USA > Ohio > Church of the Brethren in southern Ohio > Part 24
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PAUL NOFFSINGER
Paul Noffsinger is the second son of Elder Jesse and Flora Dils Noffsinger, born June 3, 1911, in Montgomery County, Ohio.
After completing his high school training at the Jefferson Township high school, Montgomery County, he entered Man- chester College, Indiana, graduating with the A.B. degree in 1933. He continued in Ohio State University, 1934-35, and spent the summer of 1948 in Garrett Biblical Institute.
He married M. Mildred Thorne, of Williams County, Ohio, on June 15, 1935. They have three children, Jean Marie, James Paul, and Lois Faye.
His home church, Lower Miami, elected him to the min- istry in September 1933. He was ordained an elder by the Manchester church, North Manchester, Indiana, in January 1954.
Brother Noffsinger has served the Walnut Grove church, Northwestern Ohio, and the Michigan City church, Northern Indiana, as pastor. While in Northwestern Ohio he was on the Brethren Service Committee and was the secretary of the Joint Boards. In Middle Indiana he acted as stewardship education secretary.
He was a member of the public relations committee for
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the World Council of Churches Conference-Festival of Faiths sessions, 1954.
From 1948 to 1954 he was the field secretary for Man- chester College. At present he is the sales manager for the Everyday Poultry Supply Company, Sidney, Ohio. He resides in Sidney and is active in the church in that city.
Ross LAWRENCE NOFFSINGER
Ross Lawrence Noffsinger was born into a minister's home on October 27, 1917, the son of Elder Jesse and Flora Dils Noffsinger. The home was in Montgomery County, south of Dayton.
Ross Noffsinger
Following graduation from the Jefferson Township high school, he entered Manchester College, graduating in 1940 with the B.S. degree. In 1943 he received the B.D. degree from Bethany Biblical Seminary. He took graduate work in the University of Illinois during the summer of 1943, in the col-
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lege of agriculture. Also in 1950 and 1951 he enrolled in the Summer School for Rural Leaders at Oberlin College, Ohio. He received a scholarship as the Rural Minister of the Year, in Ohio, in the Church of the Brethren.
He united with the Lower Miami church in 1925, which congregation elected him to the ministry on June 1, 1939, and ordained him into the full ministry on September 1, 1940. The Des Moines Valley church in Iowa ordained him to the eldership on September 18, 1946.
Mary Carolyn Stone became his wife on March 8, 1942. She also was the child of a minister, the Reverend and Mrs. Paul D. Stone, of Wabash, Indiana. There are three children, Ted, Joan, and Stanley Jay.
His first pastorate was at Hancock, Minnesota, in the summer of 1940. He was the part-time pastor at Portland, Indiana, Middle District, for one year, 1941-42. Then he was the full-time pastor of the Des Moines Valley church, Middle Iowa, for five years, 1943 to 1948. He returned to his native church district, Southern Ohio, in 1948, as pastor of the Donnels Creek church, where he still serves. Brother Noff- singer has been the elder of several churches, being at present elder of the Springfield, Ohio, church.
He has also taken responsibility in this district as an officer and is a member of the new District Board. In 1947 he served as moderator for the Middle Iowa conference. He is a member of the town and country church committee of the Ohio Council of Churches, acting as chairman for one year recently, and for two years has been a member of the Brother- hood Rural Life Committee. In 1948 he was a member of the Standing Committee from Middle Iowa.
IRA A. OREN
Ira A. Oren was born September 16, 1904, near Trotwood, Ohio, the son of Elder Alva W. and Alma Mummert Oren.
He finished his high school training at Englewood, Ohio, and spent one year in Manchester College, Indiana.
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On June 16, 1928, he was married to Ruth E. Engle. They have four children, one son and three daughters.
The Happy Corner congregation elected him to the min- istry in August 1932 and ordained him an elder in August 1936.
Brother Oren served the Happy Corner church for many years and the Hamilton church for a short while. In the fall of 1953 he became pastor of the Cedar Grove church, where he continues at the present time.
Ira Oren and Wife
After teaching for two years he became a plasterer by trade. Then he was employed by Delco Products Corporation for several years. Returning to plastering and farming, he continued until his call to Cedar Grove. Mrs. Oren has taught in the public schools for several years. She has her B.S. degree from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
While at Cedar Grove he is taking some college work at Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana.
He has been the elder of the Happy Corner church con- tinuously since 1936, and has been on the Brethren Home Board for eight years. He is the chairman of this board.
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J. E. OVERHOLSER
J. E. Overholser was born at Bradford, on November 21, 1885, a son of Levi and Emma Overholser.
He united with the Church of the Brethren at Harris Creek in November of 1895. On December 24, 1908, he was married to Esther Frey. Following her decease he married Ida Henschew Young on June 7, 1953.
A charter member of the Bradford church, he was sub- sequently a member of the building committee responsible for the erection of the new house of worship; he was ordained to the ministry by this congregation on March 18, 1918.
Brother Overholser was employed at the Brethren Pub- lishing House, Elgin, Illinois, during the years 1909 to 1912. He is now engaged in the insurance business in Bradford.
J. E. Overholser and Wife
Raymond R. Peters and Wife
RAYMOND R. PETERS
Raymond R. Peters was born at Wirtz, Virginia, on December 28, 1905, to J. B. and Lizzie Peters.
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After his public-school training he attended Daleville Academy, Virginia, and Bridgewater College, Virginia, graduating, A.B. degree, in 1928. Later he took his B.D. degree from Bethany Biblical Seminary; subsequently the seminary gave him the honorary D.D. degree.
His marriage to Kathryn Eller took place at Daleville, Vir- ginia, on June 20, 1930. They have two children, Barbara Gray and J. Bentley.
He taught school in Virginia for five years. His election to the ministry took place in 1925 in the Brick church, Southern Virginia; he was ordained an elder at the Daleville, Virginia, church in 1932.
As pastor, Brother Peters served the Selma and Daleville churches in Virginia and the church at Independence, Kansas. He was the elder of the Elgin and Mount Morris churches in Northern Illinois, and is at present the moderator of the Trot- wood church and the elder of the West Milton church, this district.
Becoming the executive secretary for the Southeastern Region in 1938, he left the region to become the director of youth work for the Brotherhood in 1940. In 1944 he became the executive secretary of the Board of Christian Education, and was elected general secretary of the General Brotherhood Board in 1947, continuing in this capacity until 1952, when he resigned to become the executive secretary of the Church Federation of Greater Dayton, in which position he still serves.
He was a member of the Board of Administration of Northern Illinois and Wisconsin and represented the district on Standing Committee. At this time he is a member of the District Board of Southern Ohio and represents the district on the Central Regional Board.
In the ecumenical movement Brother Peters served four years as a member of the executive committee of the Federal Council of Churches and for the same period on the board of trustees of the International Council of Religious Education. He was also a member of the General Board of the National Council of Churches for four years. He is now a member of the committee on program and field strategy of the National Council of Churches.
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W. W. PETERS
W. W. Peters, widely-known educator in the church, was born June 21, 1889, at Boones Mill, Virginia, to Isaac and Mary Ellen Peters. At the age of eight years he came with his parents to Southern Ohio, locating near the West Charles- ton church.
W. W. Peters and Wife
Here he grew up, finished high school at the Bethel Town- ship schools, and began the teaching profession the next year. Entering Manchester College, he graduated with the class of 1915. In 1921 he received his Master's degree from Ohio State University. Later he entered the University of Illinois, com- pleting the residence work for the Ph.D. degree. In 1941 he was granted the LL.D. degree by Manchester College. He was elected a minister in 1911 and ordained an elder in 1919 by the Hickory Grove church (West Charleston) .
He married E. Rowena Stoner of Ladoga, Indiana, on June 21, 1917. They have three children: Lina Catherine Baldwin, Dale Woodford, and Donald Stoner.
His public-school work continued in Ohio while he had charge of the Bethel Township schools, 1915-19. Then he was at Manchester College as dean of education from 1919 until 1925. He returned in 1939 as head of the department of edu- cation, remaining until 1941. In the interim he was president of Mount Morris College, Illinois, 1925-28; teacher of education,
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University of Illinois, 1928-36; and dean of Drury College, Missouri, 1936-39. From 1941 to 1950 he was the president of McPherson College, Kansas.
From 1950 to 1953 Brother Peters was the director of Brethren Service work in Austria. Returning, he taught in Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania, 1953-54. In 1954 he retired to Wichita, Kansas, where he and Mrs. Peters now reside.
Brother Peters has been honored by many educational societies and is listed in Who's Who in America.
He has served as moderator of the General Conference and as a member of the Brethren Service Commission of the General Brotherhood Board.
C. H. PETRY
C. H. Petry was born October 10, 1884, to Michael M. and Catherine Stump Petry, in Preble County, Ohio.
He studied in the local schools, in Manchester College (B. Acc'ts degree), and for two and one-half years in Bethany Seminary.
He married Roxie E. Jones at Berthold, North Dakota, on November 15, 1905. To them eight children were born, four of whom are ministers.
The Berthold church elected him to the ministry in 1907 and gave him the eldership in 1910.
Brother Petry has held pastorates in Northeastern Ohio, Southern Ohio, and the District of Florida, Georgia, and Puerto Rico. In the first of these he was pastor of the Spring- field and Akron City churches. He served East Dayton from 1941 until 1951, when he was called to be pastor of the Miami, Florida, church.
He was a member of Standing Committee from North- eastern Ohio and a member of the Ministerial Board of that district, and has been moderator of the Florida, Georgia, and Puerto Rico conference.
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EDGAR G. PETRY
Edgar G. Petry, the son of Walter A. and Ola Grossnickle Petry, was born to them on August 14, 1917, near West Man- chester, Ohio.
He attended the Monroe Township schools, Preble County, Ohio, and enrolled in Manchester College, graduating with the A.B. degree in 1939. He attended Bethany Biblical Sem- inary and graduated in 1942.
The Castine church, this district, ordained him to the ministry on August 20, 1938. The Cedar Grove church ordained him an elder on April 30, 1946.
He has held pastorates at Octavia, Nebraska, summer of 1939; Cedar Grove, Southern Ohio, 1941-46; and Pleasant View, Northwestern Ohio, since 1946.
On August 14, 1938, he was married to Mary Elizabeth Beasley; they have three children, Edgar G., Jr., Judith Ann, and Stephen Leigh.
Brother Petry is a member of the District Board of Northwestern Ohio, director of Christian education, and also clerk of the district conference. Sister Petry is on the Women's Work Cabinet of that district.
WILMER A. PETRY
Wilmer A. Petry was born near Berthold, North Dakota, on June 27, 1907. He is the son of Chester H. and Roxie Petry.
The family moved to Troy, Ohio, in 1918, and two years later to Virginia, where he finished high school. They re- turned to this district in 1924. Here he contracted polio, which left him crippled in his limbs.
The Trevilian church, Eastern Virginia, licensed him to the ministry in August of 1924. He was ordained to the full ministry in 1926 and ordained an elder by the Pitsburg church in 1931.
He was part-time pastor of the Pitsburg church from 1928 to 1933, after preaching for a while at the Hamilton church. While pastor at Pitsburg he also served Pleasant Valley part of this time. Later he served Pleasant Valley and Poplar
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Grove. In 1934 he moved to the Akron church, Northeastern Ohio. At present he is the pastor of the more recently or- ganized Eastwood congregation in that district.
Edna Lucille Brower, of Preble County, Ohio, became his wife on November 20, 1929. They have four children-three sons and one daughter.
Brother Petry was a member of the Historical Committee of Southern Ohio, and the Ministerial Board and the Board of Christian Education of Northeastern Ohio. He has been a member of the Joint Boards and of the Brethren Service Com- mittee also, and has been the moderator of district conference and the district's delegate on Standing Committee.
GEORGE W. PHILLIPS
George W. Phillips was born December 29, 1893, near Goshen, Indiana, to Louis Frank and Alice Miller Phillips.
He attended the elementary schools of Elkhart County and completed his high school work in the Academy of Goshen College. Entering Manchester College, he graduated with the A.B. degree in 1917. He was enrolled in Bethany Biblical Seminary, 1919-21, and received the B.D. degree in 1935, following some work by correspondence. He then took graduate work in both Indiana University and Bexley Hall Seminary of Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio. Manchester College granted him the A.M. degree in 1921.
On May 26, 1917, he was married to Gertrude H. Schwalm, daughter of Elder and Mrs. H. M. Schwalm. They have one daughter, Dorothy, now Mrs. Donald Larson.
Brother Phillips was elected to the ministry in 1917 by the Rock Run church, Northern Indiana, and ordained to the eldership in 1922 by the Walton church, Middle Indiana.
Beginning his career as a teacher he first taught in the elementary grades and later in the high schools of Millers- burg and Walton, Indiana.
His active ministry began as summer pastor of the Rock Run church in 1920; then he served part time in the Walton church, 1921-26, In the latter year he became pastor of the
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Danville church, Northeastern Ohio. In 1935 he was called to the Elkhart City church, Northern Indiana, where he labored until 1950, when he came to Southern Ohio as pastor of the Bear Creek church.
George Phillips and Wife
He was on the Board of Christian Education in both Northeastern Ohio and Northern Indiana, and also on the Mission-Ministerial Board of the latter. He represented this district also on the Central Regional Council and was a director of Camp Mack. Twice he was the moderator of the district conference in Northern Indiana and was the assistant moderator in Southern Ohio in 1952. He was one of the first members of the District Board here. Several times he has represented on Standing Committee.
JOHN PERRY PRATHER
John Perry Prather was born November 2, 1893, near Oologah, Oklahoma, to Thomas and Cora Prather,
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On August 11, 1921, he was married to Hope Lulah Dear- dorff of Yale, Iowa. She is a registered nurse. They have one son, Perry Ellis, of Saginaw, Michigan.
He graduated from the Mound City, Missouri, high school and attended Bethany Biblical Seminary three years. He took the A.B. degree from McPherson College, Kansas, in 1920, and the B.D. degree from Yale Divinity School in 1925. Further courses were taken from the University of Michigan. McPherson College granted him the honorary D.D. degree in 1947.
Elected to the ministry in 1914 by the North Bethel church, Mound City, Missouri, he was ordained an elder by the Ash- land, Ohio, church on January 27, 1928.
He began his active ministry as student pastor at Conway Springs, Kansas, 1920-22. While in Yale Divinity School he was pastor of the First Congregational church, Bethany, Connecticut. In August 1925 he became pastor of the First Church of the Brethren at Ashland, Ohio, remaining until 1933.
Brother Prather came to this district as pastor of the West Dayton church in November of 1933; here he remained until October 1944, when he became pastor of the Detroit church, Michigan. In 1949 he took the pastorate of the Water- loo, Iowa, church, and is continuing there.
While in this district he was a member of the Board of Christian Education for about ten years, having previously been a member of the same board in Northeastern Ohio. Also he served on the Board of Administration for the District of Michigan and for the District of Northern Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota. He was several times a member of Stand- ing Committee and moderator of district conference in each district where he resided.
He has been active in camp work and in interdenomina- tional activities. While in Dayton he was a member of the city board of education. In 1939 he attended the Amsterdam, Holland, youth conference. He has twice gone as a visiting delegate to assemblies of the National Council of Churches,
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CLARENCE G. PRISER
Clarence G. Priser was born at New Lebanon, Ohio, on November 12, 1906, the son of Elder Harvey and Ida May Garst Priser.
He attended high school at the Johnsville high school, graduating in 1925. From Manchester College he received
Clarence Priser and Wife
the A.B. degree in 1932. In addition he attended Ohio State University and Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, each for one term, and took some seminary training. He taught in the public schools of Ohio for nine years.
Brother Priser united with the Church of the Brethren at the Eversole church, where he was licensed to preach in 1926, ordained to the ministry on December 5, 1929, and made an elder on May 25, 1939.
On November 28, 1929, he was married to Gladys M. King. They have a son, Byron Cleary Priser, who is in Brethren Volunteer Service at Falfurrias, Texas.
In the free ministry Brother Priser has served at the
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Eversole church and supplied in many churches in Ohio and Indiana. Similarly he worked in churches in Florida. In Southern Ohio he was part-time pastor of the West Charleston church (1943-44) and the Beaver Creek church (1945-48). From 1951 to 1954 he served part-time in the Gratis church. In September 1954 he began as interim pastor at East Dayton.
He has been active in the weekday religious education program of his community and in the Hi-Y organization of the high school.
After leaving the teaching profession he set up a portrait studio at Brookville and is co-operating with the Historical Committee in getting suitable photographs for this volume.
JOHN G. RARICK
John G. Rarick was born in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, to John B. and Sarah Fry Rarick, on April 2, 1861. When he was a child the family moved to Darke County, Ohio. Later they moved to the vicinity of Mississinewa, Indiana.
He was married to Anna Gump on September 27, 1884.
His home church called him to the deacon's office in 1886 and to the ministry in 1897. He was ordained an elder on December 1, 1906.
The family later moved to California, then to Iowa, and then to Ohio, locating in the Pleasant Valley congregation. Wherever he lived he served in the ministry.
He followed the vocations of farmer, rural mail carrier, and dealer in produce, the latter at Eaton, Ohio.
JAMES E. RENZ
James E. Renz, son of Fred W. and Madaline Renz, was born near Greenville, Ohio, on September 20, 1918. Following graduation from the Greenville high school, he studied for one year at Indiana Technical College, Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Further education led to the A.B. degree from Manchester
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College and the B.D. degree from Bethany Biblical Seminary. Also included in his education were courses on the alcohol problem and its solution given at the Yale University School of Alcohol Studies, the University of Chicago, and other related schools.
James Renz
He was licensed to the ministry in January 1939, ordained a minister in January 1940, and ordained an elder in 1946. Pastorates served include Wabash City, Indiana, in 1943 and 1944; Lima, Ohio, from 1944 to 1948; and the Bethel church at Naperville, Illinois, from 1950 to 1952. He was on Standing Committee in 1947.
On September 12, 1942, he was married to Lois Ruth Burns of Fort Wayne, Indiana. They are the parents of three girls: Myralee, Linda Lou, and Roberta Jo.
From June 1948 to September 1, 1952, he worked on a part-time basis for the General Brotherhood Board as temper- ance director. During this time the seminary course was com- pleted, and for two years pastoral work was done at Naper-
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ville. Since September 1, 1952, his full energy and time have been devoted to the planning and direction of temperance work within the Brotherhood.
DOLAR C. RITCHEY
Dolar C. Ritchey was born at Rossville, Indiana, on April 6, 1899, to Aaron and Christina Ritchey.
He united with the Church of the Brethren at Rossville in 1919. He attended high school here, normal school at
Dolar Ritchey and Wife
Marion, Indiana, summer school at Winona Lake, Indiana, and college at Manchester College. Some work was taken at Vincennes University in Indiana.
He was married to Ella May Wenner on July 28, 1920; she passed away June 24, 1924, leaving two children in the care of the father. On November 6, 1926, he married Lois Mary Teegarden. A son, Donald, now in Bethany Seminary, was born to them.
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Brother Ritchey was licensed to the ministry at the Pike Creek church, Southern Indiana, in 1925. The Howard church, same district, ordained him to the full ministry in 1928. He was made an elder in 1933 by the La Motte Prairie church, Southern Illinois.
After teaching several years in the public schools he then began his pastoral work with the Howard church, Southern Indiana, in 1926. In 1929 he took up the work with the La Motte Prairie church, coming in 1944 to Southern Ohio as pastor of the Beech Grove church, where he continues as both pastor and elder. He is also the elder of several near-by churches and is a member of the District Board. While in Southern Illinois he served on the Board of Administration and as ministerial secretary for that district.
DONALD RITCHEY
Donald Ritchey, the son of Elder Dolar and Lois Ritchey, was born at Palestine, Illinois, on June 14, 1930.
He finished his high school work at Hollansburg, Ohio, and entered Manchester College, completing the work for the B.S. degree in 1952. He is in Bethany Seminary, Chicago, in the class of 1955.
Mary Alice Lenker became his wife on August 30, 1953.
The Beech Grove church licensed him to preach, on December 29, 1949, and ordained him to the ministry on January 3, 1951.
His pastoral experience includes two summers, one at Hiwassee, the other at Fairview and Good Will, both parishes in Southern Virginia.
JOHN AMOS ROBINSON
John Amos Robinson, son of Thomas A. and Addaline Gish Robinson, was born on July 11, 1889, at Baldwin, Kansas. He attended Bethany Biblical Seminary, Chicago, and took work with the American Extension University. He married
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Nora Edna Minnich on July 16, 1912. They have two sons, Paul Minnich and Donald Lee.
Brother Robinson was elected to the ministry on July 17, 1909, at Muscatine, Iowa, and was ordained to the eldership
J. A. Robinson and Wife
on December 5, 1916. He has held five pastorates: First church, Denver, Colorado, 1911-14; First church, Des Moines, Iowa, 1914-19; Pleasant Hill, Ohio, 1919-25; Walnut Grove, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 1929-52; Ephrata, Pennsylvania, 1952 to the present time.
In Southern Ohio he was the adult adviser for the young people, the director of religious education, the editor of the Southern Ohio Herald, and the director of Sugar Grove Camp. In Western Pennsylvania he was adult adviser to the young people's department, a member of the District Mission Board, and a trustee of Camp Harmony. In June 1924 he became a member of the General Ministerial Board and was its secretary from 1925 to 1931. He has served as reader of Annual Con- ference and as a member of Standing Committee. He was moderator of district conference in Middle Iowa, Southern
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Ohio, and Western Pennsylvania. He has been on the Eastern Region Advisory Council and a member of the executive com- mittee of the Pennsylvania Council of Churches. Brother Robinson has conducted over one hundred seventy-five evan- gelistic meetings.
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