Byrdalene Kay (Wyse) Horst

Byrdalene Kay (Wyse) Horst, 81, of Goshen, died peacefully Tuesday, March 21, 2023, on the first full day of spring.

She was born September 4, 1941 in Archbold, Ohio, to Cora (Nofziger) and Harold Wyse. Her siblings are Rosemary, d. 2022 (Gerhard Reimer, d. 2019), Buetta, d. 2006 (Marion Bontrager), Dean (Berneda Grieser), Denton (Faith Troyer), Sanford (Judy Wyse), Allen (Jo Nofziger), Ned (Debra Rupp), Norma (Mark Ramseyer) and Sara (Rich Wenger).

Byrdalene married Willis G. Horst (1939-2013) on July 4, 1964. Surviving are their son René (Marlene Harder Horst, Em, Tali) of Boone, North Carolina; daughter Carmen (Eric Kurtz, Elisa, Nayli) of Goshen; daughter Emily (Malcolm Sedaca, Khalil) of Córdoba, Argentina; and daughter Cristina (Lucas Robert, Francisco, Serafín) of Córdoba, Argentina.

Byrdalene's mother’s enthusiasm for local and overseas missions inspired her interest in Spanish and mission work. At Eastern Mennonite [University] she met Willis, when they both volunteered to do neighborhood outreach. Her dream of becoming a missionary led her to volunteer for a summer at the Mennonite boarding school in Cachipay, Colombia.

After she received a BA in Spanish Education from Goshen College in 1964, Byrdalene and Willis taught on the Diné (Navajo) reservation in Arizona. They grew to love relating to indigenous people. After further training in Spanish, linguistics, and seminary, they served with Mennonite Mission Network from 1971 to 2010, in accompaniment with indigenous churches in the Chaco region of northern Argentina.

Byrdalene and Willis helped shape the radical approach of the mission work in the Chaco, supporting the indigenous leaders of the independent Iglesia Evangelica Unida. As part of what became a multicultural, multi-lingual team, Byrdalene taught literacy, led Bible study, served many meals, and traveled many kilometers, while nurturing in her children a love of language and music. Byrdalene recorded and collected thousands of hours of Qom and Pilagá church music.

During their last five years in the Chaco, Byrdalene worked with the Argentine Bible Society and Pilagá readers to produce dramatized recordings of the Gospels and Acts in Pilagá, to make scriptures available to non-readers. Byrdalene was a gentle, trusted spiritual friend to many women.

Byrdalene loved words and literature, and was an insatiable reader, but her first language was music. Almost as long as she had breath, she joined her perfect pitch and clear harmony to any singing. Her passion for music and singing continues in her children and grandchildren. She has touched many lives with her love and kindness.

A memorial service will be held July 15, 2023,  at 11:30 a.m. at Walnut Hill Mennonite Church.

Memorial gifts may be made to Mennonite Mission Network.