Day Five Of Christmas--Pray For Loved Ones Experiencing Grief and Loss

Norman Kreider 1933-2018

In the past two months we’ve attended memorial services for three valued friends, Geraldine Rush, Brenda Miller and Norman Kreider. Each was a member of the Zion Mennonite Church family near Broadway during many of the two decades I served as pastor there, and their lives have blessed ours in unforgettable ways. 

The service for Norman at Weavers Mennonite Church on Thursday was the most recent, where we shared with his family and his many friends some of their heartfelt loss. Norman’s lifetime of leadership in music, teaching and many other aspects of church life were invaluable, and he and his wonderful wife Dorothy were among the most hospitable and service-minded members a community and congregation could ever hope for.

Norman was a special mentor to our son Brent, who worked for him for many years, and from whom he learned so many of the practical skills he's been grateful for ever since, especially in woodworking and construction. But far beyond just learning work skills, Brent has often expressed gratitude for the positive impact Norman had on his personal life. And of course the three Kreider children, Emily, Jeanette, and David were especially blessed by having this kind of good father, and having Dorothy as their devoted mother. David later died in a tragic fire in 1999, the most traumatic experience of loss imaginable.

When we moved from the parsonage to the first house of our own thirty years ago, Norman enlisted the help of Brent and others in making many of the needed improvements we still benefit from every day. Just one of many reminders of his gifts as a servant.

For many years, Norman operated Miles Music Company, and in later years owned and maintained numerous rental properties in and around Harrisonburg. Perhaps more importantly, he and Dorothy were a key part in the founding and early years of Gift and Thrift, the Mennonite Central Committee enterprise that is still thriving today.

As an example of his generosity, he was willing to help a destitute single mother with three children we were working with years ago. He arranged for a loan for her to buy some land for their mobile home when they were being evicted from their mobile home park. This was a risky move on his part, to be sure, but  she was eventually able to make all of the payments and have a valuable property to sell, providing her with some of the assets she needed for her latter years.

But Norman's legacy goes far beyond his many good deeds. He demonstrated how to simply be a good person--unassuming, unpretentious and genuine. He modeled what it was like to just be ones self, but to consistently be ones better self. He showed us how to be a gracious servant, a kind encourager, a memorably good man.

The world is richer for his having lived in it, and left poorer by his passing. 

Here's a link to a recent post on grieving:

https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2017/09/a-wheel-way-down-in-middle-of-despair.html