Nafziger, Elfrieda Nettie Toews (1938-2007)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2007 Oct 29 p. 12 & "Mennonite Brethren Herald" obituary: 2008 Feb p. 29

Birth date: 1938 Jul 22

text of obituary:

ELFRIEDA NAFZIGER

Elfrieda Nettie Toews Nafziger, 69, of Manhattan, Kan., died Sept. 2, 2007, at St. Francis Hospital in Topeka. She was born July 22, 1938, in Hillsboro to John Toews and Nettie Willms Toews, emigres from Ukraine who lived most of their lives in Canada.

As a child, she moved from one Canadian province to another as her father moved from one Mennonite Brethren position to another as teacher, administrator and pastor.

She graduated from Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute in 1956. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Manitoba in 1961 and a master’s from Kansas State University in 1968.

She taught high school in Selkirk, Man., 1961-62; in Gindiri, India, as a volunteer under Mennonite Teachers Abroad, 1962-65, where she met E. Wayne Nafziger, who she married Aug. 20, 1966.

After marriage they moved to Manhattan, where she taught high school from 1973 to 1996. She also taught English as a second language to graduate students at the University of Helsinki, Finland, 1996-98. Since 1998 she worked as a study abroad and service learning adviser and coordinator of the Friends of the International Programs at KSU. She was a member of Manhattan Mennonite Church.

In 1992 she wrote a biography of her father, A Man of His Word: A Biography of John A. Toews. She co-founded World Friendship for international students and spouses in Manhattan, was president of the Manhattan Alliance for Peace and Justice and was adviser to Manhattan High School’s chapter of Amnesty International. Since 2002, her work to help establish service learning and international alumni programs took her to Paraguay, Mexico, Japan, China and South Africa. In May and June 2007, she taught English to university professors and graduate students at Selcuk University in Turkey.

Survivors include her husband of 41 years, Wayne; two sons, Brian Nafziger of Washington, D.C., and Kevin Nafziger of New York City; and four siblings, Wilma Kennedy of Vancouver, B.C., John Toews of Seattle, Wash., David Waltner-Toews of Guelf, Ont., and Irene Meier of Kelowna, B.C.

Memorial services were held at K-State’s All Faiths’ Chapel.

Editor's Note: The following is the obituary from the Mennonite Brethren Herald:

Elfrieda Nafziger died Sept. 2, 2007. She was born July 22, 1938 in Hillsboro, Kan., to John and Nettie Toews. After graduating from the University of Manitoba in 1961, she completed a master's degree in South Asian history at Kansas State University. Elfrieda taught high school in Manitoba, Nigeria, and Manhattan, Kan., until 1996, and later English as a second language in Helsinki, Finland. As a volunteer in Nigeria, she met Wayne Nafziger and they married Aug. 20, 1966, moving to Manhattan. In 1992, she wrote a well-received biography of her father. Elfrieda's caring horizons ranged from personal to global, co-founding World Friendship for international students, leading in Manhattan Alliance for Peace and Justice, and serving as an advisor to Amnesty International. She lived life fully and honestly to the end. She is mourned by Wayne; sons Brian and Kevin; 4 siblings. The memorial service was Sept. 6 at Kansas State's All-Faiths Chapel.