Richard D. Oyer

Richard “Dick” Oyer, 91, of Goshen, died Sunday, February 19, 2023, at Greencroft Gables Healthcare.

He was born June 29, 1931, in Gibson City, Illinois to Walter and Elizabeth “Betty” (Yoder) Oyer. He grew up on a dairy farm near Fisher, Illinois and attended a rural school for the first eight years of his education. He continued his education at Fisher High School, graduating in 1949 as valedictorian. He furthered his education at Bob Jones University, Greenville, South Carolina, graduating Magna Cum Laude. He earned his Master’s degree from the University of Colorado in 1959 and took additional graduate hours at the University of Iowa, Teacher’s College, Columbia University, and the University of Redlands in California.

Richard married Margaret “Margie” Yoder on August 16, 1958, in Denver, Colorado. She died April 6, 2013, after more than 54 years of marriage.

Richard served in the U.S. Army as a non-combatant from 1953 to 1955. He taught math at the junior high and high school level for 37 years in Kalona, Iowa and substitute taught for an additional five years.

His hobbies included gardening, traveling, reading, puzzle solving and volunteering. He and Margie visited Europe twice and were able to attend The Passion Play at Oberammergau, Germany.  They enjoyed traveling to 15 foreign countries and have vacationed in all 50 states, except for one, which remains a mystery. They also went on two cruises: The Inland Passage to Alaska and to the Caribbean.

Dick accepted Christ as his Savior when he was baptized as a teen. He was a member of East Bend Mennonite Church, Fisher, Illinois.

Volunteering was always close to Dick’s heart; a few of the organizations that benefited from this are, Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp, Divide, Colorado, The Crowded Closet in Iowa City, Iowa, The Depot in Goshen, Indiana, Spruce Forrest at Penn Alps in Garret County Maryland, and the Food Pantry in Kalona, Iowa.

Dick also helped start The United Fund in Kalona, Iowa and served as its first treasurer and president. He helped form the Council of Mid-Prairie Churches in the Kalona-Wellman-West Chester area and served as the treasurer at the Sharon Center in Iowa for more than 25 years.

He served as president and treasurer for the Board of Directors for the Kalona Public Library and was a member of the Kalona Public Library Foundation. He served on its committee and helped to pass a bond issue that resulted in the building of a new library. He was a founding member, treasurer, and president of The Kalona Garden Club.

He was a longtime member of College Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana, and was a part of the ushering group for funerals. He also served on the committee for the Men’s Fellowship.

He is survived by two sisters, Marilyn Miller, Bloomingdale, Illinois, Jean (Virgil) Cray, Flanagan, Illinois; a half-sister Linda Oyer, Glen Ellyn, Illinois; a half-brother, Ron (Jorge Kaba) Oyer, San Diego, California and many nieces and nephews. Richard is also survived by good friends, Emmon and Monique Schmucker of Goshen, Indiana.

Along with his parents and wife, he was preceded in death by a sister, Ellen Rose Oyer; an infant half-brother, Donald Oyer and stepmother, Freda Teuscher Oyer.

Visitation will be Saturday, April 22, 2023 from 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. memorial service and celebration of life at College Mennonite Church, Goshen, Indiana.

Memorial contributions can be made to College Mennonite Church or MCC – Mennonite Central Committee.