William Klassen
Obituary
William H. (Bill) Klassen, 83, went to
his eternal reward Oct. 2, 2018, losing his battle with cancer in
Hutchinson at the Hospice House of Reno County. He was born on Dec.
8, 1934, in Newton, the second of three sons of Albert D. and Agatha
Hiebert Klassen.
He attended Newton public schools and
was baptized into the Bethel College Mennonite Church in 1947,
remaining a faithful and active Mennonite until his passing.
In August 1953, Bill accepted a
two-year assignment in Germany with PAX (Latin for peace) service - a
program under Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) - as an alternative
to military service for young conscientious objectors, building
housing for post-WWII East German Mennonite refugees.
Under unique circumstances during those
two years, Bill was brought together with his future wife, Thea I.
Janz, a secretary with MCC there in Frankfurt, Germany. After Thea's
emigration to Canada in 1954, Bill completed his two years of
service, returning home to Kansas and resuming the long-distance
(1,000 miles) courtship.
Bill and Thea married on Dec. 31, 1955,
in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. In love, they spent 62 years together.
Thea survives.
Late in 1962, Bill and Thea returned to
Germany, where Bill was employed by a German engineer and land
surveyor for two and a half years. During this period, they traveled
around central Europe, soaking up as much culture as possible.
Returning to Kansas in 1965, Bill
worked in Hutchinson as an engineering technician until he was
licensed as a professional land surveyor in 1969. He served two terms
as president of the Kansas Chapter of the American Society of
Certified Engineering Technicians and one as president of the Kansas
Society of Land Surveyors.
For eight years, Bill was partner in
the land surveying firm Sickmon-Klassen until 1982 when, due to the
economy, he began employment with an Oklahoma City survey firm and
became licensed in Oklahoma until the economic collapse in 1995.
Moving to New Jersey in 1986, he was employed with a surveying firm,
obtaining his New Jersey license in 1989.
Returning to Oklahoma after the 1988
stock market crash, Bill was employed with a surveying firm until
retiring at the end of 1999. Having found and chartering in a new
Mennonite church in Oklahoma City, the involvement there led to two
years as president elect and two years as president of the Oklahoma
Convention of General Conference Mennonite Churches. Those four years
were some of the most memorable and rewarding years of Bill's life.
In 2001, after retiring, Bill returned
to Hutchinson with Thea, where they both returned to the First
Mennonite Church, and Bill became immersed in the church he loved
deeply until the present.
Survivors include his loving and
faithful wife, Thea; one brother, David (Deidre) Klassen of Hannibal,
Missouri; and a number nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his
parents; a brother, Albert; and an infant sister, Ruth Ann.
A celebration of life service will be
held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at First Mennonite Church,
52 Rambler Rd., Hutchinson, with Pastors Tonya Ramer Wenger and
Nathan Koontz presiding. Inurnment in the church columbarium will
follow the celebration.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be
made to the First Mennonite Church or Mennonite Central Committee and
left in care of the funeral home.
Old Mission – Heritage Funeral Home,
Hutchinson, is in charge of arrangements.
