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Rakko, Wilhelm (1912-2006)
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2006 Feb 13 p. 11
Birth date: 1912
text of obituary:
By Mennonite Central Committee
Wilhelm Rakko, 93, a physician who emigrated from Germany to Paraguay to help found a Mennonite colony, died Jan. 13 in Brazil.
Rakko emigrated to Neuland Colony in Paraguay at the request of Mennonite Central Committee, which was helping resettle European Mennonite refugees there after World War II.
During World War II, German troops occupied Ukraine, Rakko's birthplace, and later withdrew. The Rakko family and many other German-speaking people fled to Germany with the Nazi army.
After the war, MCC representatives asked Rakko to serve as a physician in Neuland Colony. The family emigrated to Paraguay in 1948.
In Paraguay, Rakko and his wife, Anna, worked in a hospital, he as a physician and she as a midwife and director of nursing.
A hospital was built under Rakko's direction and was dedicated in 1951. After 30 years in the colony, and the couple retired and moved to Brazil.
Rakko is survived by a daughter, Elriede Ehlert; eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife and a son, Arnold.