Penner, Martha Richert (d. 1957)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1957 Oct 24 p. 8

Birth date: 1881 Feb 15

text of obituary:

— Funeral services were conducted Saturday forenoon at the First Mennonite Church for Mrs. Martha Penner, 76, widow of the late Rev. P. A. Penner and a missionary to India for many years. Death came Wednesday evening at the Bethel Home for the Aged, where she had lived since 1953. A native of the Goessel community, Mrs. Penner was married to Rev. Penner in 1909 and they retired from the work in India in 1941. Rev. Penner died in 1949. Surviving are a daughter, Mrs. H. R. Schmidt of Newton; two granddaughters and one great-granddaughter; one brother, Prof D. H. Richert of North Newton; and one sister, Mrs. H. D. Epp of Henderson, Neb. Officiating at the services in the church were Rev. J. E. Entz, Rev. John Thiessen, and Rev. Orlando Waltner. Rev. W. F. Unruh conducted the commital [sic] service in Greenwood cemetery.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1957 Oct 31 p. 8

text of obituary: 

Missionary-Nurse Served In India For Thirty-Two Years 

(The following account of the life of Mrs. Martha Penner, who died Oct. 16, was prepared by her daughter, Mrs. Herbert R. Schmidt of Newton)

 

Mrs. P. A. Penner was born Martha Richert, daughter of Rev. Heinrich and Helena Unruh Richert on Feb. 15, 1881, on a farm in McPherson County, Kan.; and died Oct. 16, 1957, at 9:30 in the evening in the Bethel Home for the Aged in Newton, having reached the age of 78 years in February. 

Martha Richert attended school in District 50, South Blumenfeld, also German school and later the Bethel Academy.  She was baptized in 1898 and became a member of the Alexanderwohl Church. 

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Ordained As Deaconess

 

IN 1904 and 1905 she took nurses training at the German Deaconess Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, after which she was ordained as a deaconess, and accepted as “Gemeinde Schwester” in the Alexanderwohl Church. Rev. Peter Balzer was her teacher in German school, baptized her, ordained her as a deaconess, and later became her step-father. 

She did private nursing in homes and helped in the Bethesda Hospital in Goessel.  The price was set at 75 cents per day for heavy cases, and 50 cents per day for lighter cases.  On special duty for surgical patients in the hospital she was allowed $1.00 per day. 

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Married Dr. P. A. Penner

 

SISTER Martha, as she was known, met Missionary P. A. Penner in the home of her sister and brother-in-law, Rev. and Mrs. C. H. Wedel, on the Bethel College campus while Rev. Penner was on furlough.  They were married in August 1909, and a month later they were on their way to India together.  Here they worked together for 32 years. 

Mother assisted father in his work as superintendent of the Bethesda Leper Home in Champa, India.  For many years she had charge of the home for untainted children, the children of leprous parents.  She had the small babies of leprous mothers in her own bedroom, each in its own improvised bed made out of a store box, and cared for them, until they were ready for the home for untainted children. Meanwhile father would sleep in another part of the house so he could get his rest.  Mother assisted at the birth of many babies, including the Missionary Wiens' twins, Martha and Frieda, now living with their families in North Newton. 

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Served as “Doctor”

 

ON ONE occasion distraught parents brought their son, terribly clawed by a bear. Mother considered this too difficult a case for her and asked them to take their child to a doctor in Bilaspur, but the parents begged her to do something as they had no money to go to Bilaspur.  Mother withdrew to her room for prayer, then set about to dress the head wound with brains exposed, and sewed it up as best she could.  The grateful parents brought the child back some weeks later to show that he had been completely healed. 

Mother showed wonderful courage in the fact of great difficulties.  She went frequently by bicycle the eight miles to Janjgir or the 25 miles to Mauhadih to tend the sick or help others in need.    Father carried on most of the correspondence with family and mission constituency and seldom was a letter written by him in which he did not mention “my dear Martha,” or “my good Martha.” It seemed he always needed to use a term of endearment or appreciation when he mentioned her or her work.    Many, many times she entertained guests in her home.  Champa served as a center for all the other stations at that time and all the missionaries enjoyed her gracious hospitality again and again. 

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Return to America

IN 1941 father and mother returned to America for the last time and lived in retirement in their own pleasant home at 108 South Walnut for eight years. Tenderly and faithfully mother cared for father in his last illness. After he died in 1949 she shared her home with her sister, Margaret, until she entered the Bethel Home for the Aged. Upon their return from India father and mother joined the fellowship of the First Mennonite Church.

Survivors include her daughter, Miriam, and husband, Dr. Herbert R. Schmidt; two granddaughters, Madalyn (Mrs. John D. Ensz) and Susan; one great-granddaughter, Lori Lynn Ensz; one brother, Prof. D. H. Richert; one sister, Mrs. H. D. Epp of Henderson, Neb.; two brothers-in-law, five sisters-in-law, and a host of nephews, nieces, cousins and friends.

It could well be said of Martha Penner what Jesus once said of Mary in Mark 14:8, “She hath done what she could.”

Sarah Doudney wrote this lovely verse with which we want to say good-bye to the one we loved.

“Sleep on, beloved, sleep and take thy rest;
Lay down thy head upon the Savior's breast;
We love thee well; but Jesus loves thee best—
Good-night! Good-night! Good-night!

The Mennonite obituary: 1957 Nov 19 p. 725