Wednesday, February 05, 2020

UNCLE JOHN

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John's Obituary

 John H. Aschliman, 104, of Goshen, died Friday, January 24, 2020, at Greencroft Healthcare.

He was born September 15, 1915 in Cecil, Ohio to Sam and Anna (Plank) Aschliman.

On January 15, 1938 he married Kathryn Allomong in Bryan, Ohio. She died August 2, 1996.

Survivors include three children, Mary Harris of Phoenix, Arizona, Laura (Bob) Barley and Donn Aschliman, both of Battle Creek, Michigan; 10 grandchildren and four siblings, Anna Belle Emmert and Betty Lambright, both of Goshen, Carolyn (Jimmy) Stephens of Venice, Florida and Dale (Phyllis) Aschliman of Sarasota, Florida.

Along with his parents and his wife, he was preceded in death by a son, Gene Harris; four sisters and two brothers.

He was a member of West Goshen Church of the Brethren and worked as a plant manager for EZ Gas. His passions included fishing, playing guitar and singing. He was a sports fanatic and wanted to live long enough for the Cubs to win the World Series.

Visitation will be Saturday, February 1, 2020, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at The Meetinghouse, Greencroft, Goshen, where a 1 p.m. funeral service will be conducted. Pastor Norm Replogle will officiate.

Burial will be Monday, February 3, at West Goshen Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to West Goshen Church of the Brethren.
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Above is John Henry saying farewell to his sister Mary, mother of Kay and Doug, just a couple of months after mom turned 100.  
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I flew back to attend the visitation, funeral service and burial.  Laura and Donn had asked if I would lead one of John's favorite hymns, In The Garden, and I agreed as long as there was also a piano player and perhaps a lead singer.  Aunt Anna Belle lined up the piano player and Uncle Claude reluctantly agree to help lead.  We practiced for 5 minutes, and it turned out OK.  The best part is that Donn brought one of John's guitars for me to play, and many folks commented about how much they appreciated that we used John's guitar.  Like John, the attendees sang with gusto.  The service was very nice with some sharing by relatives and friends.  Below are a few words that will conjure up many memories for those of you who knew John:

Tomatoes
Fishing
Singing & Guitar Playing
Marl
Worms
Laughter
The Cubs
Kate and Gene

I am hopeful that folks with add their memories in the comments section.
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Godspeed Uncle John


I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses

And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

He speaks and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing

And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

I'd stay in the garden with Him
'Tho the night around me be falling
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling

And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

Playing with his sidekick Wes Zook

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9 comments:

John E Riegsecker said...

Great hymn. We played the version by George Beverly Shea at my father's funeral.

Douglas E said...

Thanks John, and agree that it is a great hymn. I had never played it on the guitar before, and was pleased that it is a fairly straightforward tune. Here's the GBS version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LGi72M67cU

Douglas E said...

Here is another great version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIkU8fWqzxw

Anonymous said...

One of my favorite comments from Uncle John is, "Well, I better get going, I need to play for the old people." Yes, he was 99 when he said this.

Douglas E said...

Thanks Brenda - I do believe that I also remember him making this comment. It should be noted that he often played with Wes Zook on harmonica - Greencroft music stars!

Steve Heller said...

Everyone knew John was an avid fisherman, but what came as a total surprise is when he said ice fishing was his favorite form of fishing. He liked the peace and quiet and simplicity and solitude of it all. My dad, Bert, was also an avid fisherman and had a cottage on Lake George, where he did most of his fishing. John and my dad fished together on Lake George and maybe it was a bad year for large fish there, but John liked to joke about the small size of Lake George fish compared to the slabs he was used to hauling in from his fishing holes back in the Goshen area. He also liked to debate the best way to filet fish. He left the heads on and the Heller family always cut the heads off before filleting. John insisted there was no need to do that.

Douglas E said...

Thanks Steve - many of us have memories of John and Sam and fishing. Patience is cleaning 100 small perch to have one meal!!

Steve Heller said...

Douglas E, your aunt Ada loved to fish, and perch was her favorite. She loved catching them and loved eating them. Each time one of the Heller's hauls in a perch, we think of her and make a remark about it.

Douglas E said...

Thanks Steve - I did not know that about Ada. I too loved to eat perch; not so much for the catching and cleaning! Ed and Mary made many trips to the boundary waters to fish for walleye and northern pike - and an occasional muskie. The Wogomans, Shermans, Shrocks and Swartzendrubers contributed to the diminishing population of pike!!