Voth, John J. (1891-1972)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1972 Dec 7 p. 8

Birth date: 1891

text of obituary:

Newton and Vicinity

Rev. John J. Voth, 80, of North Newton died Monday morning at the Peabody Memorial Nursing Home where he had received care for the past several months. He was a member of the Bethel College Church. Funeral services will be held there at 2 p.m. Thursday with Rev. John Esau and Rev. Esko Loewen in charge. Rev. Voth served for many years as professor of industrial arts at Bethel College, and for 12 years was pastor of the Grace Hill Mennonite Church near Newton. Survivors include his wife, Maricha, of the home; one daughter, Mrs. Mildred Schenkel of North Newton; one son, Orville L. of Salina; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; a brother, William, of rural Newton; and four sisters, Mrs. P. B. (Marie) Schmidt of the Bethesda Home at Goessel, Mrs. R. B. (Susie) Schmidt of rural Newton, Mrs. Ed (Bertha) Voth of Newton, and Mrs. Horace (Esther) Watson of Yorba Linda, Calif.

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 Mennonite Weekly Review obituary:  1973 Jan 11  p. 11

REV. JOHN J. VOTH

John J. Voth was born on Dec. 8, 1891 near Walton, Kan., son of John H. and Aganetha (Janzen) Voth. He was called to his heavenly home on Dec. 4, 1972 at Peabody Memorial Home where he had lived for the past two months. He would have been 81 years of age on Dec. 8.

He spent his childhood and youth on the farm near Walton. He attended Sand Creek elementary school and graduated from the Bethel Academy. He then taught rural school near Goessel and Inman for a number of years.

He was baptized in June 1911 by Rev. P. H. Richert and received into the Tabor Mennonite Church.

On Sept. 5, 1917, he and Maricha Balzer were united in marriage by Rev. J. S. Balzer in the Tabor Church. This union was blessed with one daughter and one son. The celebration of their golden wedding anniversary in 1967 was an occasion of great joy and thanksgiving.

He received his A. B. degree from Bethel College in 1920 and his Th.M. from Witmarsum Theological Seminary, Bluffton, Ohio, in 1922.

Following father's theological training, our parents were sent to Saskatchewan by the Home Mission Board. For a year he served as pastor of the Herbert Mennonite Church and outlying districts, and then became principal of the Rosthern Academy.

In 1925 father accepted a call to come to the Bethel Academy as a professor of Bible and Religion. On Oct. 25, 1925 our parents became members of the Bethel College Mennonite Church where he remained a member until his death. Our parents have lived in North Newton for almost fifty years.

Father was associated with Bethel College for the next 23 years, from 1925 to 1948. During this period, in 1933, he earned the M.S. degree in Industrial Arts from Iowa State University. During his years at Bethel he taught Bible, industrial arts, set up the print shop, and served as building and grounds superintendent.

Our father had many interests, read widely and studied seriously all of his life, but his deepest commitments were to teaching and preaching. For 12 years (1937-1949) he served the Grace Hill Mennonite Church and supplied other pulpits in the area through the years.

After leaving Bethel College, father and mother moved to Goessel where he was the administrator of the Bethesda Hospital and Old People's Home for two years. From 1951 to 1952, our parents served in Germany under the Mennonite Central Committee. After their term in Germany, they built a home in North Newton. For the next nine years, he was an assistant fire marshall for the State of Kansas, retiring in 1961. From 1961 to 1963, he was the general secretary for the Mennonite Aid Society.

Those remaining to mourn his departure are his widow; one son, Orville, of Salina; one daughter, Mildred of North Newton; one brother, William, of Newton; four sisters, Mrs. P. B. (Marie) Schmidt of Goessel, Mrs. R. B. (Susie) Schmidt of Walton, Mrs. Ed. (Bertha) Voth of Newton, and Mrs. Horace (Esther) Watson of Yorba Linda, Calif; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were held at 2:00 p.m. on Dec. 7, 1972, in the Bethel College Mennonite Church, North Newton. Rev. Esko Loewen and Rev. John A. Esau officiated. Interment was in Greenwood Cemetery, Newton.