Kurtz, Chester I. (1934-2003)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2003 Dec 22 p. 8

Birth date: 1934

text of obituary:

CHESTER I. KURTZ

Chester I. Kurtz, 69, of Lancaster, Pa., died Nov. 11, 2003, at Essa Flory Hospice Center after a long illness. He was born to Christian J. and Elsie Stoltzfus Kurtz in Elverson.

He studied at Eastern Mennonite University and at seminary.

He was pastor of Landisville Mennonite Church from 1974 to 1988. For the last 15 years he was an interim pastor in eight Pennsylvania Mennonite congregations, most recently at Ephrata Mennonite Church.

He also taught industrial arts and science, worked part time as a carpenter and was a teacher with Eastern Mennonite Missions in Somalia for 11 years prior to becoming a minister.

Survivors include his wife of 44 years, Catherine E. Good Kurtz; two daughters, Marianne Yoder and her husband, Randy, of East Petersburg, and Jewel Wood and her husband, Jay, of West Orange, N.J.; two sons, Eric and his wife, Kim, of Goshen, Ind., and Eugene and his wife, Fumie Sakai, of Tokyo, Japan; four brothers, Elam of Jefferson, N.C., John of Snow Hill, Md., Paul of Elizabethtown and Calvin of Elverson; two sisters, Lena Carpenter of Metter, Ga., and Caroline Plank of Breman, Ohio; and nine grandchildren.