in loving memory of
Ervin Ray Stutzman
April 27, 1953 – June 3, 2025
Memorial Service
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Sunday, June 8, 3:00 p.m.
Park View Mennonite Church A Reception will follow the service in the Fellowship Hall. If unable to attend in person, join the live-stream, or view later by clicking on the link below. https://youtube.com/live/iM0gb8RC1oE |
Obituary
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Ervin Ray Stutzman, 72, passed away on June 3, 2025, from complications related to a five year battle with cancer. Along with his wife Bonita, he has been a resident of Harrisonburg, Virginia since 2000.
Ervin was born April 27, 1953, along with his twin Erma Mae (Stutzman) Yoder, in an Amish home in Kalona, Iowa, to Emma and Tobias Stutzman. He reflected the optimistic outlook and energetic spirit of his late father, an Amish entrepreneur who met a tragic death at age 37, when the twins were three years old. Ervin was baptized in the Center Amish Mennonite Church near Hutchinson, Kansas and later joined the Yoder Mennonite Church near Yoder, Kansas. Ervin married Bonita Lee Haldeman of Manheim, Pennsylvania in 1974. Together they served as volunteers for Rosedale Mennonite Missions in Cincinnati, Ohio for five years. After his ordination in 1978 in the Conservative Mennonite Conference, Ervin co-pastored Mennonite Christian Assembly in Cincinnati. In 1982, at age 29, Ervin moved with his young family to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and became associate pastor of Mount Joy Mennonite Church, while also serving as the associate director for Home Ministries at Eastern Mennonite Missions. Just 18 months later, he began a half-time role as district overseer for Lancaster Mennonite Conference, and from 1991 to 2000, he served as their conference moderator. In the late 1990s, he became associate professor of church ministries and then academic dean at Eastern Mennonite Seminary in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he served for 11 years. During this time, Ervin was also heavily involved in the merger of the Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church. He served as moderator-elect from 1999 to 2001 and as the first moderator of the newly formed Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) from 2001 to 2003. In 2010, Ervin was ordained again, this time in Virginia Mennonite Conference, and was named executive director of MC USA, a position he held for eight years. He retired in April 2018 to spend more time with his wife and family, yet he continued to answer the call to serve as needed. Beginning in 2019, Ervin and Bonita together served a brief term as transitional pastors of Zion Mennonite Church in Broadway, Virginia. In November 2023, Ervin was affirmed as chair of the Faith and Life Commission of Virginia Mennonite Conference. He moderated a significant meeting of the FLC on Thursday, May 29, one day before he would go to the hospital due to his declining health. He was an active member of Park View Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia. During many of his years there, he taught for the Men’s Bible Study hosted at the church. A man of many talents, Ervin was also known for his writing. He wrote several historical novelizations of true Amish stories, including those of his parents’ lives, “Tobias of the Amish” and “Emma: A Widow Among the Amish,” and “Return to Northkill,” a three book series on the life of his ancestor, Jacob Hochstetler. He also wrote several other books about Mennonite history, life, and thought. Ervin was the only one in his family to complete a high school diploma. He received his Ph.D. in rhetoric and communication from Temple University (1993). He earned a Master of Arts in communications from the University of Cincinnati (1979) and a Master of Arts in biblical interpretation from Eastern Mennonite Seminary (1999). He also held a Bachelor of Arts in Christian ministries from Cincinnati Bible College (1978). Although Ervin loved academic study, he always enjoyed working with his hands and pursuing solutions to mechanical problems. He pursued many hobbies and enjoyed what he called “couple power”–working alongside Bonita on creative tasks, including numerous woodworking and home improvement projects. After his retirement from full-time church work and his subsequent cancer diagnosis, Ervin shifted his focus to serving his family and close friends. He biked thousands of miles with his wife on their ebikes, many of them during their travels across the country in their RV. He enjoyed being a grandfather and mentoring a young adult in the community. He also reflected on his life and fatherhood–his quest to better understand his father and the loss of his son–by writing a yet unpublished memoir. Ervin was preceded in death by his son Daniel Tobias Stutzman. His beloved spouse Bonita survives, as do two children: Emma Ruth (Stutzman) Dawson (Iowa City, Iowa), along with her sons Felix Tobias Dawson and Caius Lysander Dawson, and Benjamin Lee Stutzman and his wife Andrea Joy (Kniss) Stutzman (Harrisonburg, VA), along with their children Eva René Stutzman and Evan Rafael Stutzman. His twin Erma Mae (Stutzman) Yoder (Ephrata, PA) is his only surviving sibling. A memorial service will be held at Park View Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, VA on Sunday, June 8, at 3pm and streamed online via the church website at https://www.pvmchurch.org/ervinstutzman.html.In lieu of flowers, the family encourages you to extend an act of service to a neighbor or friend as Ervin did for so many. Monetary donations may be sent to the Mennonite Church USA Archives. (Payable online at https://secure.myvanco.com/YM1N/campaign/C-YYEW or by check payable to MC USA and mailed to: MC USA, 718 N. Main St., Newton, KS 67114. Please note ARCHIVES in the memo line. Kyger Funeral Home is managing arrangements. |
