Hiebert, Gerhard G. (1881-1951)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1951 Apr 26 p. 1

Birth date: 1881 Oct 15

text of obituary:

CALIFORNIA RESIDENT DIED WHILE ON VISIT AT HILLSBORO

Hillsboro, Kans. — Funeral services were held at the Alexanderfeld church near here on April 24 for G. G. Hiebert of Reedley Calif., who died while on a visit here with his brothers, sisters and friends. He arrived here on April 16 and suddenly became ill or Thursday morning April 19. He died at 10:00 a. m. the same day.

Mr. Hiebert had worked and traveled extensively in the interest of the MCC.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1951 May 10 p. 8, 9

text of obituary:

GERHARD G. HIEBERT

Gerhard G. Hiebert, a son of Peter and Anna Goossen Hiebert, was born October 15, 1881, at Rosenhoff, Manitoba. Here he attended the village school for several years, till the family moved to Kansas in 1890. They settled on a farm four miles southwest of Hillsboro. Here he attended the Hope Valley school and grew to manhood. He was the second eldest son of a family of eight sons and two daughters who grew to maturity.

When Beaver county in Oklahoma opened up for settlement he homesteaded near Tyron in 1905. His strong physique was advantageous for enduring the hardships of such a pioneer life. Helping those who were in need won for him many friends in that community. It was while living here that he accepted the Lord Jesus as his personal Saviour and was baptized October 17, 1909, by Rev. Abraham Cornelsen, and became a member of the Mennonite Brethren church.

In 1911 he disposed of his property in Oklahoma and purchased a ranch near Reedley, California, where he also transferred his church membership. After living in the Reedley community for several years, the desire to visit Europe, the home country of his parents and here at that time many relatives were still living, became a reality. He made this trip in 1919, soon after World War I. While in Russia he saw the distress of many; he said, my heart was touched and I couldn’t otherwise but open my pocketbook and help some of those that were in dire need of help.

The following are some of the highlights in public service as given by Dr. P. C. Hiebert, chairman of the MCC.

“In the summer of 1922 he was sent as a practical farmer to help administer and teach the use of 25 Ford tractor-plow outfits, in an effort to overcome the great famine among the Mennonites and others in South Russia. He remained there for more than two years teaching the natives to handle the tractors and also in a general way directing the use of the tractor plows to the best interests of the general public. His work was well received, and he was generally known as "Tractor-Hiebert.”

“In the years 1925-1926 he spent quite some time in Mexico, where he received immigrants from Russia and aided them to get settled. Here he encountered many difficulties and much opposition even from among Mennonite leaders but he remained faithful, always contending for the best interest of the poor settlers. And finally when the way opened for most of these Mennonites from Russia in Mexico, to migrate to Canada, he was the one who helped them in getting their traveling papers and permits, and also their transportation arrangements.

“During the winter of 1929-1930 several thousand Mennonite refugees were let out of Russia, after having been stripped of everything in their possession. Temporarily these people were supported in Germany where old Hindenburg, then president of the German Republic, showed them much courtesy and personal interest. Since Germany, being overpopulated, could not keep them permanently, the Mennonite Central Committee consented to take these people to Paraguay, South America.

“After the migration was ready to take form, Bro. G. G. Hiebert was found as the suitable person to precede these poor refugees to Buenos Aires, Argentina, chaperon them the long way inland to Fernheim, Paraguay. Knowing the Spanish language, he handled their 1500 mile transport very efficiently, bringing them to the wilds of an unknown country. Having arrived he helped them to find the land, locate and lay out villages, 19 in all, the last of which was called “Hiebertsheim” in recognition of his services.

“When I visited the colony seven years later I found that G.G. Hiebert was held in the highest esteem by the colonists. They told me how he lived as one of them, what they ate that he would eat, and when they suffered thirst for want of water, he would suffer with them. No duty was too heavy or problem too difficult but what he would do all in his power to help them. He spent more than two years in this service in Paraguay.”

Brother George, as he was usually called, traveled extensively. It is said that his work and visiting took him into 25 different countries of the world. He praised the name of the Lord for His protecting hand over him that he never had been seriously ill nor had any special mishaps while on the trips.

During the latter years he was retired from active service. He lived in Long Beach, Calif. several years and the recent years in Los Angeles. Just previous to coming to Kansas he had been a resident in the M.B. Home for the Aged in Reedley, Calif. for about five months. There he had especially enjoyed the prevailing Christian atmosphere.

He arrived at the N. H. Leatherman home, to visit his sister Mary, on Monday morning, April 16. His plans were to visit his brothers and sister (the other sister lives in Mexico, but was present for the funeral) and other relatives and friends in Kansas for about three months. The following Thursday, April 19, 1951, at 4:00 a. m. he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. The doctor was summoned, but soon his speech failed him and he quietly passed away at 10:00 a. m. that same morning, at the age of 69 years, six months and four days.

His mother preceded him in 1910 and the father in 1917. Surviving are his brothers Frank G., Henry G., and Peter G. and sister Mary, Mrs. N. H. Leatherman, all of Hillsboro, Kans., brother Daniel of Tampa, Kans., and sister Margaret, Mrs. J. K. Ensz of Cuauhtemoc, Campo 45, Mexico; many nephews, nieces, relatives and friends.

Services were held April 24, 1951, at 1:15 p. m. at the Goertz funeral home where Dr. P. C. Hiebert spoke from John 6:8-13; and at the Alexanderfeld church at 2:00 where Bro. Jona Dyck made opening remarks and prayer and Bro. Ervin Harms spoke from Eccles. 7:1; Job 14:14; James 4:14; and Rev. 14:13. Interment was in the Alexanderfeld cemetery. — Brothers and Sisters.