Maryann Hartzler

MaryAnn Hartzler (nee Thiessen), 83, died peacefully at home on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.

She was born February 28, 1942 in Westbourne Municipality, Manitoba, Canada to Jacob S. and Maria (Zacharias) Thiessen. On August 27, 1971 she married Herman Hartzler, originally from Goshen.  The wedding took place in Manitoba.

Survivors include her husband, two sons, Stan (Julie) Hartzler, Syracuse, and Ian (Mayca) Hartzler, Spain; four grandchildren, Aimee (Richard) Obeng, Olena Hartzler, Julia (Wilson) Perez and Mateo Hartzler; and one great-grandson, Diego; three sisters, Anne Toews, Cathy Epp, and Susan Thiessen; and three brothers, Hank, David, and Edward Thiessen. Along with her parents, she was preceded in death by two brothers, J.D. Thiessen and Ernie Thiessen.

After high school, MaryAnn attended Brandon Teacher’s College where she acquired teacher credentials.  She also completed a Bible diploma at Steinbach Bible Institute. MaryAnn and Herman were missionaries in Belize and Spain, but she was a teacher for nearly her entire adult life, educating students from a wide variety of cultures, ages, and other demographics.  A significant part of her job description also included being mother to their 2 sons.

A good way to summarize MaryAnn’s life is to give you an outline of her various teaching roles. Her teaching career began with sitting her younger brothers down on their stairsteps and...well…just teaching them. Her first, more official assignment, about 1963, was a one-room school near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.  Then in 1965 she took on an assignment in Belize with Gospel Missionary Union (GMU) where she created a primary school from scratch using a local chapel for her classroom.  In 1967 she returned to Manitoba where she taught Hutterite children for a year until GMU asked her to return to Belize to be dean of girls at a boarding high school.  This was where she met Herman who had joined the teaching staff.  After getting engaged in June 1970, they agreed that MaryAnn should teach there another year while Herman, who had completed his 2-year assignment, returned to Goshen. They were married on August 27, 1971.

After marrying, beginning in September 1971, Herman and MaryAnn started a voluntary service assignment in south-side Chicago where MaryAnn tutored at-risk school children in the evenings and graded Bible study course papers for students of Bible Memory Program.

In December 1972, they moved to Malaga, Spain as full-time missionaries, where they served for the next 26 years.  There she conducted a school for missionary kids, at first in their own home and then later in a room constructed for the purpose.  She also tutored a couple of Spanish young people in their learning of English.

After moving to Goshen in 1999, MaryAnn acquired a part-time position in the ENL program of the local community school, assisting students there.  About that same time, she started working with Gospel Echoes Team Prison Ministry grading Bible courses for prison inmates. She served in this role until her death.  MaryAnn taught Sunday school from 2006-2020, mostly 4th and 5th graders, at Clinton Frame Church of Goshen, where they were active members. Between about 2012-2015 MaryAnn tutored a couple of her grandchildren to supplement their formal school studies.  So, there you see the vast range of her teaching scenarios.

Along with being a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, and aunt, MaryAnn was the epitome of kindness and gentleness. A loyal friend to so many—once she became someone’s friend, she adopted them as a friend for life.

A private graveside service will take place at Clinton Frame Cemetery.

A celebration of MaryAnn’s life will be held at Clinton Frame Church, 63846 Co Rd 35, Goshen, IN 46528 at 10:00 am on Saturday July 12, 2025.  The family will be available for visitation, beginning at 9:00 am prior to the service.  All are invited to stay for the meal to take place immediately after the service.  There will be a roving mic to give opportunity for others to give tributes.

For any who are not able to attend in person, the service will be available Live Stream and also it will be recorded for later viewing on demand. The link which will serve for either is… https://www.youtube.com/live/buo7RUAxI9s

Memorial contributions may be directed to Gospel Echoes Team Prison Ministry, Goshen, IN.