Our father and grandfather, Melvin
Jantzen, was born December 12, 1928, to Edgar and Lillie Holbert
Jantzen in a sod house at Protection, Kansas. He passed away in the
early morning hours of February 8, 2021, at the Moundridge Manor,
Moundridge, Kansas, reaching the age of 92 years.
As a young child, the family move to
the Burns, Kansas community, where he received his education and grew
to manhood. He was baptized into the Church of God in Christ,
Mennonite at the Eden Congregation at Burns on August 31, 1944, by
Minister Frank Wenger. He remained faithful to his vows until his
end.
At about 20 years of age, he moved with
his family to Cimarron, Kansas. On March 25, 1951, Dad was married to
our mother, Lena Koehn, at Montezuma, Kansas. Shortly after their
marriage, our parents went to Roseburg, Oregon for his alternative
service. He enjoyed that chapter of his life, and served more time
than he was required to give.
After their time of service, they lived
for a short time both at Glenn, California and Ordway, Colorado. The
years in Colorado were difficult, and they soon returned to Cimarron.
He took employment at the McFarland Ranch, and enjoyed 33 years as a
Western Kansas rancher. In 1965, their first son, Daniel, became part
of our family. Then, in 1968, thinking they would be adopting another
son, they were surprised to receive a daughter, Lea, instead, which
made Dad very happy. Scott made the family complete when he joined us
in 1972 at the age of eight years. Our mother Lena, died suddenly in
an auto accident on May 29, 1986.
After living alone for nearly two
years, Dad married Velma Dyck on January 31, 1988, at Hesston.
Kansas, and she was a loving companion to him. They lived at Cimarron
until he retired from the ranch in 1994, when they moved to Hesston.
They very much enjoyed 20 years together, calling each other Ma and
Pa, until she passed away January 14, 2008. He chose to move into the
Moundridge Manor early in 2012, where he was loved and appreciated by
both the residents and staff. His good humor and friendliness will be
long remembered.
He possessed a strong work ethic, and
believed any job worth doing was worth doing well. He had a colorful
personality and entertained people well. Even after a long day’s
work he took time for his children and was interested in what we were
doing, and he made us feel safe and secure. He had no interest in
material gain but was interested in others’ well-being, and he
taught us to be thankful for what we had.
He took his Christian life seriously,
and would often be found reading his Bible early in the morning. It
was important to him to be ready to meet God, and he encouraged us to
be ready, too. We are comforted that he is at home with the Lord.
Those surviving are: two sons: Scott,
Wichita, KS; and Daniel of Arizona; one daughter: Lea and Stuart
Isaac, Hillsboro, KS; two brothers: Nelson and Patricia, Montezuma,
KS; and Kenneth and Margaret, Tulsa, OK; one sister: Levina,
Montezuma, KS; two grandchildren, who were the joy of his life: Holly
and Brett Koehn, Moundridge, KS; and Kyle and Angela, Hillsboro, KS.;
five great-grandchildren: Alexis, Bentley, Maddie, Kaylen, and
Emerson; and one brother-in-law and two sisters-in-law.
Preceding him in death are: his
parents; his first wife, Lena; his second wife, Velma; one brother:
Eldon; two sisters: Virginia and Lauretta; and one grandson, Jeremy.
