"The impact of Dean and Edna Hochstetler's interwoven lives and spiritual ministry among untold numbers of people across this country and around the globe is virtually incalculable, and will undoubtedly continue to unfold and be revealed for many years to come."
I didn't "manufacture" that biased assessment of their lives - it comes from others, but I certainly agree. Granted, as the oldest of their four sons, I do have my own unique experiences to share and stories to tell - and you will certainly find them sprinkled throughout the material that follows.
I started this blog at the time my father was actively dying last October. Some of the stories I recently included here were actually written near the time my mother was dying six months earlier, and even earlier in September 2005 - when the Yellow Creek Mennonite Church near Goshen hosted a celebration in honor of their life and specialized ministry together.
What began to flow like a river of life was suddenly unleashed - just prior to and after my father's death - in a torrent of messages and calls noting concern and affirmation. It all came pouring in from countless friends and colleagues scattered around the country and the globe, most of whom considered my parents to be either like "family" or spiritual mentors.
However, I hope to continue the process of sifting and adding to this collection for some time to come, because more "good stuff" has recently come to light, set aside temporarily until further sorting and research can be done. My brother Verle and I (actually mostly Verle, so far) initially worked through a mountain of material they saved but had to get sorted into special piles and categories as it was time to sell their home and distribute their assets - all part of the legacy they left behind. Anyone who has become an adult orphan like I and my brothers are now knows quite well how it goes. Their estate sale was conducted on March 13, 2007 - and in many ways that marks the end of an era.
However, several large batches of letters and cards still remain to be digested and fully appreciated - until time can allow. We knew that Dad had a lot of "stuff" he collected, but hardly any of us realized how much stuff Mom also kept and cataloged about her life. My brothers and I were astounded when we realized that, apparently, she never threw away a single card or letter that she had ever received! Anything that was publicly printed about any one of her sons or grandchildren got dutifully "squirreled away" - if she could get her hands on it.
This (blog) began as a personal project of mine -- a sort of electronic scrapbook. It has, indeed, helped me immeasurably as a creative outlet, and provided an environment at crucial points along the way which encouraged me to process my own thoughts and perspectives. It has kept me working at integrating my own grief regarding these significant losses in my life, while continuing to function professionally as a busy community pastor -- a hospital and hospice chaplain well aware of the importance of doing one's own inner work in order to remain effective in similar work with others.
In this venue, it is my hope that readers here will be able to gain a sense of the depth and breadth of what is but a mere sampling amidst a plethora of affirmations, encouraging remarks, anecdotes, and other sentiments shared with members of our family throughout this past year. It bears witness to a considerable network of relationships - an effective sphere of influence they maintained in ways which otherwise I would have only marginally comprehended - though certainly I would hear about some recent challenges or some "adventure" whenever we visited! Usually there was just so much "going on" I couldn't even keep track of it all - nor did I feel I needed to, since I was busy and fulfilled in my own pursuits. But I learned a lot - and didn't all of us who knew them well? They both, especially Dad, with his pioneer spirit continued to model lifelong learning, probing, exploring, and then teaching what he learned.
So enjoy - feel free to make a comment - or share your own story in connection with any item that strikes your fancy - and keep checking back from time to time to discover what's new. (However, if you want to respond but would rather keep your piece out of this public arena, simply send your own message or reflection directly to me at: Clair.Hochstetler@gmail.com
This was the last "official" photo of Dean, taken during the summer of 2006 for the new pictorial directory of the Yellow Creek Mennonite Church, just a couple of months after my mother Edna's death and a few months before his own. It is somewhat revealing of the state of his health amidst a resolute and accepting approach to his own imminent demise. Some may think Dean is frowning here, but he's actually not - he's just being his serene, natural self at a time when he was not well. (Although personally, I wish he would have made more of an effort on that particular occasion to offer his well-known smile!)
Why did he die? On Father's Day he told his sons he was not likely to see the next Christmas. His cardiologist has just informed him that his body was no longer responding very well to the fine balancing act his physicians had been able to help him manage, thus far, while dealing with congestive heart failure for about ten years. We all knew that irreversible renal failure was about to set in - and that dialysis was not an option. His last years were a sheer bonus, in his mind and ours - dad always thought he would die before our mother Edna did. He was fully prepared - and preparing us, as well.
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Why did he die? On Father's Day he told his sons he was not likely to see the next Christmas. His cardiologist has just informed him that his body was no longer responding very well to the fine balancing act his physicians had been able to help him manage, thus far, while dealing with congestive heart failure for about ten years. We all knew that irreversible renal failure was about to set in - and that dialysis was not an option. His last years were a sheer bonus, in his mind and ours - dad always thought he would die before our mother Edna did. He was fully prepared - and preparing us, as well.
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AN ACROSTIC: DEAN LAMAR HOCHSTETLER
(composed by Miriam Hochstetler, Dean's sister, on May 17, 2001)
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D- Deliverance ministry
E – Enjoys reading
A – Ability to reason well
N – Notices discrepancies exceptionally well
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L – Loved Edna Swartzentruber and married her
A – Advanced well academically
M – Mechanically gifted
A – Aspires to uphold Christian principles
R – Ran a welding shop for years
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H – Handles problems realistically
O – Occasionally travels and gives seminars
C – Cares about people’s problems
H – Hopeful, honest, and helpful
S – Sailed on a cattle boat to Greece
T – Thankful for salvation
E – Entertains people with jokes and stories
T – Tells it like it is
L – Likes to keep busy
E – Enjoys classical music and operas
R – Repairman
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Links -- to other important sites throughout this collection:
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For and "expanded" version of the obituary Katie Cunningham shared during Dean's memorial service on Nov. 5, click on this.
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In May 2001 my father wrote a short autobiography to document significant recollections - like "snapshots" from various points along the continuum of his entire life. Thus he would refer to this paper, tongue in cheek, as his "Epistle General !"
In May 2001 my father wrote a short autobiography to document significant recollections - like "snapshots" from various points along the continuum of his entire life. Thus he would refer to this paper, tongue in cheek, as his "Epistle General !"
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In March 2003 he wrote up an account of his spiritual journey which he entitled "In Pursuit Of Truth - My Journey Into Deliverance Ministry."
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For information regarding obtaining your own copy of the book dedicated to Dean (it also contains his own chapter - including a short autobiography) entitled: "Even the Demons Submit - Continuing Jesus' Ministry of Deliverance" please check out the last paragraph of Harold Bauman's posting here.
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A Pastor's Friend is a specialized counseling and support ministry by Ben Snyder of New Paris, Indiana, whom Dad mentored over the last decade as one of the persons to succeed him in this type of work. Ben was bequeathed Dad's complete and very unique library. He and his wife Angela have an office set up in their home and devote full-time to this ministry. Ben also coordinates an ecumenical Saturday morning monthly education and support ministry for those wishing to learn how to become more effective in congregation-based spiritual deliverance. This group utilizes the facilities at Yellow Creek Mennonite Church, where my father and mother were involved prior to their deaths.
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(Update: October 13, 2007)
Tom Lehman has been posting slides on Flickr originally taken by Mennonites serving in Puerto Rico, primarily in the late 1940's and early 1950's. That group included my father, who was still single at the time and working in La Plata, near Aibonito and the surrounding area for over two years as a maintenance man with the medical facilities. He learned Spanish fluently there and kept it going all his life. (Read a bit more about those experiences in a section of his own autobiography entitled "Life After Highschool.")
Here is a link to most of Dad's unretouched slide collection from those days, which Tom Lehman says (though Dean was an amateur) certainly demonstrated his keen eye for composition and confirmes that he had a good camera for those times, plus understood the value of taking the shots with Kodachrome film.
Verle and I uncovered these in a special slide storage box, perfectly preserved and I decided to salvaged them from being thrown out during the sorting we did to get ready for the estate auction last spring -- having little idea at the time of the impact and importance they would soon have.
Tom says its one of the best and most extensive sets that existed in the whole project he's doing, which is enthralling numerous current residents of Puerto Rico, as they see these photos of their environment 50 to 60 years ago get posted online.
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(Latest update: November 24, 2010)
Here's a fresh batch of compiled memories and reflections surrounding my father's young adult experiences (from Nov 1950 through Nov 1952) when serving the people in LaPlata, Puerto Rico. A small excerpt from this will appear in Tom Lehman's new book of photos: Puerto Rico Remembered.
Tom's extensive collection keeps growing as he locates the stored photos of a number of photographers from among Mennonite service workers on the island during that era, including a great batch of selected photos taken by my father. His personal collection can be viewed here in full. Tom's book is slated to come out in July 2011.
Tom's extensive collection keeps growing as he locates the stored photos of a number of photographers from among Mennonite service workers on the island during that era, including a great batch of selected photos taken by my father. His personal collection can be viewed here in full. Tom's book is slated to come out in July 2011.
-Clair
