Obituary

Short cold days and long winter nights seem like a good time to read some good books. Here are a few from my collection that I recommend you consider this winter. If you haven?t read Aldo Leopold?s ?A Sand County Almanac,? that would be the first book I would recommend ? everyone interested in nature should have it. Other books about Leopold include, ?The Essential Aldo Leopold: Quotations and Commentaries,? by Meine and Knight; ?The River of the Mother of God and Other Essays by Aldo Leopold,? by Flader and Callicott; and ?Round River. From the Journals of Aldo Leopold,? by Luna Leopold (Aldo?s son). Roy Bedichek?s ?Adventures with a Texas Naturalist? was written while the author was taking a sabbatical in a shack in the northeastern part of the Hill Country in 1947. Bedichek?s book can be considered the Texas version of ?A Sand County Almanac.? Bedichek was a friend of Texas authors J. Frank Dobie and Walter Prescott Webb. In a similar vein, the much-acclaimed writer John Graves? ?Hard Scrabble: Observations on a Patch of Land? is a series of essays, again based, like Leopold?s work, on observations on his place in Somervell Co., southwest of Ft. Worth. Any book by John Graves is recommended, but especially, ?Goodbye to a River? and ?From a Limestone Ledge.? For folks interested in the history of the Great Plains, the Dust Bowl, and the Drought of the 1950s, I would recommend ?The Great Plains,? by Walter Prescott Webb, ?The Worst Hard Time,? by Timothy Egan, and ?The Time it Never Rained,? by Elmer Kelton. The latter is actually a novel. I virtually never read fiction as there is too much non-fiction I am interested in, but this book about the drought of the ?50s, set not far from where I grew up, is certainly an exception. For a fascinating description of travels around the Hill Country, especially in the areas of New Braunfels, San Antonio, and Fredericksburg from 1845 to 1847, read ?Roemer?s Texas? (alternate title, ?Texas with particular Reference to German Immigration and the Appearance of the Country?), by Ferdinand Roemer, translated from the German by Oswald Mueller. For more recent accounts of rural Texas life in the early 20th century, there is a book edited by Thad Sitton, ?Harder than Hardscrabble: Oral Recollections of Farming Life from the Edge of the Texas Hill Country.? This is based on descriptions of life in the early 20th century by people who were displaced from their homes in order to build Fort Hood in 1942. The book which was my inspiration for setting out a nature trail to visit every few weeks and write about what I saw is ?The Forest Unseen. A Year?s Watch in Nature,? by David Haskell. A recent book about the problems with non-native plants and the importance of conserving native habitats is ?Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants,? by Douglas Tallamy. My friend, David Langford, a nature photographer and sixth-generation Hill Country landowner, tells the story of his family?s land management outside of Comfort with both words and gorgeous photographs in his book ?Hillingdon Ranch.? Silas P.I. Stucky was born on October 14, 1927 to Peter T. and Ida JC Gehring Stucky in McPherson county Kansas. He attended the Mound Grade School and the Eden Mennonite Church, Moundridge. Silas was baptized upon his profession of faith in Christ Jesus at the age of 16 by Rev. Walter Gehring. Faith, family, and farming were the integral parts of his life. In 1940 his family moved to a farm near Burns and he graduated from the Burns High School in 1945. He helped to build the Burns Mennonite Church and enjoyed playing basketball with his ?Stucky Brothers? team. It was at a church youth party where Silas met the love of his life, Edna Guhr. On August 26, 1948 they were married at the Emmaus Mennonite Church of Whitewater, Edna?s home church. ?Hitherto hath the Lord helped us? I Samuel 7:12 was their wedding and life verse as they depended on Him for wisdom and grace for every day. They enjoyed farming all of their married lives, trusting God to provide. When first married they farmed near Burns and Peabody. In 1956 God provided a farm north of Elbing and this became their home for the next 53 years where they raised four daughters. Many hands made light work and working together as a family on the farm brought many blessings. Daily morning devotions found them gathered around the kitchen table with Our Daily Bread and the Bible. Kneeling for prayer sought God?s wisdom and grace. From the girls? early years the family sang together with Edna playing the guitar and Silas sharing devotionals as they gave programs in the area, known as the ?Stucky Family Singers?. In 2009 at the age of 82 they retired from farming and moved into Elbing. Their legacy continues with another generation on the farm. In 2018 they moved into an independent apartment at Presbyterian Manor in Newton. In 2020 they moved into the home made for them at daughter Diane and Mark?s home. Being back with family meant so much. Silas passed into the presence of his Savior on August 2, 2022 at the age of 94.

He is survived by his wife Edna of 73 years and their daughters and husbands, Elaine (Schmidt) of Elbing, Bonnie (Stan Graber) rural Burns, Nadine (Friesen) BC Canada, and Diane (Mark Veer) rural Newton. They have 15 grandchildren, 42 great grandchildren and 1 great great grandchild. He is survived by three sisters in law Ruby (John) Stucky, Faye (Joseph) Stucky, and Alice (Daniel) Stucky, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. He was proceeded in death by seven brothers Samuel (Florence), David (Esther), Jonas (Della), Paul (Leta), John, Joseph, and Daniel, and one sister Esther (Wayne) Ott.

The memorial service will be held on Saturday August 13 with the burial at the Burns Countryside Church at 9:30. The service will be at 11:00 at the Zion Mennonite Church in Elbing with a lunch following. Visitation will be the evening prior on Friday Aug 12 at the Lamb Mortuary in Whitewater with family greeting from 6:00-8:00. Memorials may be made to the donors choice in Silas?s honor or to Berean Academy where Edna was in the first class in 1946.