Kliewer, Herman S. (1886-1959)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1959 Jul 9 p. 6

Birth date: 1886 Jul 26

text of obituary:

. . .

— Word was received here of the death of Herman S. Kliewer, 73, well-known retired farmer of the Great Bend community who passed away at St. Rose Hospital there Monday morning. He was a brother of Mrs. B. Bargen of North Newton. Funeral services were held Wednesday afternoon at the Bergtal Mennonite Church near Pawnee Rock, Rev. Victor Sawatzky officiating.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1959 Jul 23 p. 8

text of obituary:

HERMAN S. KLIEWER

Herman Schmidt Kliewer was born on July 26, 1886, to Helena Schmidt Kliewer and John J. Kliewer at Cantonment, Okla. He died July 6, 1959.

Survivors are his widow, Lorena; two daughters, Esther (Mrs. Lester M.) Ellis of Los Angeles, and Turelda (Mrs. John G.) Hoffer of Medicine Lodge, Kansas; two sons, Olin of Pawhuska, Okla. and Myron of Fort Campbell, Kentucky; a brother Peter, Escondido, Calif.; three sisters, Marianna (Mrs. Roy W.) Paulson of Berkeley, Calif., Dora (Mrs. Hugo) Wall of Wichita, Kansas, and Esther (Mrs. Bernhard) Bargen, North Newton, Kansas; four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

He received his education at Bethel College and the University of Kansas at Lawrence and did graduate work at the University of California at Berkeley. He married Lorena Dirks in May 1913. His early married years were spent teaching in California. During the First World war he and his wife moved to their present home site near Great Bend, Kansas.

The physical body of a man passes on, but his memories remain with those who knew him and loved him. His family will always remember him not only for the laughter and gaiety he created but for the serenity and good will he instilled in all who came in contact with him. His children remember with pleasure the many evenings he spent telling stories from the Bible and other worthy books. All his life he was filled with a never-ending desire to learn more about the mysteries and beauties of life. Books were his greatest delight and his keen mind spent many hours perusing their pages. He shared many of these experiences with his family in a most fascinating way — at the supper table, around the kitchen stove on long winter nights, and even while carrying out daily routine chores.

The complete retention of high spirits and good morale, without loss of interest in his surroundings in the face of eventual total blindness, made it a privilege, not a burden to render what small service he required but never demanded.

His patience with the understanding of his family and fellowmen were truly the mark of a great man as attested to by the number and variety of his friends. Here was a man to whom materialistic and worldly possessions were secondary to the spiritual growth of the inner man. His creed was much the same as that expressed in Proverbs 23:7. “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.” The absolute integrity of his dealings with other people, both business and personal, was never questioned. His faith in God as a loving Creator was deep and abiding. He had made his peace with God and would not wish the dear ones be left behind to weep at his grave. — The Herman Kliewer Family.