IN MEMORIAM
Obituary information is provided by district offices to the Synod’s Office of Rosters and Statistics. Any questions about content should be referred, therefore, to the appropriate district office. — Ed.
ORDAINED
BABEL, MILAN J REV., October 26, 1934, Cleveland, Ohio, to September 12, 2017, Mt. Pleasant, Wis.; son of Joseph and Mary (Repak) Babel; graduated St. Louis Seminary 1959. Served 1959-1999. Ministries/Parishes: Barrie, Ontario, Canada; Central City, Pa.; Steubenville, Ohio; Racine, Wis. Retired 1999. Preceded in death by his wife Elaine (Fedder) Babel. Survivors: son: David; daughter: Cheryl Wilkinson. Funeral: September 23, 2017, Racine, Wis.; Interment: September 23, 2017, Mt. Pleasant, Wis.
GREXA, PAUL REV., April 23, 1926, Sharpsville, Pa., to September 21, 2017, Brookfield, Ohio; son of John and Susan (Schuliga) Grexa; graduated Springfield Seminary 1953. Served 1953-1994. Ministries/Parishes: Masaryktown, Fla.; Central City, Pa. Norton, Ohio. Retired 1994. Survivors: Beverly (Molnar) Grexa; son: Paul; daughter: Paulette Babchak. Funeral: September 26, 2017, Norton, Ohio; Interment: September 26, 2017, Akron, Ohio.
KELM, PETER DAVID REV., July 10, 1972, Pittsfield, Mass., to September 11, 2017, Mequon, Wis.; son of Paul and Lynne Kelm; graduated St. Louis Seminary 1999. Served 1999-2017. Ministries/Parishes: Cincinnati, Ohio; Brookfield, Mequon, Milwaukee, Cedarburg, Wis. Survivors: Angeleen (Ehlke) Kelm; sons: Jacob, Caleb; daughter: Chloe. Memorial Service: September 17, 2017, Cedarburg, Wis.; Interment: September 18, 2017, Freistadt, Wis.
KNUTH, EDWARD W. REV., July 12, 1955, Albion, Mich., to March 1, 2017, Oshkosh, Wis.; son of Alvin and Vera (Clark) Knuth; graduated St. Louis Seminary 1985. Served 1985-1998. Ministries/Parishes: Wheaton, Minn.; Waupaca, Fremont, Wis.; Menno, Utica, S.D. Retired 2000. Preceded in death by his wife Mary (Alexander) Knuth. Survivor: son: David. Funeral and Interment: March 5, 2017, Wautoma, Wis.
KOENIG, DONALD FREDERICK REV., February 4, 1926, Ft. Wayne, Ind., to August 31, 2017, Monroe, Wash.; son of Arthur and Alma (Nieter) Koenig; graduated St. Louis Seminary 1950. Served 1950-1992. Ministries/Parishes: Chicago, Ill.; Omaha, Neb.; Millvale, Pa.; San Diego, Mammoth Lakes, Calif. Retired 1992. Preceded in death by his son Robert. Survivors: Ruth (Gugel) Koenig; sons: David, Philip, Mark, Daniel; daughter: Linda. Funeral: September 8, 2017, Monroe, Wash.
KURZWEG, BERNHARD FREDERICK REV., December 28, 1926, Rollingstone, Minn., to September 9, 2017, Tallahassee, Fla; son of Rev. Carl and Flora (Wienke) Kurzweg; graduated St. Louis Seminary 1951. Served 1952-1992. Ministries/Parishes: Chalmette, La.; San Francisco, Calif.; Springfield, Ill.; Richmond, Va.; Tallahassee, Fla. Florida-Georgia District Circuit Visitor 1986. Preceded in death by his son Kenneth. Survivors: Barbara (Reinhardt) Kurzweg; sons: David, John, Steven; daughter: Ann Boyd. Graveside Service: September 16, 2017, Tallahassee, Fla.
ROWOLDT, PAUL L. REV., October 21, 1927, Egg Harbor City, N.J., to September 5, 2017, Columbus, Neb.; son of Paul and Emma (Garnich) Rowoldt; graduated Chicago Seminary 1955. Joined LCMS as Emeritus 1992. Survivors: Marian (Meyer) Rowoldt; son: Timothy; daughter: Ruth Larson. Funeral: September 12, 2017, Columbus, Neb.; Interment: September 12, 2017, Fremont, Neb.
SALESKA, JOHN W. REV., November 27, 1929, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, to September 12, 2017, Germantown, Wis.; son of Rev. Edward and Lydia (Dau) Saleska; graduated St. Louis Seminary 1954. Served 1954-2001. Ministries/Parishes: Winfield, Kan.; Ft. Wayne, Ind. Retired 2001. Survivors: Sallie (Jarrard) Saleska; sons: Timothy, Thomas, Thad; daughter: Tamara. Memorial Service and Interment: September 19, 2017, Freistadt, Wis.
SETTGAST, LELAND REV., June 6, 1939, Columbus, Neb., to August 28, 2017, Anaheim, Claif.; son of George and Dena (Henke) Settgast; graduated Springfield Seminary 1964. Served 1964-2006, 2008-2014. Ministries/Parishes: Osceola, Iowa; Los Angeles, Orange, Frontera, Fullerton, Stanton, Orange County, Palm Desert, Whittier, Inglewood, Anaheim, Calif.; Norfolk, Neb. Retired 2014. Preceded in death by his daughter Christine. Survivor: son: Brad.
SIMONSEN, JAY ERIC REV., March 14, 1938, Austin, Texas, to September 18, 2017, Houston, Texas; son of Arthur and Margaret Simonsen; graduated Ft. Wayne Seminary 1978. Served 1978-2003. Ministries/Parishes: Rowlett, Midland, Groves, Victoria, Texas. Retired 2003. Survivors: Joan (Kranz) Simonsen; sons: Eric, James. Funeral: September 23, 2017, Pearland, Texas; Interment: September 25, 2017, Pflugerville, Texas.
SOHN, EDWIN C. REV., January 28, 1923, Columbia, Pa., to September 16, 2017, San Leandro, Calif; son of Rev. John and Margaret (Ebert) Sohn; graduated St. Louis Seminary 1946. Served 1946-1990. Ministries/Parishes: Oakland, San Leandro, Pittsburg, Oroville, Gridley, Ukiah, Calif.; Tokyo, Japan. California/ Nevada/Hawaii District Circuit Visitor 1991-1997. Retired 1990. Survivors: Janice (Baak) Sohn; sons: John, James; daughter: Margaret Reinhart. Funeral: September 23, 2017, San Leandro, Calif.
COMMISSIONED
BURGDORF, EDITH A. (SCHRIEBER), July 6, 1933, Juniata, Neb., to June 27, 2017, St. Louis. Mo.; daughter of F.C. Walter and Ella (Neugahr) Schrieber; graduated Seward 1955. Served 1973-1998. School/Ministry: Kirkwood, Mo. Retired 1998. Survivors: Richard Burgdorf; sons: Wayne, David, Bruce; daughter: Susan. Funeral: July 1, 2017, Webster Groves, Mo.; Interment: July 3, 2017, St. Louis. Mo.
DASH, RUSSELL WILLIAM, August 21, 1952, Rochester, N.Y., to April 20, 2017, Harlingen, Texas; graduated Bronxville 1977. Served 1989-2010. Schools/Ministries: Venice, Lake Worth, Fla.; Lincoln Park, Westland, Mich.; St. Louis, Mo. Retired 2010. Survivors: Denise Dash; daughter: Jennifer Loewe. Memorial Service: April 29, 2017, Harlingen, Texas.
HIGHT, PAMELA JEAN (HANNUSCH), August 3, 1955, Georgetown, Texas, to July 21, 2017, Georgetown, Texas; daughter of Walter and Lena (Marx) Hannusch; graduated Seward 1977. Served 1977-2017. Schools/Ministries: Baton Rouge, La.; Austin, Walburg, Texas. Survivors: son: Nathan; daughter: Lisa. Funeral and Interment: July 30, 2017, Walburg, Texas.
REINER, KENNETH L., August 22, 1938, New Salem, N.D., to September 7, 2017, Norfolk, Neb.; son of Fred and Frieda (Bauer) Reiner; graduated Seward 1960. Served 1960-2010. Schools/ Ministries: Obot Idim, Nigeria; St. Louis, Mo. Retired 2010. Survivors: Darlene (Harlety) Reiner; sons: Luke, David; daughter: Sharon Oetting. Funeral and Interment: September 16, 2017, Chambers, Neb.
ROSENBERG, DONALD A. DR., October 25, 1921, Shawano, Wis., to February 20, 2017; son of Alfred and Frieda (Pahlow) Rosenberg; graduated River Forest 1944. Served 1944-1987. Schools/Ministries: Sheboygan, Milwaukee, Wausau, Wis.; Valparaiso, Ind. Retired 1987. Survivors: Lois Rosenberg; sons: John, Tom, Lee, James, Andrew; daughter: Beth Martin. Memorial Service: March 4, 2017, Wausau, Wis.
