Voth, Alfred G. (1921-2007)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2008 Feb 4 p. 9

Birth date: 1921 Aug 23

text of obituary:

ALFRED G. VOTH

Alfred G. Voth, 86, of Hesston, Kan., died Oct. 6, 2007, at Schowalter Villa of Alzheimer’s disease. He was born Aug. 23, 1921, to Jacob A. and Maria (Unruh) Voth in Newton.

The family attended Tabor Mennonite Church. He graduated from Walton High School and attended one year at Bethel College before returning home to help on the farm.

On Feb. 23, 1944, he married Clara Neufeld at First Mennonite Church in Newton.

He served in World War II as a noncombatant and was sent to Japan just as the war ended. He ran a small dairy outside Walton and then moved to Newton, where he worked in lumber yards for 17 years. He joined First Mennonite Church and taught Sunday school, participated in jail ministries and served on the board of deacons. Because of his long participation in the Gideon’s, he was awarded a lifetime membership.

In 1971, he began a rehabilitative program for juvenile offenders, teaching handyman, construction skills and good work habits. For this he formed First Step Industries. In 1975, First Step was incorporated into USD 373 as part of the Alternative High School. The program had a rehabilitation success rate of 85 percent and won several state and national awards, and he received the Kansas Outstanding Vocational Special Needs Teacher of the Year in 1986. With only a year of college, he was required to work toward his college degree in order to continue teaching. In 1983 at age 62, he graduated from Bethel College. He continued to teach until his retirement, when he focused on family, fishing and camping.

Survivors include his wife, Clara Voth of Hesston; two daughters, Roberta (Birdie) Vandermolen and her husband, Tim, of Morton Grove, Ill., Mary (Cookie) Wiebe and her husband, David, of Newton; a son, John Voth and his wife, Colleen, of Derby; a brother, Harold Voth of Haven; sister-in-law Jane Voth; and five grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Gladys Reimer; and a granddaughter, Bethany Wiebe.

Memorial services were held at First Mennonite Church in Newton.