron and at Bethel Community Church in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. He served as the administrator at Pleasant View Nursing Home in Inman, Kan., and pastored at Durham, Kan., at the same time. He retired in 1989 in Rockford, Ill., and continued pulpit supply while he was active in the Shiloh Free Church. They moved to Huron in November 2005.

He enjoyed visiting his parents’ and brothers’ farms in Kansas. He was an avid woodworker and made furniture for his children and grandchildren. His hobbies included table games, gardening and listening to Southern Gospel music, especially Bill Gaither. His heart was in the ministry.

Survivors include two sons, Gary Wiebe and his wife, Nancy, of Belvidere, Ill., and Daniel Wiebe and his wife, Doris, of Pueblo, Colo.; two daughters, Cheryl Hofer of Huron and Beth Bowers and her husband, Larry, of Highlands Ranch, Colo.; three brothers, Richard, Waldimar and Bill Wiebe; and three sisters, Hilda Regier, Emilie Busenitz and Gladys Wiebe; 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Velma, on June 25, 2007; a brother, Alfred; and a sister, Esther.

Funeral services were held at Mount Olivet Mennonite Church in Huron. Burial was in Ideal Cemetery.