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
BARKOW, ROLAND RICHARD REV., Nov. 29, 1932, Ferndale, Mich., to Nov. 13, 2017, Three Rivers, Mich.; son of Reinhard and Sarah (Kingham) Barkow; graduated St. Louis Seminary 1959. Served 1959-1994. Ministries/Parishes: Eagan, Burnsville, Annandale, Minn.; Ionia, Three Rivers, Mich. Retired 1995. Survivors: Caroline (Seng) Barkow; sons: Jonathan, Joel, Joseph. Funeral: Nov. 22, 2017, Portage, Mich.; Interment: Nov. 22, 2017, Three Rivers, Mich.
DIETRICH, ADAM A. REV., Jan. 27, 1935, Kac, Yugoslavia, to Oct. 31, 2017, Beecher, Ill.; son of John and Margaret (Renner) Dietrich; graduated Springfield Seminary 1962. Served 1963-1997. Ministries/Parishes: Chicago, Hodgkins, Ill. Retired 1997. Preceded in death by his son Mark. Survivors: Marlene (Kargard) Dietrich; sons: Paul, Rev. Joel; daughters: Ruth Theodospoulos, Ann, Mary Fortkamp. Funeral: Nov. 11, 2017, Oak Park, Ill.; Interment: Nov. 11, 2017, Justice, Ill.
FISCHER, WILLIAM E. REV., Feb. 14, 1926, Sheboygan, Wis., to Nov. 15, 2017, Oshkosh, Wis.; son of William and Flora (Nix) Fischer; graduated St. Louis Seminary 1950. Served 1950-1990. Ministries/Parishes: Rock Spring, Wyo.; Council Grove, Strong City, Kan.; Ames, Mason City, Iowa; Cicero, Ill.; Coloma, Mich. Retired 1990. Preceded in death by his wife Elsa (Bangert) Fischer. Survivors: sons: Michael, Mark, Matthew; daughter: Martha Hischke. Funeral: Nov. 20, 2017, Waukesha, Wis.; Interment: Nov. 20, 2017, Sheboygan, Wis.
GALEN, GARY W. REV., Oct. 2, 1945, Warsaw, Ind., to Nov. 25, 2017, Troy, Ill; son of Albert and Martha Galen; graduated St. Louis Seminary 1971. Served 1971-2009. Ministries/Parishes: Sidney, Springfield, Neb.; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Woodburn, Ind.; Troy, Edwardsville, Ill.; Southern Illinois District Circuit Visitor 1987-1991. Retired 2009. Survivors: Sharon (Square) Galen; son: Matthew; daughters: Sally Wilson, Marci, Gwendolyn Whitehead. Memorial Service: Nov. 30, 2017, Collinsville, Ill.; cremation.
JENNINGS, MARK REV., Dec. 20, 1963, Maywood, Calif., to Nov. 23, 2017, Bellflower, Calif.; son of Jon and Merry (Hamilton) Jennings; graduated St. Louis Seminary 2015. Served 2015-2017. Ministries/ Parishes: Bellflower, Long Beach, Pico Rivera, Calif. Survivors: Susan (Pabst) Jennings; son: Andrew; daughter: Elizabeth McCombs. Funeral: Dec. 2, 2017, Downey, Calif.
KOCH, ROBERT WALTER REV., Jan. 6, 1930, Blackwell, Okla., to Nov. 13, 2017, Louisville, Ky.; son of Rev. Walter and Agnes (Buescher) Koch; graduated Ft. Wayne Seminary 1958. Served 1958-1995. Ministries/Parishes: Sadorus, Ill.; Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada; Louisville, Ky.; Alexandra, Va.; Warsaw, Ind. Retired 1995. Survivors: Marlys (Muth) Koch; sons: David, Allan; daughters: Beverly, Marian Grothaus, Catherine Guenther. Funeral: Nov. 20, 2017, Louisville, Ky.
LINK, JAMES CARL REV., July 16, 1945, St. Louis, Mo., to Nov. 23, 2017, Indianapolis, Ind.; son of Stanley and Barbara (Briggs) Link; graduated Ft. Wayne Seminary 1997. Served 1997-2009, 2013-2017. Ministries/Parishes: South Bend, Indianapolis, Ind.; Holmen, Milwaukee, Necedah, New Miner, Wis. Retired 2017. Survivors: Virginia (Blomenkamp) Link; son: Brian; daughters: Tonya Fortier, Robin Stevenson, Diane Houy. Funeral and Interment: Nov. 29, 2017, Indianapolis, Ind.
MENNENGA, FRANCIS WILLIAM REV., April 17, 1930, Huntley, Neb., to Nov. 1, 2017, Waco, Texas; son of William and Ellen (Peterson) Mennenga; graduated Springfield Seminary 1960. Served 1960-2003. Ministries/Parishes: Dallas, Lubbock, Hamilton, Whitney, Hewitt, Texas; Hartley, Iowa; Texas District Circuit Visitor 1990-1993. Retired 2003. Preceded in death by his son Michael. Survivors: Martha (Tabor) Mennenga; son: Nathan. Funeral: Nov. 6, 2017, Waco, Texas; Interment: Nov. 6, 2017, Killeen, Texas.
PAPE, JAMES C. REV., Oct. 16, 1932, Poy Sippi, Wis., to Oct. 2, 2017, Omaha, Neb; son of Rev. George and Inez (Blomily) Pape; graduated St. Louis Seminary 1957. Served 1957-1991, 1993-1996. Ministries/Parishes: Maplewood, Slidell, La.; Birmingham, Ala.; St. Louis, Mo.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Zimmerman, Minn. Retired 1996. Survivors: sons: Jay, Richard; daughters: Deborah Fraser, Susan Wise. Memorial Service: Nov. 18, 2017, Elkhorn, Neb.
PETROWSKY, ARTHUR E. REV., May 3, 1932, Chicago, Ill., to Oct. 6, 2017, Woodland, Calif.; son of Arthur and Malita (Schrieber) Petrowsky; graduated St. Louis Seminary 1957. Served 1957-1993. Ministries/Parishes: Baudette, Warroad, Minn.; U.S. Air Force Chaplain; Rancho Cordova, Calif, Okinawa, Japan. Retired 1993. Survivors: Cathleen (Stoelting) Petrowsky; sons: Mark, Paul, Kurt; daughter: Cheri. Funeral: Oct. 8, 2017, Woodland, Calif.
RUSH, JAMES MCCALL REV., July 1, 1924, Indianapolis, Ind., to Oct. 22, 2017, Santa Cruz, Calif.; son of Earl and Estelle Rush; graduated Springfield Seminary 1973. Served 1973-1990. Ministries/Parishes: Seeley Lake, Condon, Mont.; Hoxie, Kan.; Southgate. Mich. Retired 1990. Survivors: son: Steven; daughters: Terry Olson, Randi Hermann.
SCHMIDT, NEIL R. REV., Aug. 9, 1934, St. Louis, Mo., to Sept. 27, 2017, St. Ann, Mo.; son of Richard and Alta (Schaeffer) Schmidt; graduated St. Louis Seminary 1959. Served 1960-2001. Ministries/Parishes: Chatham, Ill.; Blackwell, Okla.; Grand Forks, N.D.; St. Ann. Mo. Retired 2001. Survivors: Lois (Peters) Schmidt; sons: Paul, Mark; daughters: Miriam Gibson, Deborah Dana. Funeral and Interment: Oct. 2, 2017, St. Ann, Mo.
COMMISSIONED
AUFDEMBERGE, RICHARD OTTOMAR, Nov. 25, 1936, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to November 7, 2017, Highlands Ranch, Colo.; son of Paul and Meta (Wiegner) Aufdemberge; graduated Seward 1958. Served 1958-2000. Schools/Parishes: Lakefield, Minn.; Traverse City, Mich.; Denver, Colo. Retired 2000. Survivors: Lenore (Erxleben) Aufdemberge; son: Jon; daughters: Julie Fenton, Janet Koenig. Funeral and Interment: Nov. 21, 2017, Lakewood, Colo.
DEMEYERE, ROGER, Feb. 7, 1948, Detroit, Mich., to Nov. 23, 2017, Chesterfield, Mich.; son of Emil DeMeyere; graduated River Forest 1970. Served 1970-2010. Schools/Ministries: Detroit, Farmington, Mich. Retired 2010. Survivors: Linda (Radtke) DeMeyere; son: David; daughter: Kimberly Schick. Funeral: Nov. 29, 2017, Macomb, Mich.
HANKEL, DONALD WAYNE, Sept. 5, 1932, Gar Creek, Ind., to Aug. 31, 2017, Indianapolis, Ind.; son of Carl and Esther (Fetter) Hankel; graduated River Forest 1954. Served 1954-1997. Schools/Ministries: Indianapolis, Ind.; Bremen, Kan. Retired 1997. Funeral: Sept. 8, 2017, Indianapolis, Ind.; Interment: Sept. 9, 2017, Ft. Wayne, Ind.
