Henry Frederick 'Fred' Dudte
Henry Frederick 'Fred' Dudte, 94, died
Friday (Nov. 14, 2008) at Newton Presbyterain Manor. Fred was born on
March 10, 1914, in Newton to John Lewis and Anna Matilda (Tangeman)
Dudte. He was raised by dedicated Christian parents and was baptized
at the age of 11 on Nov. 8, 1925, at Church of the Brethren in
Newton. After five years of courtship, he married Hazel Ruth Williams
on May 30, 1937, in Nashua, Iowa, at 'The Little Brown Church.' Fred
delighted in her, and for many years he played his organ for her
multiple times every day, always including 'The Church in the
Wildwood' and 'I Love You Truly.'
Raised on a farm in rural Newton, he
graduated from Newton High School. Fred attended Bethel College and
Kansas State College (now Kansas State University), graduating in
1936 with a degree in agricultural administration. He taught
agricultural education at Miltonvale (Kan.) High School for two
years.
Fred and Hazel returned to Newton and
acquired a dairy on 24th Street, east of Bethel College, where they
lived for nine years. They then purchased a farm two miles north of
the college, where they raised cattle, sheep, wheat, milo and other
crops. They lived on the farm until 1977, when they moved to the home
they constructed on North Main.
Fred realized a dream when they also
built the cabin on the pond in 1985 on land owned by the family for
three generations near Walton. He wanted it to be a place of rest and
reflection and available to church groups. It also became a gathering
place for the family and friends. Many an evening and weekend was
spent by the family fishing from the bank and watching the sunset
from the deck.
In 2006, they sold their home in North
Newton and moved to Newton Presbyterian Manor.
First and foremost, he was a strong
Christian man. He was honored when his oldest grandson said on his
50th wedding anniversary that 'Grandpa is a Godly man.' Members of
First Church of the Nazarene in Newton, Fred and Hazel also had a
desire to encourage Christian youth. He was delighted when the cabin
and acreage near Walton became Meadow Lakes, the state camp for the
Kansas District of the Nazarene Church. It always will be a place of
renewal, refreshment and retreat.
Fred was a farmer and loved the land he
farmed. He was creative in everything he did, always tinkering and
improving on many things he touched. Inventing numerous things on the
farm, he acquired two patents on farm equipment.
He will be remembered as a Godly man,
good, kind and merciful, who deeply loved his Lord, his wife and his
family.
He was preceded in death by his
parents, John and Anna Dudte; and two sisters, Margaret Gates and
Mary Williams.
He is survived by Hazel, his wife of 71
years; four children, Janice and Vern Schroeder of North Newton,
Michael and Rebecca Dudte of Newton, Cheryl and James Clay of
Bayfield, Colo., and Tim and Karen Dudte of Newton; sisters, Gertrude
Jeter of Virginia Beach, Va., Jessie Allen of North Newton, Dorothy
Unruh of Newton, and Elsie Johnson of Maple Valley, Wash.; brother,
Harry Dudte of rural Newton; 12 grandchildren; two
step-grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and four
step-great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 1 to 9 p.m.,
today at Petersen Funeral Home in Newton, with family greeting
friends from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Funeral service will be at 10 a.m.
Tuesday at First Church of the Nazarene in Newton. Committal will
follow at 1 p.m. at Highland Cemetery in rural Newton.
Memorials have been established to
First Church of the Nazarene in Newton for the Meadow Lakes Nazarene
Campground or Commission to Every Nation, Dallas & Anna Lee Ward
Support, both in care of Petersen Funeral Home in Newton.
