Jantz, John C. (1879-1971)

Latest revision as of 16:29, 5 January 2023

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1971 Feb 4 p. 10

Birth date: 1879 Mar 12

text of obituary:

Word has been received in Newton that John C. Jantz, 90, prominent retired farmer, grain-man and civic leader, died on Jan. 27 at Ritzville, Wash. The funeral was held at the Menno Mennonite Church near there on Jan. 30, with Harris Waltner in charge.

A native of Marion, S. D., Mr. Jantz was a long-time resident of Eastern Washington where he was a grain buyer and farmer and became district manager of the grain elevator at Odessa. He was a former mayor of Odessa and a leader in numerous civic and benevolent organizations.

Mr. Jantz was the first Sunday school superintendent at Ruff, Wash., organized in 1903, and served as treasurer of the Pacific District Conference from 1929 to 1954.

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1971 Feb 11 p. 11

text of obituary:

John C. Jantz, son of Cornelius and Maria Nickel Janz, was born March 12, 1879 at Marion, S. D. He spent his boyhood at the family home located two miles west of town and received his grade school education in the Marion town schools. After taking a short business course he went into the grain business with his father .

On Oct. 10, 1901, he married Susie Kaufman and to this union were born one son and three daughters, all of whom survive. They are Joseph S. and Jennie Marie, Mrs. Arthur J. Krehbiel, of Ritzville, Wash., Josephine, Mrs. Philip P. Stucky of Seattle, Wash. and Esther, Mrs. Ferdinand J. Wiens of Woodburn, Ore. Also surviving are five grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

His wife Susie preceded him in death in 1951. Even though he was the oldest he outlived all eight of his younger brothers.

In 1902 he moved with his bride, his parents and the entire family of six surviving brothers to pioneer in farming in the state of Washington near the town of Ruff, living that first winter in hastily erected shacks and burning sagebrush to keep warm. On the shoulders of John as the oldest and only ch they traveled some 16 miles south to the large block of land purchased by his father for the family.

John immediately went into business as a grain buyer for one of the elevators in the town of Krupp and continued in this line of business until his retirement in 1942. During the early years he also worked in the slack season as a deputy assessor, riding his horse over the sparsely settled hills to find the lonely farms of the pioneer settlers of what was then Douglas County.

When the Milwaukee Railroad built its branch line into that area in 1909 he established the Jantz Grain Co. in the new town of Ruff. In 1921 he moved to Osessa [sic Odessa] where he became the grain buyer for the White-Delany Co. and Fisher Flour Mills and supervised 17 grain buying stations. He had several offers to accept more lucrative jobs in Spokane, Seattle and even in Argentina but preferred to remain near his family, his land and his church.

John was baptized on Dec. 25, 1897, by Rev/ Christian Kaufman in the Salem-Zion (North) Mennonite Church near Marion, S. D. and remained a faithful member of the General Conference Mennonite denomination all his life. In the early years in Washington services were held in the Cornelius Jantz home and at a number of other places such as the Tiflis community. In 1910 he and his family joined the Ruff Mennonite Church as charter members. In 1931, when the Ruff church was disbanded, he and his family joined the Menno Mennonite Church and except for the years 1948 to 1953 when he lived in Portland, Ore. he was a member of this church.

All of his life he took a deep interest in missions. He often told of travelling from Marion, S. D. to Mt. Lake, Minn. to attend the commissioning service held there in 1899 for P. A. Penner, the pioneer missionary to India.

The Jantz home was always open to travelling ministers and missionaries. For 25 years, from 1929 to 1954, he served as treasurer of the Pacific District Conference and faithfully carried out his duties one of the most trying periods in the history of the conference. His sound advice was offered and sought by all. For a period of 10 years, he served as mayor of the town of Odessa.

In 1948 he moved to Portland, where he took an active part in the affairs of the Alberta Community Mennonite Church. After the death of his wife he moved to Ritzville to be near his daughter Jennie and his farming interests.

He was a real pioneer and almost the last of his generation. He loved to tell stories of his boyhood years of South Dakota and pioneering in the Big Bend country of Washington. He was in good health until age 80 and remained active until about one and a half years ago. He faithfully read his Bible and trusted God and his Saviour Jesus Christ and by his life witnessed to his faith.

Funeral services were held at 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 30 in the Menno Mennonite Church with Rev. Harris Waltner officiating. Interment was about the church cemetery.

The Mennonite obituary: 1971 Feb 23 p. 131