Wilmer James [Jim] Hettler
Jim died at 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, November 10, 2021, at his home in Goshen.
He was born June 14, 1929 in Whiteford, Michigan. His parents were William Lavern and Annabelle (Holmes) Hettler.
He lived the first six years of his life in Whiteford before moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana. He graduated from South Side High School in 1947 before enrolling at Ball State Teachers College in Muncie.
After graduation, he served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. He was assigned to the Medical Corp. and served as a Physical Reconditioning Technician involved in the treatment of the returning wounded. He served at Brooke Army Medical Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, at Percy Jones Army Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan and at Camp Pickett Army Hospital in Blackstone, Virginia.
After his service, he spent 33 years in Public Education in Michigan and Indiana, primarily in the New Paris/Fairfield School System. He was a Secondary Teacher, Coach and School Administrator during this time.
He retired in 1986 and spent the rest of his life in the Goshen, Indiana community. He married Ruth Rae Bowen, in Bowling Green, Ohio, on April 3, 1955.
He is survived by three children, Ronald James (Robin) Hettler, Lubbock, Texas; Celia Anne (Douglas) Holte, Sheboygan, Wisconsin and Amy Lynn (Thomas) Yoder, Elkhart. Ruth and Jim were blessed with 15 grandchildren; 35 great-grandchildren; sister, Edith Marsh, Sarasota, Florida; brother-in-law, Dale Nelson, Chula Vista, California and sister-in-law, Celia Ribas, New Jersey.
Preceding him in death are his parents; wife, Ruth and brothers, Merle & LaVern.
A gathering will be 2-4 & 6-8 p.m. (EST) Friday, November 19, 2021, at Rieth Rohrer Ehret Funeral Home, 311 S. Main St., Goshen. Services will be at Grace Bible Baptist Church, New Paris (the old high school/elementary school) on Saturday, November 20, with military honors beginning at 11 a.m.
Burial will follow at New Paris Cemetery at a later date.
Memorial donations may be directed to the Fairfield Alumni Association or Goshen Hospital Hospice.
By my calculation, Coach died at the age of 92. If he spent so many of his years in New Paris and Goshen, he probably felt like he had lived for 192 years.
ReplyDeleteYes, BB, I spent 10 years in Goshen in 1972 ��
ReplyDeleteLol, Anonymous! My old joke is that if the doctor told me I had six months to live, I would move to New Paris because each day there would seem like an eternity.
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