Faith E. Becker
Patricia R. Bush
Lee H. Dice
David Hocking
James N. Knepper
Nickolas Kurtaneck
Jonathan Nord
Harry Calvin Speicher
Glenn H. Stauffer
Larry Wedertz
Faith E. Becker, 83, died November 12, 2009. She is the mother of Christian Becker, pastor of the Buena Vista, Va., Grace Brethren Church.
Born in Elizabeth, N.J., and raised in Roselle Park, N.J., she attended Saint Paul Bible Institute in Saint Paul, Minn., where she met her husband, John Becker of Chicago, Ill. She loved serving the Lord and devoted her life to full-time Christian service. She was a trained and gifted musician, with a passion for composing music, singing, and playing numerous musical instruments, including the piano, ukulele, accordion, and trumpet. Everyone loved her enthusiasm when her ventriloquism doll, “Suzi,” seemed to come to life from her suitcase, or, when she used her colorful puppets to tell the wonderful story of salvation from the Bible.
Faith and John were a dynamic duo, singing and playing duets on the piano and saxophone. She used her many gifts and talents to be a testimony for Jesus. They pastored numerous churches throughout the Eastern United States and served throughout the U.S. and Hawaii as the National Evangelistic Team for the Brethren Board of Evangelism of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.
Faith was preceded in death by her husband, John. She is survived by her brother James M. Riccitelli, and wife, Ruth, of Toledo, Ohio; three children: sons, Daniel Becker and his wife, Laurie Zettwoch, and Christian and his wife, Marion, Becker, and daughter, Dale Faith and her husband, Dean Hildebrand; seven grandchildren; and numerous great-grandchildren.
Services were held on November 18 in Marlton, N.J. Burial was held in Brig. General William C. Doyle Veterans Cemetery, Wrightstown, N.J.
Patricia R. Bush, 74, Sproul, Pa., died November 3, 2009, in Altoona, Pa. She was the mother of Grace Brethren pastor Rick Clark.
She was born in McKee, Pa., to Orville and Olive (Delozier) Eagler. She married Robert Bush Sr. on Aug. 27, 1983.
Surviving are her husband; four sons: Kenneth Clark and wife, Kathy, of West Union, Ohio; Rick Clark and wife, Cindy, of Ebensburg, Pa.; Kevin Musselman and wife, Brenda, of Kannapolis, N.C.; and Ronald Musselman and wife, Cathy, of Pleasant Gap, Pa.; two stepsons: Robert Dean Bush Jr. and wife, Linda, of Claysburg, and Rex Bush of Altoona, Pa.; 16 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; a sister, Ruby Shope of Altoona; and a brother, Donald Eagler of Hephzibah, Ga.
She was preceded in death by two brothers: Charles and William Eagler; and a sister, Shirley Hershey.
Patricia attended Greenfield United Church of Christ. She retired from Peggy’s Diner in 2004 after 36 years of service. She had many friends through her work as a waitress and traveled with her husband, who played country music in the area.
She was a very caring, loving person, always concerned about others, even at the end of her life. Her hugs will be sadly missed by her children and grandchildren. She was a wonderful cook and baker who enjoyed entertaining her family and baking Christmas goodies. She also enjoyed conversations with people and was liked by everyone.
A funeral service was held November 7, 2009, at Greenfield United Church of Christ with her son, the Rev. Dr. Rick Clark, and Pastor Robert Penner officiating. Interment was at Greenfield Cemetery.
Pastor Lee H. Dice, 80, of Wooster, Ohio, went to be with his Lord on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009, at his home.
He was born Dec. 19, 1928, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Arling and Lila (Davis) Dice, and graduated from Iowa State College with a bachelor of science degree. On Sept. 3, 1950, he married Reva Ford. She survives.
Lee served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and following the war he found purpose, reason and direction for life when he was saved in the Grace Brethren Church in Cedar Rapids. He then earned his Master of Divinity degree from Grace Theological Seminary.
From 1962-84, Lee served as senior pastor for Brethren churches in Flora, Ind., Philadelphia, Pa., Indianapolis, Ind., and Dillsburg, Pa. before serving as senior pastor of Wooster Grace Brethren Church from 1985 until his retirement in 1995. During his ministry, Lee focused on evangelism and missions.
He was state president of DeMoley in Iowa, had served as president of Wooster Noon Lions Club, and enjoyed genealogy, Bible study and writing.
Lee will be deeply missed by his wife, Reva; children, Lou Ann Lawrence of New Oxford, Pa., and L. Scott Dice of York, Pa.; grandchildren, Ashley (Troy) McEvers, Molly VanLieu, Krystal and Katrina Dice; and a great-grandson, Isaiah McEvers.
A brother, Richard Dice, died previously.
Memorial contributions may be made to Grace Brethren Church, Brethren Sharing Fund, 4599-A Burbank Road, Wooster 44691.
David Hocking, of Colorado Springs, Co., died November 6 after suffering a ruptured brain aneurysm. He was the second son of former Grace Brethren missionaries Don and Betty Hocking and the brother of Tom Hocking, pastor of the Bellflower (Calif.) Brethren Church and current moderator of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. He is also survived by two other brothers Jim Hocking, founder and director of ICDI, of Warsaw, Ind., and Dan Hocking, of Jamestown, NY; his children: Ryan (and his wife, Elizabeth), Jonathan (and his wife, Sarah), Seth, Jeffrey, Tad, Titus, Glory, and Honor; and three grandchildren. A memorial service was held on November 22 in Colorado Springs, Co.
James N. Knepper, 84, of Somerset County, Pa., formerly of York, Pa., died November 15, 2009. He was the husband of Edna M. (Coleman) Knepper, and previously the late Emaline (Stull) Knepper.
Born July 12, 1925, in Meyersdale, a son of the late Harry M. and Lula (Bender) Knepper, he was retired from York Casket Company after 40 years of employment. He was a charter member of Grace Brethren Church in York, Pa., and recently became an active member of Berlin Alliance Church.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Joyce A. Humberd and her husband, the Rev. Larry Humberd of Bethlehem, Pa.; a stepson, Larry LaRue and his wife, Mary, of Athens, Ga.; nine grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and a brother, Blaine Knepper of York. In addition to his first wife, he was preceded in death by two sons, Douglas G. Knepper and Johnnie D. Knepper; and four brothers, Dale, Glenn, Lynn, and Harry Knepper. Funeral services were held Tuesday, November 17, 2009, at the Grace Brethren Church, 661 N. Newberry St., York, Pa., with his grandson, the Rev. Tim Hodge, officiating. Private burial was in Prospect Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Berlin Alliance Church, 725 Broadway, Berlin, PA 15530, or York Grace Brethren Church.
Dr. Nickolas Kurtaneck died November 3, 2009. He taught Bible at Biola University for 39 years. A graduate of Grace College and Theological Seminary (BA 57, BD 57, ThM 58, ThD 61), he served on its board of trustees at 18 years. He also served in pulpit supply for many churches, with his longest tenure at the Grace Brethren Church of Norwalk, Cal., for 17 years. A memorial service was held at the Norwalk church on November 9. He is survived by Micky, his wife of 65 years, and daughter, Charise (and husband, John) and son, Timothy (and wife, Dana). Grandchildren include Jonathan, Blake, Rebekah and Nicholas.
Patty Morris, missionary to France with Grace Brethren International Missions, recalls, “He served as pastor at the Norwalk, California, Grace Brethren Church when I was a high school student. I can’t remember how long it took him to preach/teach through Romans, his favorite book.”
Jonathan Nord, 29, died October 29, 2009, in southern California. He was the son of Chris and Carolyn Nord, who served with Grace Brethren International Missions for about ten years in Chalon, France. The Nords are from the Bellflower, Calif., Grace Brethren Church (Tom Hocking, pastor). Jonathan Nord was engaged and planned to be married next June.
The following note was sent by Chris and Carolyn shortly after his death.
“We wanted to let you know that our son, Jonathan, left for heaven at 11:36 pm Thursday night, October 29. He fought his liver cancer until the end, but his weakened body finally wore out. He died peacefully in our home with my wife and me, and our French friend, Jacqueline Dormont, at his bedside. Our daughters, Sarah and Stephanie, our son-in-law, Jake, and Jonathan’s fiancee, Dawn, soon joined us.
“We sat at Jonathan’s bedside sharing memories, crying, and waiting for the funeral home to come and take care of formalities. Afterwards, we stood in a circle and prayed, thanking God for allowing us to know Jonathan for 29 years. We are deeply grieving the loss of our son, but happy that he was released from his frail body and is now in a much better place, where there is no pain, or sorrow, or suffering.”
Harry Calvin Speicher, Jr., 71, of Rittman, died Sunday, November 29, 2009, at Magnolia Village in Wadsworth.
Harry was born December 7, 1937 in Johnstown, Pa., to Harry Calvin and Elizabeth (Theil) Speicher, Sr. Harry married Hazel Marie Conn on June 14, 1958.
He had been an employee of Morton Salt for 41 years, retiring in 2000, was a member of Rittman Grace Brethren Church, where he served as a deacon, Youth Group Christian Service Brigade and Grace Brethren Boy’s. Harry was a member of the Chippewa Fire Department, an Assistant Boy Scout Master of a troop in Doylestown and enjoyed camping, fishing, hunting and loved his grandchildren.
Harry will be deeply missed by his wife, Hazel, children Wes and Joyce of Wooster, Bill and Jacci of Wadsworth, Dave of Orrville, grandchildren Eric, Keri, Calvin and Ryan Speicher, Aaron and Melissa Lundquist, four great grandchildren, and a sister, Joyce Ernest of Akron. He was preceded in death by his mother, father and a sister, Janet Greer.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Greater Wayne County, 2525 Back Orrville Rd., Wooster, OH 44691.
Glenn H. Stauffer, of Winona Lake, Ind., died Friday, November 6, 2009 at the age of 77.
He was born on March 15, 1932, in Mt. Joy, Pa., to the late Noah Stauffer and Edyth (Bernhard) Stauffer Brubaker. On December 28, 1952, he was married to Phyllis S. Gainer, whom survives.
Glenn was a carpenter for Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind., having worked on Beta Dorm and Morgan Library. He was employed there from 1965 until his retirement in 1998. He has been a resident of Kosciusko County, Ind., for the past 44 years, coming from Pennsylvania, and a member of Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church, Winona Lake, Ind.
He will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 56 years, Phyllis Stauffer; one daughter: Kathy S. Stauffer (West Peoria, Ill.); four sons: Gerald L. (wife, Mary) Stauffer (Orion, Mich.); Steven G. (wife, Sandra) Stauffer (Winona Lake, Ind.); Douglas B. (wife, Donna) Stauffer (Ithaca, N.Y.); and Michael S. (wife, Marlissa) Stauffer (Columbus, Ohio); eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and one granddaughter.
Services were held November 10, 2009, at the Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church. Burial was in Oakwood Cemetery, Warsaw, Ind.
Memorial contributions may be made to Grace Brethren International Missions or to Project Hope and Charity Orphan Care, both at P.O. Box 588, Winona Lake, IN 46590.
Larry Wedertz, who was a teacher and director of the former Grace Brethren Navajo Mission and School in Counselor, N.M., for many years, died October 15. He is survived by his wife, Jonnie Lou, and four children, included Linda Scoles, who is the wife of Grace Brethren pastor and BMH board chair, Todd Scoles, and numerous grandchildren. Services were held October 24 in Marysville, Ohio.