Orie O. Miller Dies, Mennonite Leader was 84
Lancaster New Era
Orie O. Miller, an Akron shoe manufacturer and Mennonite leader, died Monday at 6:45 p.m. at Landis Homes Retirement Community, Lititz R3, where he lived.
Miller, 84, who has been described as a contemporary Mennonite patriarch, was instrumental in the founding of Mennonite Central Committee, attending the founding meeting at Elkhart, Ind., in July 1920 and being one of the first MCC relief workers to go overseas.
Although he had been in failing health for five years, he had continued his keen interest in the Mennonite Central Committee and the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities.
Miller had served as secretary of the Board of Missions and Charities from 1935 to 1958 and as executive secretary-treasurer of MCC during the same years. He had served in an emeritus capacity since then.
He came to Lancaster County as a young bridegroom, the husband of Elta Wolf, whom he had met while they were students at Goshen College.
Settling in Akron, Miller joined the shoe manufacturing firm of his father-in-law, A. N. Wolf.
He once said, “I married into the shoe business. When I wasn’t working for the church, I depended on the shoe business to make my living. This made my life completely full. I was happy and complete and I enjoyed every bit of it.
Retired Chairman
Miller was the retired chairman of the board of Miller Hess Co., Inc., at the time of his death.
Four years ago Miller had said he hadn’t kept count of the times he had traveled abroad in the interest of the church and world mission, but he thought he’d been around the world eight times and to Europe at least 60 times. He also traveled to Africa and the Far East.
His travels began in 1918 when he was chosen at a meeting in Lancaster to be one of a number of young Mennonites who were working in Syria and Lebanon, under the direction of the Quakers.
Miler spent the next 15 months representing the church in the Near East.
And he once said, “I felt strongly that world relief was part of our faith, but it took the Quakers to show us the way—they had the first insight into the problem.”
Russian Project
On his way back from the Middle East, Miller learned in the Spring of 1920 of the plight of Russian Mennonites who faced famine. In Switzerland, he met four Russian Mennonites on their way to the U.S. to seek aid for their brethren and they came home with Miller.[when the call came from the Russians for help against starvation, many Mennonite conferences wanted to respond, but they had never done anything together. It was Orie Miller’s vision [sic] to have one committee—a central committee—and that is what resulted from the Elkhart meeting.
When Miller went to South Russia in 1920 with food and supplies, he was responsible to one committee. The Mennonite Central Committee had been born and Miller later recalled that “in the first year alone we collected over a million dollars to help them.”
Until recent years, Miller was apt to show up any place in the world where people were in need.
Subject of Book
In 1969, he was the subject of a book, “Orie O. Miller, The Story of a man and An Era,” by Paul Erb. The 300-page book tells Miller’s story and includes a two-page appendix that lists his positions and assignments during his lifetime.
Among the positions mentioned is that Miller was chairman of the board of the American Leprosy Mission from1960 to 1966.
Miller’s first wife died in February 1958 and in January 1960 he married Elta Myers Sensenig, a widow who had been named for his first wife.
A native of Middlebury, Ind., he was the son of the late Daniel D. and Jeanette Hostetler Miller. His father was an active leader in the Mennonite Church.
Besides his widow, Elta Meyers Miller of Landis Homes Retirement Community, he is survived by a daughter, Lois M., wife of Ronald Beach, Doylestown; four sons, Albert W. Miller, Akron; The Rev. Daniel W. Miller, Montevideo, Uruguay; John W. Miller, Kitchener, Ont., and Robert W. Miller, Evanston, Ill.; 17 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Surviving stepchildren include Laverne M., wife of J. Elvin Martin, Ephrata R1; Donald M. Sensenig, Akron, and Arlene M., wife of Ted Hayes, Williamsport. There are also 11 stepgrandchildren.
Miller is survived, in addition, by four sisters and two brothers. They are Clara M. Augsburger, Telford; Ida, wife of Benjamin Schertz, Flanagan, Ill.,; W. Wilbur Miller, Columbus, Ohio; Alice, wife of Ray Yoder, Middlebury, Ind.; Mabel Ann, wife of William Jennings, Columbus, Ohio, and Samuel S. Miller, Kouts, Ind.
Tribute to Orie O. Miller
Gospel Herald, January 1977
Early in the blustery winter evening of Jan. 10, Orie O. Miller slipped quietly from a coma to his death at Landis Retirement Home, near Lancaster, Pa. Born July 7, 1892, in Middlebury, Ind., he was approaching his 85th birthday. His funeral was held on Jan. 15 at the Ephrata Mennonite meetinghouse with friends and relatives from far and wide filling the building. The service lasted for approximately three hours.
Acquaintances sent in responses to Miller's passing. Many of these were read and there was much additional sharing by those who were present at the funeral.
"Everything," was Miller's one-word reply when asked by a friend what Christ and Christianity meant to him. Anyone doubting the profound sincerity of that simple response has only to look at the list of 65 church-related leadership positions he held during his life-some for as long as 45 years.
A Bible, the Mennonite Yearbook, and a world map, the three musts which Orie Miller always carried in his briefcase, formed the framework within which he lived his life.
The son of a minister, Daniel D. Miller, Orie had in his early years felt called to either the ministry or the mission field. However, although he was in the lot several times at his home church, Ephrata, he was never chosen.
Orie's gift was administration. "In my estimation, one dimension of his greatness was in relationship to institutions-his ability to create them and equally his ability to make them function within his expectations," commented Edgar Stoesz, an associate secretary at MCC.
Orie served on the Mennonite Board of Education for 45 years. He was active in bringing Goshen College, his alma mater, through its time of crisis in the midtwenties, and in the early thirties he helped reorganize the business office of Hesston College and to find a new president.
He was also active in the formation of, and served in leadership positions, with Mennonite Mental Health Services, Menno Travel Service, Mennonite Mutual Aid, Mennonite Indemnity, Mennonite Economic Development Associates, and Menno Housing.
On a broader scope, he has served with the board of directors of New York Biblical Seminary, as chairman of the National Service Board for Religious Objectors, as the first chairman of the Schowalter Foundation, and as Board member of the American Leprosy Mission.
But relief and mission work remained closest to Orie's heart. In 1919, he went into relief work in the Middle East. And on his way home from that work, he met four Russian Mennonites in Switzerland who had brought news of their suffering and pleas for help to European and North American Mennonites. Soon the Mennonite Relief Commission in the U.S. was asking him to consider leadership of a Russian relief unit.
With Arthur Slagel of Flanagen, Ill., and Clayton Kratz of Perkasie, Pa., he left for Russia on Sept. 1, 1920. Orie's interest in Mennonite refugees from Russia never ended.
When in 1924 Mennonite Central Committee was established as a permanent organization, Miller was involved in its administration and continued in a leadership role until retiring in 1963, at which time he was named life member and executive secretary emeritus.
Miller was just as interested in missions. He became the first editor of Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities publication Missionary Messenger in 1924. Then he was elected to the Board.
One of Orie's most far-reaching endeavors with Eastern Board was its first overseas program in Africa. He went with Elam and Elizabeth Stauffer and John and Ruth Mosemann to Africa in December 1933 to find the location of that mission. The two couples remained behind to open a mission station in what was then Tanganyika along the eastern coast of Lake Victoria.
Throughout the next decades, Orie provided leadership in opening new mission programs in Africa and Asia and in helping missionaries gradually turn churches over to local leadership.
A third idea to which Orie was dedicated was peace. Following World War I, he encouraged the Mennonite Peace Problems Committee to continue, although other Mennonite leaders thought its usefulness had ended. "Other wars are coming," he said.
That prophecy proved true and as World War II approached, Orie Miller was in the forefront of working out the Civilian Public Service program which provided a civilian administered alternate to military service for Historic Peace Church members.
When it became clear that the government had no funds for the CPS program, Clarence Dykstra of the Selective Service asked if the churches would be willing to administer the program and foot the bill. "With the help of God we'll try," Orie responded.
Orie O. Miller was asked to manage the operation and financing of the Mennonite camps and "poured himself into this task with characteristic energy and efficiency," commented Paul Erb in his biography of Orie. Although the program was criticized by some, it was a success and was the foundation of the alternative service program which MCC administered until the end of the draft.
His involvement with peace concerns resulted in his developing many relationships with leaders among the other historic peace churches such as M. R. Ziegler of the Church of the Brethren and Clarence Pickett of American Friends Service Committee.
Orie Miller's death leaves not only his second wife, Elta Myers Miller, his five children, and his three stepchildren, but also the entire Mennonite world with a sense of loss.
Orie O. Miller
Assorted Obituaries from Fulton County Ohio, Page 7
Assorted Obituaries from Fulton County Ohio, Page 7
Thursday, January 13, 1977
Many-Sided Life of Service
Death Claims Long-Time MCC Executive, Churchman
Orie O. Miller, 84, executive secretary emeritus of the Mennonite Central Committee, died Monday evening, Jan. 10 at the Landis Retirement Home near Lancaster, Pa., the Review has been informed by MCC Headquarters at Akron, Pa. Death came after several years of failing health due to Parkinson's disease. He had lived at the retirement home since 1972.
Funeral services will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15, at the Ephrata (Pa.) Mennonite Church, of which he was a long-time member.
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS of the Mennonite Central Committee in 1920, Miller was known throughout the Mennonite world as the person mainly responsible for its expansion into a world-wide relief and service agency supported by all of the major Mennonite groups in North America as well as the Brethren in Christ Church. A man of multiple talents, Miller made important contributions as an administrator, churchman, educator, mission leader, industrialist, and innovator of a variety of church programs. His MCC and church ministries took him on frequent trips to far places of the world. His active association with the MCC spanned nearly half a century. He was assistant to the MCC secretary from 1921 to 1935, and served as executive secretary for 22 years, from 1935 to 1957. He was associate executive secretary, 1957-1963, and in 1963 he was made a life member.
DURING HIS YEARS as executive secretary he gave leadership to the development of a world-wide program of relief for victims of war, famine and disaster, to resettlement programs for refugees, the initiation and administration of the Civilian Public Service program for conscientious objectors during World War II, and establishment of a mental health program under MCC auspices.
Among the ministries and other organizations which he initiated or helped initiate were the leprosy mission in Paraguay. Operation Doctor in the Congo, Mennonite Economic Development Associates, Mennonite Mental Health Services, Mennonite Mutual Aid. Menno Travel Service, Mennonite indemnity, the Africa Mennonite Conference, and the Council of Mission Board Secretaries.
DURING HIS YEARS as executive secretary he gave leadership to the development of a world-wide program of relief for victims of war, famine and disaster, to resettlement programs for refugees, the initiation and administration of the Civilian Public Service program for conscientious objectors during World War II, and establishment of a mental health program under MCC auspices.
Among the ministries and other organizations which he initiated or helped initiate were the leprosy mission in Paraguay. Operation Doctor in the Congo, Mennonite Economic Development Associates, Mennonite Mental Health Services, Mennonite Mutual Aid. Menno Travel Service, Mennonite indemnity, the Africa Mennonite Conference, and the Council of Mission Board Secretaries.
A NATIVE of Middlebury, Ind., Miller graduated from Goshen College in 1915. For much of his life he was associated with Miller-Hess Shoe Company at Akron, Pa., dividing his time between the business and his church and service involvements. He was a member of the first overseas relief team sent out by the Mennonite Church, serving in the Near East in 1919-1920. From 1920 to 1921 he headed the three-member relief team which the newly formed MCC sent to help the Mennonites in Russia suffering from revolution and famine. While assistant-to the MCC secretary, 1921 to 1935, he was a leader in resettlement of Russian Mennonite immigrants in Canada and, beginning in 1930, in Paraguay and later Uruguay.
MILLER PLAYED an important role in higher education developments in the Mennonite Church. A long-time officer of the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities, he helped locate the first overseas field of that board in East Africa in 1933-34. Later, through his MCC work, he was closely associated with Mennonite mission developments in many parts of the world.
Miller's first marriage was to Elta Wolf of Akron, Pa. in 1915. She died in 1958. In 1960 he married Mrs. Elta Sensenig, who survives. Also surviving one daughter, Mrs. Ronald (Lois) Beach of Doylestown, Pa.; four sons, Albert of Akron, Pa. Daniel of Montevideo, Uruguay, John of Kitchener, Ont., and Robert of Evanston, Ill.; 17 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. (Rootsweb)
Susan Elta Wolf Miller
Gospel Herald, March 11, 1958
Gospel Herald, March 11, 1958
Elta was the daughter of Albert N. and Anna (Hess) Wolf, born in Akron, Pa., May 20, 1893, and passed away at Graduate Hospital, Philadelphia, Pa., Feb. 24, 1958; aged 64 y. 8 m. 25 d. On Aug. 26, 1915. She was married to Orie O. Miller, and is survived by her husband, one daughter (Lois Wolf-Mrs. Ronald O. Beach, Buckingham, Pa.), 4 sons (Albert Wolf and Robert Wolf, both of Akron, Pa.; Daniel Wolf, Montevideo, Uruguay; and John Wolf, Evanston, Ill.), and 14 grandchildren.
Elta was devoted to the work of the Lord in the Ephrata Mennonite congregation, where she taught in the Sunday school ever since her marriage and enthusiastically promoted the activities of the Willing Workers women's group. She fully shared her husband's concern for the church in other lands, in earlier years assuming the obligations of the family so that he was free to travel extensively, welcoming to the hospitality of their home the many workers who passed through the Akron headquarters of the Mennonite Central Committee, and in recent years visiting foreign missions and relief units on various occasions. Her serene trust in the Lord during her last illness was a benediction to her family.
Funeral services were held, Feb. 19, at the Ephrata Mennonite Church in charge of Amos S. Horst, J. D. Graber, H. Raymond Charles, and Paul Mininger. Interment in Wolf's Cemetery, Ephrata, Pa. (MennObits)
Elta Myers Sensenig Miller
Gospel Herald, Dec. 27, 1988
Elta was the daughter of Nathan W. and Carrie (Reitz) Myers, was born at Akron, Pa., Jan. 1, 1911; died at Landis Homes, Lititz, Pa., Dec. 3, 1988; aged 77 y. On Jan. 1, 1935, she was married to Isaac M. Sensenig, who died in April 1942. On Jan. 1, 1960, she was married to Orie 0. Miller, who died on Jan. 10, 1977. Surviving are 2 daughters (Laverne M. Martin and M. Arlene Hayes), one son (Donald M. Sensenig), 4 stepsons (Albert W., Daniel, John W., and Robert W. Miller), 12 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren, 11 step-grandchildren, and 30 step-great-grandchildren.
She was a member of Ephrata Mennonite Church, where funeral services were held on Dec. 8, in charge of David L. Kniss and Leroy W. Martin; interment in Weaverland Mennonite Cemetery. (MennObits)
A. N. (Albert Netzley) Wolf
Gospel Herald, April 27, 1939
Albert N., son of George and Susanna (Netzley) Wolf, was born in Akron, Pa., Feb. 10, 1868; died from a disease of the heart March 31, 1939; aged 71 y. 1 m. 21 d. His home from birth to the time of his passing was in Akron. On April 8, 1888, he was united in marriage to Anna Hess. In 1891 he united with the Mennonite Church, of which he continued in active membership until his death. He leaves his wife, 1 daughter (Elta, wife of Orie O. Miller), 5 grandchildren (Lois, wife of Ronald Beach; Albert, Daniel, John and Robert Miller), 1 great-grandchild (Ronald Beach, Jr.), and 1 brother (Samuel N.). One son died in infancy. One brother and two sisters also preceded him in death.
His father died before any of the children were grown, and by hard work on the part of all, the mother kept her family together until all were married. All three of the sons engaged in business in Akron. Albert, with his brother Samuel and brother-in-law Simon P. Hess, helped to found the shoe manufacturing industry in Akron. He was always deeply interested in the activities of the church. He helped to organize the Oreville Mennonite Home near Lancaster, and served as secretary of its board for some thirty years. During the last few years he was much concerned in the building of the new Ephrata Mennonite Church, on which Building Committee he served, and to which he gave much time and energy.
Signs of failing health were noted during the last six or eight months, but aside from several fainting spells which the doctor ascribed to a heart condition, he went about his daily work until the night of his passing. He suffered no severe pain at any time. The last public service he attended was one of the sessions of the Annual Easter Mission Board meeting.
Funeral services were held at the home by Amos Horst, who also had charge at the Ephrata Mennonite Church. Ernest E. Miller preached the sermon from John 14:1-3. Interment in the Wolf Cemetery near Akron.
"There is no death! The stars go down
To rise upon some fairer shore;
And bright in Heaven's jeweled crown
They shine for evermore." (MennObits)
Anna Hess Wolf
Gospel Herald, Jan. 10, 1950
Anna was daughter of the late John and Annie (Stauffer) Hess, was born July 20, 1867, at Lincoln, Pa.; passed away Nov. 23, 1949, at the home of her daughter, Akron, Pa.; aged 82 y. 4 m. 3 d. On April 8, 1884, she was united in marriage to Albert N. Wolf, who preceded her in death March 31, 1939. A year later she became very ill with heart trouble, from which she never fully recovered.
She was a member of the Ephrata Mennonite Church, and had been active in the Sunday school and sewing circle. Her patience and cheerfulness endeared her to all who helped to care for her. She was the last survivor of her immediate family, and is survived by one daughter (Etta-Mrs. Orie O. Miller, Akron, Pa.), 5 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren. One son died in infancy.
Funeral services were conducted at the home by Mahlon Zimmerman and at the church by Melvin Lauver and Ernest E. Miller. Burial was made in the Wolf Cemetery. (MennObits)
D. D. (Daniel D.) Miller
Elta Myers Sensenig Miller
Gospel Herald, Dec. 27, 1988
Elta was the daughter of Nathan W. and Carrie (Reitz) Myers, was born at Akron, Pa., Jan. 1, 1911; died at Landis Homes, Lititz, Pa., Dec. 3, 1988; aged 77 y. On Jan. 1, 1935, she was married to Isaac M. Sensenig, who died in April 1942. On Jan. 1, 1960, she was married to Orie 0. Miller, who died on Jan. 10, 1977. Surviving are 2 daughters (Laverne M. Martin and M. Arlene Hayes), one son (Donald M. Sensenig), 4 stepsons (Albert W., Daniel, John W., and Robert W. Miller), 12 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren, 11 step-grandchildren, and 30 step-great-grandchildren.
She was a member of Ephrata Mennonite Church, where funeral services were held on Dec. 8, in charge of David L. Kniss and Leroy W. Martin; interment in Weaverland Mennonite Cemetery. (MennObits)
Wolf_________________________________________
A. N. (Albert Netzley) Wolf
Gospel Herald, April 27, 1939
Albert N., son of George and Susanna (Netzley) Wolf, was born in Akron, Pa., Feb. 10, 1868; died from a disease of the heart March 31, 1939; aged 71 y. 1 m. 21 d. His home from birth to the time of his passing was in Akron. On April 8, 1888, he was united in marriage to Anna Hess. In 1891 he united with the Mennonite Church, of which he continued in active membership until his death. He leaves his wife, 1 daughter (Elta, wife of Orie O. Miller), 5 grandchildren (Lois, wife of Ronald Beach; Albert, Daniel, John and Robert Miller), 1 great-grandchild (Ronald Beach, Jr.), and 1 brother (Samuel N.). One son died in infancy. One brother and two sisters also preceded him in death.
His father died before any of the children were grown, and by hard work on the part of all, the mother kept her family together until all were married. All three of the sons engaged in business in Akron. Albert, with his brother Samuel and brother-in-law Simon P. Hess, helped to found the shoe manufacturing industry in Akron. He was always deeply interested in the activities of the church. He helped to organize the Oreville Mennonite Home near Lancaster, and served as secretary of its board for some thirty years. During the last few years he was much concerned in the building of the new Ephrata Mennonite Church, on which Building Committee he served, and to which he gave much time and energy.
Signs of failing health were noted during the last six or eight months, but aside from several fainting spells which the doctor ascribed to a heart condition, he went about his daily work until the night of his passing. He suffered no severe pain at any time. The last public service he attended was one of the sessions of the Annual Easter Mission Board meeting.
Funeral services were held at the home by Amos Horst, who also had charge at the Ephrata Mennonite Church. Ernest E. Miller preached the sermon from John 14:1-3. Interment in the Wolf Cemetery near Akron.
"There is no death! The stars go down
To rise upon some fairer shore;
And bright in Heaven's jeweled crown
They shine for evermore." (MennObits)
Anna Hess Wolf
Gospel Herald, Jan. 10, 1950
Anna was daughter of the late John and Annie (Stauffer) Hess, was born July 20, 1867, at Lincoln, Pa.; passed away Nov. 23, 1949, at the home of her daughter, Akron, Pa.; aged 82 y. 4 m. 3 d. On April 8, 1884, she was united in marriage to Albert N. Wolf, who preceded her in death March 31, 1939. A year later she became very ill with heart trouble, from which she never fully recovered.
She was a member of the Ephrata Mennonite Church, and had been active in the Sunday school and sewing circle. Her patience and cheerfulness endeared her to all who helped to care for her. She was the last survivor of her immediate family, and is survived by one daughter (Etta-Mrs. Orie O. Miller, Akron, Pa.), 5 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren. One son died in infancy.
Funeral services were conducted at the home by Mahlon Zimmerman and at the church by Melvin Lauver and Ernest E. Miller. Burial was made in the Wolf Cemetery. (MennObits)
Miller________________________________________
D. D. (Daniel D.) Miller
Gospel Herald, Feb. 8, 1955
was born Nov. 10, 1865, in Lagrange Co., Ind. He married Jeanette Hostetler, May 26, 1889. To this union were born 7 daughters and 6 sons. An infant son and daughter died soon after birth. Bertha, the fifth daughter, died at the age of 21 in 1923, and Truman, the fourth son, died in 1952. His wife preceded him in death by 17 years and 3 days. Members of the immediate family living are 5 daughters (Ida Schertz, Clara Augsburger, Kathryn Yoder, Alice Oesch, Mable Ann Jennings) and 4 sons (Orie, Ernest, Wilbur, and Samuel). Also surviving are 32 grandchildren, 44 great-grandchildren, 2 sisters (Mrs. Lizzie Kropf and Mrs. Almon Hostetler), and 2 brothers (Abraham and Henry). Bro.
Miller accepted Christ as his Saviour and joined the Mennonite Church in Missouri. He was ordained a deacon of the Forks Church, Middlebury, Ind., in 1890 and a minister a year later, and a bishop in the same church in 1906. He made a large contribution to the church-wide program of the Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities, of which he was president from 1920 to 1936, and treasurer from 1934 to 1939. He served one term as moderator of Mennonite General Conference. He remained active in church work until about 11 years ago when he suffered a heart attack. Since that time his health has not permitted an active participation as he would have enjoyed.
He passed away peacefully on Jan. 19, 1955, at the age of 90 y. 2 m. 9 d. The funeral services were held Jan. 23, with a short service at the Augburger home and at the Forks Church. J. D. Graber preached the sermon. Others participating were Sanford C. Yoder, David A. Yoder, Daniel W. Miller, Donald E. Yoder, and Earley C. Bontrager. Burial was made in the Forrest Grove Cemetery. (MennObit)
Nettie (Jeanette) Hostetler Miller
Gospel Herald, Feb. 3, 1938
Nettie, daughter of Samuel and Katie (Mehl) Hostetler, was born in LaGrange Co., Ind., May 28, 1870; died at her home in Elkhart, Ind., Jan. 16, 1938; age 67 y. 7 m. 18 d. May 26, 1889, she was united in marriage with D. D. Miller, who survives her. This union was blessed with 5 sons (Orie O. of Akron, Pa., Ernest E., recently returned from India, Truman T. of Chicago, W. Wilbur of Columbus, Ohio, and Samuel S. of Benton, Ind.) and 6 daughters (Ida, wife of B. F. Schertz, Flanagan, Ill.; Clara, wife of Arthur Augsburger, Middlebury, Ind.; Kathryn, wife of Ray Yoder, Kalona, Iowa; Alice, wife of Chancey Oesch, Middlebury, Ind.; Mabel, wife of W. E. Jennings, Knoxville, Tenn.; and Bertha, deceased) who grew to manhood and womanhood; also 2 children who died in infancy. She is also survived by 26 grandchildren, 4 sisters (Clara Bontrager, Susan Baker, Katie Yoder, Sophia Troyer) and 1 brother (Bishop Oscar Hostetler). One sister (Elizabeth Farmer) preceded her in death.
About a year ago she suffered from an attack of influenza and from that time grew gradually weaker. On Sunday, Jan 16, she had a heart attack, which caused her death.
In her youth she united with the Mennonite Church , and remained a consistent member until death. She was active and much interested in sewing circle work, and for many years a faithful Sunday school teacher. She was a kind mother, caring patiently and carefully for her family of children while her husband was engaged in evangelistic work and other Church activities.
Funeral services were conducted in her late home. (Administration Building of the Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities, Elkhart, Ind.) by Bros. S. C. Yoder and J. S. Hartzler, with further services at the Forks Church near Middlebury, Ind., in charge of Bro. C. L. Graber assisted by Bros. Early Bontrager, J. N. Kaufman, and J. D. Mininger. Burial in Forest Grove Cemetery near the church.
"Silent thoughts bring many a tear
For one we love and cherished here;
God took her home, it was His will;
But in our hearts she liveth still." (MennObits)
Gospel Herald, Feb. 3, 1938
Nettie, daughter of Samuel and Katie (Mehl) Hostetler, was born in LaGrange Co., Ind., May 28, 1870; died at her home in Elkhart, Ind., Jan. 16, 1938; age 67 y. 7 m. 18 d. May 26, 1889, she was united in marriage with D. D. Miller, who survives her. This union was blessed with 5 sons (Orie O. of Akron, Pa., Ernest E., recently returned from India, Truman T. of Chicago, W. Wilbur of Columbus, Ohio, and Samuel S. of Benton, Ind.) and 6 daughters (Ida, wife of B. F. Schertz, Flanagan, Ill.; Clara, wife of Arthur Augsburger, Middlebury, Ind.; Kathryn, wife of Ray Yoder, Kalona, Iowa; Alice, wife of Chancey Oesch, Middlebury, Ind.; Mabel, wife of W. E. Jennings, Knoxville, Tenn.; and Bertha, deceased) who grew to manhood and womanhood; also 2 children who died in infancy. She is also survived by 26 grandchildren, 4 sisters (Clara Bontrager, Susan Baker, Katie Yoder, Sophia Troyer) and 1 brother (Bishop Oscar Hostetler). One sister (Elizabeth Farmer) preceded her in death.
About a year ago she suffered from an attack of influenza and from that time grew gradually weaker. On Sunday, Jan 16, she had a heart attack, which caused her death.
In her youth she united with the Mennonite Church , and remained a consistent member until death. She was active and much interested in sewing circle work, and for many years a faithful Sunday school teacher. She was a kind mother, caring patiently and carefully for her family of children while her husband was engaged in evangelistic work and other Church activities.
Funeral services were conducted in her late home. (Administration Building of the Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities, Elkhart, Ind.) by Bros. S. C. Yoder and J. S. Hartzler, with further services at the Forks Church near Middlebury, Ind., in charge of Bro. C. L. Graber assisted by Bros. Early Bontrager, J. N. Kaufman, and J. D. Mininger. Burial in Forest Grove Cemetery near the church.
"Silent thoughts bring many a tear
For one we love and cherished here;
God took her home, it was His will;
But in our hearts she liveth still." (MennObits)
