Hershberger, Owen O. (1897-1962)
Owen O. Hershberger: minister of the Mount View Mennonite Church near High River, Alberta, and in Kansas, was born 3 August 1897 near Garden City, Missouri, and died at Hesston, Kansas 27 April 1962. He married Clara Brenneman (5 February 1901-10 March 1979) on 4 March 1920. They were the parents of five sons and one daughter.
Hershberger was baptized and became a member of the Sycamore Grove Amish Mennonite Church as a youth. During World War I severe patriotic pressure, designed to encourage young men to enlist in the military, resulted in the emigration to Canada of a number of Mennonite young men. In 1919 Owen Hershberger came to the Tofield area, where he had relatives and Amish church contacts. He became active in the Salem Mennonite Church, most of whose members came from an Amish Mennonite background, serving at various times as Sunday school superintendent. He also had a great love of singing and greatly enriched the worship and devotional services of the congregation.
Bishop Isaac Miller of the Mount View Mennonite Church near High River requested help from the Alberta-Saskatchewan Mennonite Conference in discharging his various responsibilities, and in 1935 Owen Hershberger was ordained to the ministry. The ordination took place in the Salem Mennonite Church, but Hershberger was ordained to serve the Mount View Congregation. He and his family moved to the Mazeppa area after the ordination, and worked with Bishop Miller until 1941.
The Hershberger family moved to Hesston, Kansas in 1941, partly because of the ill health of Clara Hershberger and partly to provide an opportunity for their children to attend a Mennonite school and college. In Kansas Hershberger served as a minister in the Pennsylvania congregation, located four miles southeast of Hesston.
Bibliography
Regehr, T. D. Faith, Life and Witness in the Northwest, 1903-2003: Centennial History of the Northwest Mennonite Conference. Kitchener, ON : Pandora Press, 2003.
Stauffer, Ezra. History of the Alberta-Saskatchewan Mennonite Conference. Ryley, Alberta : Alberta-Saskatchewan Mennonite Conference, 1960.
| Author(s) | Ted D Regehr |
|---|---|
| Date Published | December 2003 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Regehr, Ted D. "Hershberger, Owen O. (1897-1962)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. December 2003. Web. 20 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hershberger,_Owen_O._(1897-1962)&oldid=122411.
APA style
Regehr, Ted D. (December 2003). Hershberger, Owen O. (1897-1962). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 20 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hershberger,_Owen_O._(1897-1962)&oldid=122411.
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