Goebel, John W. (1871-1959)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1959 Mar 26 p. 5

Birth date: 1871 Feb 27

text of obituary:

Oklahoma Pioneer Dies of Burns

Deer Creek, Okla. — Funeral services were held here March 21 for John W. Goebel, 88, pioneer resident of northern Oklahoma who died Thursday in Blackwell General Hospital of Burns received more than three weeks earlier.

Mr. Goebel was burning lawn grass at his home in Deer Creek when his clothing caught fire.

A native of Summerfield, Ill., he spent his early life at Moundridge, Kan. In 1893 he made the run at the opening of the “Strip,” later buying a farm northeast of Deer Creek. He retired from farming in 1942.

Surviving are his wife, Katherine, of the home, four daughters, four sons, 20 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, one sister, Mrs. Clara Auernheimer of Halstead, Kan., and one brother, Peter, of Newton, Kan.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1959 Apr 2 p. 8

text of obituary:

JOHN W. GOEBEL

John W. Goebel was born Feb. 27, 1871, at Summerfield, Ill., to Christian and Anna Risser Goebel.

At the age of 12 he moved with his family to Moundridge, Kansas. Here he spent his early life.

In 1893 he made the run in the “strip opening,” finally buying a farm one mile west and two and one-fourths miles north of Deer Creek, Okla. Mr. Goebel farmed most of these years, retiring from active farming in 1942.

In the year 1901, Jan. 31, he was united in marriage to Katherine Fast and to this home were born four sons and four daughters.

Surviving Mr. Goebel are his wife Katherine at home; sons David of Deer Creek, Benjamin of Dallas, Oregon, William of Albany, Oregon, and Jacob of Arkansas City, Kansas; daughters Louise Goebel of Wichita, Ruth Stone of Wichita, Frieda Scruggs of Fairfield, Texas, and Ella May [sic Mae] Reusser of Deer Creek; one brother Peter at the Bethel Home for the Aged, Newton, Kansas, and one sister Clara Auernheimer of Halstead, Kansas; 20 grandchildren (one grandchild having died in 1936), six great-grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.

Mr. Goebel was baptized in the Garden Twp. Church at Moundridge, Kansas in April 1886. Upon moving to the Deer Creek community he was received into the Mennonite church there in 1901. He was active in the life of the church. At the construction of the first building by the fellowship he had the distinction of hauling the first load of rock. His life was characterized by a quiet spirit, hard work, a brotherly warmth, and a deep faith in his Lord.

On March 19, 1959, at the age of 88 years and 20 days, he passed from this life into the next of the Blackwell General Hospital following a prolonged stay because of severe burns.

Mr. Goebel is missed by a large number of friends, leaving with them a witness to his God and in the pioneer spirit of patience and faith.