Emmert, Jess Clarence (1896-1979)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 8 Mar 1979 p. 11

Birth date: 1896

text of obituary:

JESS C. EMMERT

Jess Clarence Emmert was born Oct. 19, 1896 to Benjamin and Anna (Schrag) Emmert near Eugene, Ore. He died Sept. 11, 1978 in the Lebanon Community Hospital at the age of 81.

When quite young, he and his family moved to the Hubbard, Ore. area, where he was reared, attended elementary rural schools, and graduated from high school. He attended Hesston College in Kansas, and worked as a farmhand north of Calgary, Alta. before going into the service of his country during World War I. He was part of a special detachment located at Camp Lewis, Washington.

He was married to Laura Miller at her parental home in Hubbard June 5, 1919. He worked for a local creamery in Hubbard until moving with his family to Molalla, Ore. in 1929. There he and two of his brothers owned a feed store and freight line. He was a mountain climber and scaled many of the peaks of the Cascade range in Oregon and Washington.

In 1938 he and his brothers moved to Sweet Home, Ore., where they operated the Emmert Brothers Logging Company and a machine shop. Following this he became part of a construction crew, building roads in the western slopes of the Cascades and in eastern Oregon.

He was a member of the Sweet Home Lebanon Rock and Mineral Society. He enjoyed working with flowers in his garden as well as rocks. He learned to wield a paint brush and oils to create seascapes and landscapes while convalescing from an illness in the 1930s.

He accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior at a young age and became a member of the Hopewell Mennonite Church near Hubbard. At the time of his death he was a member of the Sweet Home Community Chapel, where he served as secretary-treasurer for a number of years. He enjoyed teaching Sunday school and endeared himself to the junior high age group. He appreciated good music.

He and his wife celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1969. After her death in 1971 he married Ruth Lehman McDowell, who survives

Also surviving are five children – John Mark of Salem, Ore., Frances (Mrs. Tom) Miller of Sweet Home, Ore.; Madeline (Mrs. Bill) Toweill of John Day, Ore., Lois (Mrs. Jess Clayton) Kauffman of Salem, and Arliss (Mrs. Gene) Hughes of Newport, Ore.; two step-children – Mary Kathryn (Mrs. John W.) Mishler of Lagrange, Ind. and James McDowell of Ft. Wayne, Ind.; 19 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; and three brothers – Floyd, Ivan and George, all of Sweet Home. Two brothers, Albert and Ralph, preceded him in death.

Services were held Sept. 13, 1978 in the Sweet Home Community Chapel with Pastor Larry Sloan officiating.