Kroeker, John Jacob (1894-1964)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1964 Jun 18 p. 5

Birth date: 1894 May 2

text of obituary:

. . .

• John Jacob Kroeker, 70, a resident here for many years, died June 9 at a rest home in Saunderstown, Rhode Island. The body was returned here and funeral services were conducted Saturday forenoon at the First Mennonite Church, with Rev. Arnold Epp in charge. Mr. Kroeker was a native of Hamburg, Germany and formerly was employed by Wiens Construction Co. here. Surviving are his widow, Anna, and a daughter, Mrs. Walter Thiesen, both of Newton; a son, Jacob J. of Wichita; three grandchildren; two sisters and six brothers. One sister and four brothers reside in Germany, and another brother in Stockholm, Sweden.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1964 Jul 30 p.11

text of obituary:

JOHN JACOB KROEKER

John Jacob Kroeker, oldest child of Rev. Jacob J. and Anna Langeman Kroeker, was born in Hamburg, Germany, on May 2, 1894. On June 9, 1964, a life of 70 years, one month and 11 days came to its earthly close.

He attended school in Halbstadt, in the Molotschna, South Russia. In 1910 his father moved the family to Wernigerode, Germany. A year later he returned to the Crimea to work for his grandfather, John Langeman, in his machine factory. At the outbreak of the war in 1914 he enlisted as hospital corpsman in the Red Cross, serving at the Turkish front till 1918.

On Sept. 22, 1918, he was married to Katherine Janzen by Rev. Jakob Huebert, in the Bruedergemeinde in Spadt, Crimea. Two children were born to this union.

Because of the Bolshevik Revolution, they had to flee to Germany, and in 1926 emigrated to the United States, living in Chicago until 1936 and since then in Newton, where he worked for the Wiens Brothers construction firm. In 1937 he was baptized by Rev. J. E. Entz and joined the First Mennonite Church, where he remained a member until his death.

He visited his aged parents in Germany in 1939. World War II began, and he was unable to return home until 1947. By God's grace he survived the horrors of the bombing of Berlin, and when the Allied forces took over served as an interpreter for the Allies, since he was fluent in several languages.

He suffered a stroke in 1956 and also became a victim of multiple sclerosis, which kept him invalid the last three years of his life.

He is survived by his widow, Katherine; daughter Anna and husband Walter Thiesen of Newton; son Jacob John Kroeker and wife Marcia of Wichita; three grandchildren Michael Kenneth Kroeker and Catherine Lucile Kroeker, and John David Thiesen; two sisters, Anna, Mrs. John Bartel, Rosedale, B. C. and Maria of Murnau, Germany; six brothers, Jakob and family of Murnau, Germany, Henry and family of Stockholm, Sweden, Dr. Peter and family of Essen, Germany, Dr. Ernst and family of Dortmund, Germany, Emanuel and family of Munich, Germany, and Nick and family of Chicago, Ill.

Funeral services were held June 13 at 10 a. m. in the First Mennonite Church of Newton. Rev. John E. Entz led in opening scripture and prayer. Rev. Arnold Epp based his sermon on Amos 4:12. Burial was in Greenwood Cemetery, Newton. Following the services, the Christian Homemakers Sunday School class served a noon meal in the church fellowship hall to family and friends.—The Family.

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The Mennonite obituary: 1964 Oct 20 p. 655

text of obituary:

John J. Kroeker, Sunny Dale Convalescent Home, Saunderstown, R. I., was born May 2, 1894, in Hamburg, Germany, and died June 9.