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Garber, Eugene Clell (1925-2003)
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2003 Feb 10 p. 8
Birth date: 1925 Oct 17
text of obituary:
EUGENE CLELL GARBER
Eugene Clell Garber, 77, of Sweet Home, Ore., died Jan. 31, 2003. He was born Oct. 17, 1925, to Clyde and Alma Zehr Garber in Manson, Iowa.
He married Melva Darlene Yoder on June 24, 1947, in Kalona, Iowa.
He received his bachelor's degree in religious education at Hesston (Kan.) College. While there he served as a student pastor at the Mennonite church in Greensburg.
He served as a pastor to congregations in Kalona, Iowa, International Falls, Minn., and Mount Pleasant, Iowa. He and his wife moved to Sweet Home in 1969. He was pastor at Sweet Home Mennonite Church until his retirement and was a member there at the time of his death.
He taught Bible classes at Iowa Mennonite School, was literature secretary for Iowa-Nebraska District Mission Board, was a representative of Mennonite Foundation to Oregon congregations and led the activities of seniors ministry at Sweet Home Mennonite Church.
He had a keen interest in evangelism and began with a tract distribution project. After his appointment as district literature secretary, he was inspired to distribute inspirational books and was instrumental in founding Choice Books Inc., now located in Harrisonburg, Va.
He owned and operated Mountain Shadows Mobile Home Park in Sweet Home. He enjoyed fishing, hunting and tropical fish.
Survivors include his wife, Melva; six children, Karen Reed and her husband, Charles, of Columbus, Ohio, Ken and his wife, Deb, of Pomeroy, Iowa, Jim and his wife, Linda, of Lebanon, Ore., Dan and his wife, Regena, of Hutchinson, Kan., Marlene Sherfy and her husband, Duane, of Albany, Ore., and Ron and his wife, Kerri, of Boardman, Ore.; two sisters, Carol Birkey of Manson, Iowa, and LaVonne Bohn of Chicago; two brothers, Irvin of Fort Dodge, Iowa, and Daryl of Akron, Pa.; 12 grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Funeral services were held at Sweet Home Mennonite Church. Burial was in Gilliland Cemetery.
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2003 Mar 10 p. 7
text of obituary:
SWEET HOME, Ore. — Eugene Garber, one of the founders of Choice Books, an Anabaptist book evangelism ministry, died Jan. 31. he was 77.
Believing that "a drop of ink could make a million people think," Garber challenged the church more than 40 years ago to consider becoming involved in distributing Christian literature in public places.
His vision gave birth to Choice Books, a ministry that grew beyond his dreams. In 2002 it sold 3.97 million books from displays in public locations such as supermarkets, airports, hospitals and restaurants.
Besides his involvement in the birth of bookrack evangelism, Garber served as pastor of congregations in Kalona, Iowa; International Falls, Minn.; Mount Pleasant, Iowa; and Sweet Home.
At the time of his death, he owned and operated Mountain Shadows Mobile Home Park in Sweet Home.
He is survived by his wife, Melva; four sons, Ken of Pomeroy, Iowa, Jim of Lebanon, Dan of Hutchinson, Kan., and Ron of Boardman; two daughters, Karen Reed of Columbus, Ohio, and Marlene Sherfy of Albany; 12 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; two sisters and two brothers.