Alma Bontrager

East Goshen Mennonite Church will provide access to Alma's  service via Zoom at the following link:

http://tinyurl.com/AlmaBontragerService

Alma Bontrager was a woman who knew the importance of little things, the value of big things, and the joy of fully experiencing everything in the middle.

She knew that the pie crust was better if you added 1T of water, the flower garden looked better if you took time to deadhead and pull the weeds, the quilt was more attractive if the stitches were even, and the sunset looked even better when seen through a clean window.

Alma also spent time every day on the big things in her life – relationships. At the top of her list was her relationship with God. This was followed closely by her love and care for her grandchildren and great grandchildren; her church family at East Goshen Mennonite Church; her extended family – brothers, sister, sisters in law, nieces, nephews, and all their families; and the Greencroft community.

The second of eleven children, Alma was born on July 18, 1930, to Jacob and Polly (Helmuth) Miller in Arthur, Illinois. The family moved to Goshen when she was 17. She was preceded in death by her parents and seven siblings (Barbara Hershberger, Henry, Chris, Eli, Daniel, Orie, and John). Her sister Mary (Lisa Dimondstein) lives in Vermont, two brothers, Emery (Mary Alice) and Paul (Sherry) live in Ohio.

Alma packed a lot into her 93 years and she never stopped learning new things – whether it was making window treatments at Kropf Manufacturing in her 30’s and 40’s, making pies when she worked in food services at Greencroft in her 60’s, kayaking in her 80’s, or using her iPad to ‘go to church’ via zoom in her 90’s. She taught her Sunday School on a regular basis and diligently prepared for each class (all of them conducted on zoom) often calling one of her grandchildren to ask about the best way to convey an idea or ask a question that would generate the most discussion.

Alma had two daughters (Grace and Jo) who she raised in Middlebury; she moved to Greencroft Senior Center in 1992. She loved living in Manor III and throughout her 30 years there she was fully engaged in the Greencroft community. Grace and Jo both live nearby; Grace is in Millersburg and Jo is in Carmel.

When Grace married Bob Carpenter and Jo married Kirk Taylor, Alma welcomed them into the family. She was always grateful for the kindnesses she received from her sons-in-law, the errands they ran, and the work they did for her. Her grandchildren brought her special joy – Erin (Woody) Hagar, Sarah (Steve) Wright, Laura (Stephen) Stull, Kyle Taylor, and Claire Taylor. They will never eat a piece of apple pie without remembering their Grandma Alma’s special attention to the craft of baking a pie – paying attention to the crust, the varieties of apples, and the crumbs on top. They have all iterated their own version of an apple pie, and that, too, brought Alma great pleasure. She never believed that her way was the only right way.

Alex and Gabe Hagar, Abigail and Emily Wright, and Simon, Elaina, and Nathaniel Stull will always remember that their great grandmother asked every year what kind of cookies they wanted her to bake for their birthdays. This little thing communicated the big message of just how much she valued each of them.

Those who knew Alma well understood that she was a woman who embodied the inseparable nature of joy and sorrow – ‘the deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain’.  Indeed, for Alma, everything was a gift. Alma’s spirit will live on in all who were touched by her friendship, who received one of her handwritten notes or carefully selected cards, and who sat at her table to play a game or eat a meal.

Alma was hopeful that one day she would quietly cross the threshold from this life and into the next. That happened on Sunday morning, September 17. She was up early to get ready for church and an afternoon music performance when she experienced an apparent stroke. She slipped away peacefully while sitting in her chair.

Visitation will be at Yoder Culp Funeral Home on Saturday, September 23, 2023 from 5pm – 8pm. Interment will be a private family service at Clinton Union Cemetery. Friends and family are invited to participate in a Celebration of Life service at East Goshen Mennonite Church on Sunday, September 24, at 3pm.

Memorial gifts in Alma’s honor may be directed to Mennonite Central Committee, PO Box 500, Akron, PA 17501; https://mcc.org/ .