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ROY JOSEPH FERTIG
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Roy Joseph
Fertig and Sarah Ruth Yocum
Wedding Day -
February 3, 1914
Roy J. Fertig
Roy Fertig
with children:
Left
to right: Lorene Estelle, Betty June, Mary Lou, Carl Allen and Irene
Ruth
Roy Fertig and
Ella Frieda Jost
Wedding Day -
March 25, 1934
Carl Fertig
Died
tragically at age 28 from burns in a wheatfield fire in Baca County,
Colorado
Roy J. Fertig family:
Left to right: back row: Bob Jost, Otto Jost, Velma (Fertig) Root, Ella
Mae (Jost) Fertig, Stan Fertig, Mary Lou Fertig, Raymond Fertig, next
row: Irene (Fertig) Jost, Lorene (Fertig) Jost, Clinton Jost, Betty June
(Fertig) Dewey holding Glenn Dewey, Roy Fertig, Devon Dewey holding
Marvin Dewey, next row: Robetta (Jost) Trapp, Lynn Jost, Rita (Dewey)
Officer, Kenneth Dewey, Dennis Dewey, front row: Nancy (Jost) Ozick, Ruth
(Jost) Lawlor
Roy Fertig and Ella
Jost - 1969:
Left to
right, back row: Betty June, Lorene, Raymond, Irene, Mary Lou
Roy Fertig family - Spring 2003:
Left to
right: Irene, Lorene, Betty June, Mary Lou, Raymond and Velma
Roy Fertig family - Thanksgiving
2003:
Left to
right: Lorene, Irene, Raymond, Mary Lou, Betty June and Stanley
Robert
Clinton "Bob" Jost and Irene Ruth Fertig
April 27,
1981 - 40th Wedding Anniversary
Roy's John
Deere tractor
Pencil sketch
by Irene Ruth (Fertig) Jost - 2004
FERTIG
ROY J.
JAN. 1, 1893
SEPT. 27, 1971
ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THEM THAT
LOVE GOD - ROM. 8:28
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RUTH YOCUM
FERTIG
1892 1928
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ELLA F. JOST
FERTIG
1901 1987
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Roy J. Fertig was this writer's father, I call
him "Daddy". Others have referred to him as "a godly man". As
Psalms I:2,6a says, "his delight was in the law of the Lord and
His law he ponders day and night...for the Lord knows the way of the
righteous". My father was a man
who was unselfish, kind, humble and loving. He lived his
convictions which were "in-line" with the Scriptures. Did he fail?
Sometimes, but he always had hope even in the face of very great
difficulties.
His source of strength came from a daily
intake of God's word and frequent prayer. Often I heard my father
quote scripture for he knew the Holy Spirit used it to discern the
thoughts of the heart. Daddy was a man who had wisdom and
practiced diligence in training and nurturing his children.
Matched with daily instruction from the scriptures was prayer -
"effectual and righteous" - for each
one of us. He saw each of us as an arrow with the potential of
hitting the mark of fulfilling God's purpose for our individual life.
My father loved all of his family and
neighbors. He tried to help everyone he could and loved to give,
it seemed, he was adept at finding ways to share garden produce and
dairy products. Daddy's heart went out to those who had anguish or
heartaches. He was heard praying in his "quiet place" many times
for such persons. I thank God for a father who feared God because
he understood Micah 6:8 "He has declared to you, O man, what is
good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love
mercy and to walk humbly with your God?".
Daddy lived a responsive life with a grateful attitude to his merciful
heavenly father.
Romans 8 was one of Daddy's favorite passages from
the Bible. Many, many times he shared with the heavenly Father and
anyone else present Romans 8:1-28. He daily drew strength from the
text. He also had a broad knowledge of the Bible which made all the
difference in the challenges of his life.
Roy Joseph
Fertig was born on January 1, 1893 on a farm near Larned, Pawnee County, Kansas.
He was the second son of John William Fertig and Virginia Elizabeth Umberger.
Roy graduated from Southwestern Academy in Winfield and attended Larned High
School, Larned, KS. He was raised in a God fearing home
and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior early in life.
Roy was united in marriage with Sarah Ruth Yocum on February 3, 1914 in the Methodist Church Parsonage in
Seward, KS
by
Reverend D.L. Darby. Ruth was born on September 11, 1892,
Stafford County, Kansas,
the daughter of Samuel Yocum and Sarah Louisa Rizor.
While dating, Roy expressed his deep affection towards Ruth by writing
notes on decorative cards in Latin to her.
Roy and Ruth's
marriage was honored and blessed by the coming of five children: Carl Allen
(b. 1915), Lorene Estelle (b. 1918), Irene Ruth (b. 1921), Betty
June (b. 1924) and Mary Lou (b. 1927). The family resided on a farm approximately
six miles south and
one half mile east of Radium, KS.
Roy provided a livelihood by farming, however, his sole objective in life was to please
Christ.
My Daddy and Mother loved music. As a
family, we sang
regularly. Our favorites were hymns, but we also enjoyed
other old songs, a few western songs and classical music. My mother
was an accomplished pianist.
Ruth
became
critically ill,
as a result of surgery following
the birth of her last child and peritonitis took her life. Ruth was ushered into the presence of the
Lord on March 22, 1928 at the age of only 35.
Daddy began full time care of a baby girl in
March 1928. Mary Lou was nine months old when her mother died
following an "unclean surgery"
(quote from Doctor's daily journal). Thrust into parenting five
children alone was not an easy assignment for my father. His heart
was ripped in two at the passing of my mother that windy March evening.
Only a few hours before he was anticipating Ruth's coming home for a
complete restoration of health, and now, he was sterilizing bottles and
preparing meals for his hungry children.
Ruth is remembered as
being the cohesive, serene member of the family; enjoying fun and good
humor and being able to put others at ease while keeping circumstances
under control. She chose for herself to be consecrated to the
glorious purpose of being a follower of Jesus Christ; she practiced
daily meditation in God's Word, confiding in private personal prayer for
her good works in the whole concourse of living. This is clearly
disclosed in her personal correspondence.
The
circumstances and occasion of Ruth's death are both painful and
affecting to this very day. In the mingling splendor of
development in her chosen purpose as a women, she fell
"beside the altar."
She was faithful to her call, skillful in homemaking, virtuous as a
mother, exemplary in character and distinctive in her mental intent.
There was no superficiality or pretentiousness about my mother.
Sarah Ruth was a person
of strong attachments, of an amiable, benevolent disposition. She
had a
kind heart, an alert mind, and a keen sense of beauty and
orderliness. She tastefully expressed her aesthetic interests in the
atmosphere of the home. Those who knew her testify to her happy, gentle
nature, which often turned difficult problems into echoes of joyous
expression.
Ruth enjoyed the family
circle and cherished her friends. These were a constant witness of her
dutiful living and they received the benefit of her instruction and the
inspiration of her affectionate attention. All should emulate--
some may equal, but few rival or excel her Christian devotion and
adherence in utter trust of all she was or hoped to be to her heavenly
Father's wisdom.
Ruth died in the
thirty-fifth year of her life. As her child, she seemed
prematurely taken from us. She was called away so quickly--and her
tongue was motionless in death. The voice that brought so much
pleasure and delight would not be heard except in memory. Beyond
the realm of illness, and storms of this life; she was freed to respond
in joy in the peaceful, glorious heavenly home prepared especially for
her.
The spot where her body
was laid to rest is remembered with a fond and soothing reverence; a
place I have visited in the midst of my sorrows and have left inspired
to
“press on for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus."
Roy, a 35 year old widower with five children,
and a farmer, had to come up with a
plan which would allow him to be in the fields a given number of hours
each week. He prayed asking God to work in his heart and mind so the
children could all be fed and the farm chores be done twice a day.
There were chickens and turkeys to feed, cows to milk and horses to care
for, as starters. The older three children were in grade school.
When he went to the field to work with the
John Deere tractor he would take Mary Lou a supply of diapers and a bottle
of formula he had prepared. I don't know if he ever took anything
for himself. He always thought of others needs. Daddy had
prepared a special safe place for my baby sister right where he could keep
his eyes on her. He took an apple box, lined it with soft material,
put a special pillow in the bottom of it for a mattress, covered it with a
small sheet, wrapped her in a baby blanket (when appropriate, or another
sheet) and sat the box between the steering wheel and the motor; then he
worked the fields. When she needed attention he would stop and care
for her needs, then proceed to go on with the work in the field.
When hungry her food was warm as he had figured out a way to capture heat
from the manifold sufficient to bring the formula to luke warm.
My father was the
parent who reared the five of us and became our role model of a Godly man's life.
He was an amazing gentleman who led by example as long as God honored and
graced our lives with his presence.
"He loved others" is the caption
below his picture in the Stafford County Museum a few miles east of St.
John, KS. What a great Dad he was.
He was our hero! God blessed us
in an unusual way!
Six years after Ruth's death, on March 25,
1934, Roy married Ella Frieda Jost in the Gnaudenau Mennonite Brethren
Church in Marion County, KS. Ella was born on
October 21, 1901, the daughter of Peter R. Jost and Agnes Flaming near Hillsboro,
Marion County, KS.
"Mom" (as we called Ella) had been a nurse for sometime and
suddenly she was a wife and mom of five children whose ages ranged from six to
eighteen years of age. What a challenge for all involved.
Soon the oldest child would go to business school leaving the four
daughters who were in grade school, junior high school and high school.
Mom enjoyed baking and she soon had the
house smelling like a bakery. There was homemade bread, oatmeal
cookies, up-side down cake, ziebach, and pies of variety at dinner.
She was an expert at making noodles, so we all enjoyed
chicken-noodle soup and borscht. She enjoyed handwork,
particularly croqueting, tatting, and sewing. Mom enjoyed participating in
church services and especially the Women's Missionary Society. Her
father was a pastor and she grew up having missionaries in her daily
life many times. She also enjoyed Home Demonstration Unit with
neighbors and friends. They met on a monthly basis. Mom sang
well and had sung in a Ladies Quartet prior to marriage. In time
Roy and Ella Fertig had three children; Velma Mae (b. 1935), Stanley Roy
(b. 1937) and Raymond Jost (b. 1940). These children added much joy to
their life and to the whole family.
Roy was a
godly man of integrity. He had an
exemplary character and
lived an
upright life.
Friends of the family had exclaimed that Roy was the godliest man that
they had ever known.
He irreproachably shepherded his family by conducting
devotions and Bible reading every day.
At the dinner table, Roy would have his children turn their chairs around
to kneel and pray.
He led the family
in prayer and his children joined him as they grew in grace.
In 1964, Roy
with his wife Ella, retired from farming and relocated from the Radium
community to St.
John, KS. They joined in fellowship with the
United Methodist Church in St. John.
Roy entered
into Glory on September 27, 1971 in St. John, at the age of 78.
The memory of his life
is sweet like the fragrance that lingers when the flowers have closed at
sunset.
After Roy's death, Ella
relocated to Great Bend in 1973 and attended the
First United Methodist Church.
She then
became a resident at the
Woodhaven Care Center
in Ellinwood. She passed over to
her heavenly home on July 15, 1987 in the Central Kansas Medical Center at 85
years of age.
Mom enjoyed music in life and one of my last
memories is of Raymond my brother, Bob my husband and me singing hymns
to her. "My God and I walk hand in hand together. We
love to walk and talk as good friends often do. We clasp our
hands; our voices ring with laughter, My God and I walk on eternally.
(Repeat the last line)." - This was
perhaps her favorite. We sang it in three part harmony that day to
her. She joined in and sang with us a few hours before she
expired. "Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death
of his saints." Her death is
precious to me.
Roy Joseph Fertig is interred with his wive's
Ruth and Ella and a son, Carl, in the Point View Cemetery, Pawnee County,
KS.
Irene Ruth (Fertig) Jost
June 2004
CHILDREN OF ROY JOSEPH AND SARAH RUTH:
Carl Allen, born November 4, 1915,
married Gladys Frances Chenoweth and died August 1, 1944
Lorene Estelle, born March 28, 1918
and married Otto Goldbeck Jost
Irene Ruth, born April 1, 1921 and
married Robert Clinton "Bob" Jost
Betty June, born June 8, 1924 and
married Devon William Dewey
Mary Lou, born June 6, 1927
CHILDREN OF ROY JOSEPH AND ELLA
FRIEDA:
Velma Mae, born August 2, 1935 and
married Edwin Harry "Ed" Root
Stanley Roy, born October 5,
1937 and married Wilma Elaine Davis
Raymond Jost, born August 8, 1940
and married Jane Ann Reilly
REFERENCES:
1.
Correspondence with Irene Ruth (Fertig) Jost, daughter of Roy Joseph
Fertig.
Letters were received in the mail on May 5, 13 and 28, June 27 and 29,
2004 in addition to telephone conversations which occurred on March 27 and May 22, 2004.
2. 1971 Obituary for Roy Joseph Fertig.
OBITUARY FOR ROY JOSEPH FERTIG
Roy Joseph Fertig of St. John, Kansas died
Monday September 27, 1971 following an illness in the St. John District
Hospital. He was born on a farm in Pawnee County, Kansas, January
1, 1893, the son of John W. and Virginia Elizabeth Fertig. His
parents and two brothers, Charles S. and Harvey S. preceded him in
death.
Roy attended school at Southwestern Academy in Winfield,
Kansas and Larned High School, Larned, Kansas.
Roy was raised in a Christian home and early
accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior. During his lifetime
he strived to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit. He was a
charter member of the Radium Methodist Church and always strived to aid
his fellowman.
OTHERS
"Lord help me live from day to day
In such a self-forgetting way,
That even when I kneel to pray
My prayers shall be for "Others."
"Help me in all the work I do
To ever be sincere and true,
And know that all I'd do for you,
Must needs be done for "Others."
"And when my work on earth is done,
And my new work in heaven begun,
May I forget the crown I've won,
While thinking still of others."
"Others Lord, yes others,
And less of self for me
Help me to live for others,
That I may live like Thee."
He was united in marriage to Ruth Yocum in
1914 and farmed in the central Kansas area. To them were born a
son, Carl Allen, and four daughters, Lorene E., Irene Ruth, Betty June
and Mary Lou. Ruth preceded Roy to her reward on March 28, 1928
and Carl in 1944. Roy was both mother and father to these children
until in 1934 he was joined in marriage to Ella F. Jost who was to be
his wife and companion in Christ until his death. To them were
born three children: Velma Mae, Stanley Roy and Raymond J.
In 1964 Roy and Ella retired from farming
near Radium and moved to St. John. They transferred their Church
membership to the United Methodist Church in St. John. They have
enjoyed the fellowship of all Christians in the community.
He is survived by his wife, Ella F. Fertig;
one brother, Harry L.; children: Mrs. Otto Jost (Lorene), Mrs. Robert
Jost (Irene), Mrs. Devon Dewey (Betty), Mrs. Edwin Root (Velma), Mary
Lou, Stanley Roy and Raymond J.; twenty-one grandchildren and nine great
grandchildren; and a multitude of relatives and friends.
TO DAD
If I ever climb the ladder
that leads up to success
And find there all the things
that make for peace and happiness
I hope I never forget that you
helped me so well to fare
That I stepped up each succeeding rung
because you laid it there.
The memory of his life is sweet like the
fragrance that lingers when the flowers have closed at sunset.
3. Yocum-Rizor Families
/ Commemorative Edition.
Irene R. Fertig Jost (Irene Ruth Fertig),
1921- North Newton, KS: Mennonite Press, c1985, 227 p.: ill.; 24 cm. LC
CALL NUMBER: CS71.Y534 1985
Sarah Ruth Yocum
Sarah Ruth Yocum, the younger daughter of Samuel and
Sarah Louisa Yocum, was my mother. She was known as Ruth and
graced that name throughout her life. She is remembered as being
the cohesive, serene member of the family; enjoying fun and good humor
and being able to put others at ease while keeping circumstances under
control.
She chose for herself to be consecrated to the glorious
purpose of being a follower of Jesus Christ and practiced daily
meditation in God's Word while confiding in private personal prayer for
her good works in the whole concourse of living. This is clearly
disclosed in her personal correspondence.
Ruth married Roy Joseph Fertig, February 3, 1914 in
Stafford County, Kansas. They had five children: Carl Allen,
Lorene Estelle, Irene Ruth, Betty June, and Mary Lou. Carl is
deceased, having died tragically from burns in a wheatfield fire near
the location where his uncle Floyd had met death by fire. The four
daughters are living at the time of this writing.
The circumstances and occasion of Ruth's death are both
painful and affecting to this very day. In the mingling splendor
of development in her chosen purpose as a women, she fell "beside the
altar." She was faithful to her call, skillful in homemaking,
virtuous as a mother, exemplary in character and distinctive in her
mental intent. There was no superficiality or pretentiousness
about my mother.
Sarah Ruth was a person of strong attachments, of an
amiable and benevolent disposition with a kind heart and an alert mind;
with a keen sense of beauty and orderliness. She tastefully
expressed her aesthetic interests in the atmosphere of the home.
Those who knew her testify to her happy, gentle nature, which often
turned difficult problems into echoes of joyous expression.
She enjoyed the family circle and cherished her friends.
These were a constant witness of her dutiful living and they received
the benefit of her instruction and the inspiration of her affectionate
attention.
All should emulate-- some may equal, but few rival or
excel her Christian devotion and adherence in utter trust of all she was
or hoped to be to her heavenly Father's wisdom.
Ruth died in the thirty-fifth year of her life. As
her child, she seemed prematurely taken from us. She was called
away so quickly--and her tongue was motionless in death. The voice
that brought so much pleasure and delight would not be heard except in
memory. Beyond the realm of illness, and storms of this life; she
was freed to respond in joy in the peaceful, glorious heavenly home
prepared especially for her.
The death of Mrs.
Roy Fertig
“Another voice is
stilled; another lamp goes out; another earthly voyage is ended and
the tears of sorrow fills the eye once more at thought of the
departure of a daughter, a wife, a mother, a neighbor and a Christian
character.
Sarah Ruth Yocum,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Yocum, was born on 11 September 1892, in
Stafford County, Kansas on the same place which she and her husband
have occupied for several years (the Yocum Homestead); and on the 22nd
of March 1928, her spirit returned unto God, who gave, having reached
the age of 35 years, 6 months, and 11 days.
On the 3rd
of February, 1914, she was united in marriage to Roy J. Fertig by Rev.
D. L. Darby in Seward, Kansas. This relationship was honored and
blessed by the coming of five children, one son and four
daughters—Carl, Lorene, Irene, Betty June and Mary Lou.
In the year of
1912, Mrs. Fertig was converted and united with the Lincoln Methodist
Church, where she remained a member until the church was moved to
Radium. Her membership has been held in Radium since.
With her heart and
life transformed by the power of a living Christ, she realized the
place of true values. Her vision reached beyond the present and was
the grandeur of the eternal. She was faithful in the home and in the
church. She was willing to sacrifice to help others, she was
interested in her children, as every true mother should be, not
content with supplying them with food and raiment and an opportunity
for intellectual training only, she desired to see them led into a
real Christian experience and be trained for real service.
She was a good
daughter, a good wife, a good mother and a good Christian neighbor.
She will be missed, not only by those with whom she was most closely
related, but by all who knew her.
She leaves behind,
two brothers, Floyd Yocum of this community and Clyde Yocum of Oregon;
a sister, Mrs. Edith Cavender, of St. John, Kansas; her aged parents,
Mr. and Mrs. Sam Yocum, and her husband and five children.
To these sorrowing
ones, we extend our hand in sympathy over the loss, which will be felt
so sensibly; and find comfort in His Word, ‘Let not your heart be
troubled, ye believe in God; for in my father’s house there are many
mansions.’ ---A friend.”
The spot where her
body was laid to rest is remembered with a fond and soothing reverence;
a place I have visited in the midst of my sorrows and have left inspired
to “press on for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus.”
One solitary memory
I cherish in my heart is the harmonious music wafted up the stairs at
the Homestead after bedtime prayer and saying goodnights.
“Great is Thy
faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow
of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not,
Thy compassions they fail not;
As thou hast been
Thou forever will be.”
“His compassions
fail not. They are new every morning.” Lamentations 3:22,23.
4. 1987 Obituary for Ella Frieda (Jost) Fertig.
Ella Frieda Fertig, 85, died July 15 at
Central Kansas Medical Center. Born Oct. 21,1901, in Hillsboro,
she had been a resident of Woodhaven Care Center in Ellinwood since
February 1987. She was a former Radium and St. John resident and
had lived in Great Bend since 1973. She married Roy J. Fertig
March 25, 1934, in Hillsboro. He died Sept. 27, 1971. She
was a nurse at Salem Hospital in Hillsboro and Gleason Hospital in
Larned. Mrs. Fertig was a member of First United Methodist Church
in Great Bend. Survivors include two sons, Stanley R. of
Saegertown, Pa., and Raymond J. of Ellinwood; five daughters, Lorene
Jost of Hillsboro, Irene Jost of Wichita, Betty June Dewey of Seward,
Mary Fertig of Fort Worth, Texas, and Velma Root of Albuquerque, N.M.;
one brother, John F. Jost of Hillsboro; three sisters, Louise Friesen
and Kathryn Klassen, both of Hillsboro, and Agnes Hain of Wichita; 22
grandchildren; 32 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.
Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the church with the Rev. John
Saville officiating. Burial will be at Point View Cemetery in
rural Radium. Friends may call from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at
Kimple Funeral Home in Ellinwood and from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday at
Fryberger Mortuary in Great Bend. Memorials are suggested to Tabor
College in Hillsboro. Kimble Funeral Home of Ellinwood is in
charge of arrangements.
5.
Tombstones of
Roy Joseph Fertig, Sarah Ruth Yocum and Ella Frieda Jost.
The tombstones are located at the Point View Cemetery in Kansas.
The cemetery is located three miles south and one mile
west of Radium.
FERTIG, ROY J., JAN. 1, 1893, SEPT. 27, 1971, ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THEM THAT
LOVE GOD - ROM. 8:28
RUTH YOCUM, FERTIG, 1892 1928
ELLA F. JOST, FERTIG, 1901 1987
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