Alderfer, Edwin Stover (1922-2004)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2004 Jun 28 p. 8

Birth date: 1922 Mar 12

text of obituary:

EDWIN STOVER ALDERFER

Edwin Stover Alderfer, 82, of Goshen, Ind., died May 21, 2004. He was born March 12, 1922, to Franklin and Maria Stover Alderfer in Blooming Glen, Pa.

He married Helen Verene Wade on Aug. 12, 1944, in Sterling, Ill., after graduating from Goshen College with a biology degree. A divinity degree from Mennonite Biblical Seminary followed. He had a deferment during the war, but his resolve to serve set the pattern for the rest of his life in church service. He and Helen spent a year at the Canton, Ohio, mission, a few months in Civilian Public Service in Florida, and four years in the Philippines with Mennonite Central Committee.

From 1951 to 1955, he was principal and teacher at Bethel Springs School in Culp, Ark. The family then moved to eastern Pennsylvania, where he taught at Christopher Dock High School. In 1959, he received a call to pastor Kingview and North Scottdale Mennonite churches at Scottdale, Pa., where he served 25 years. He started retirement by earning a master’s degree in pastoral counseling at Duquesne University. He continued counseling after moving to Goshen in 1984.

He was a lifelong learner who loved God’s creation. He planted trees and gardens. He was a baker, beekeeper, candy maker, bird watcher and photographer. He enjoyed sports. He read studiously.

He witnessed his steadfast faith in God through his daily life. He made himself available to people in times of need, listening, counseling and supporting them. He was a man of prayer. He was a generous and caring husband and father.

Survivors include his wife, Helen; four daughters, Ann Kauffman and her husband, Ned, of Goshen, Ind., Faith Summer and her husband, Rod, of Littleton, Colo., Mary Synder and her husband, Merle, of Denver, Colo., and Amy Bell and her husband, Steve, of Washington, D.C.; four grandchildren; and three sisters, Ruth Hertzler, Esther Moyer and Jane Diseroad, all of Pennsylvania. He was preceded in death by a son, Eric Wade Alderfer.

A memorial service was held at College Mennonite Church in Goshen, where he was a member.