Vernon H
Neufeld
Former
Bethel president Neufeld dies July 18
Bethel
College's seventh president, Vernon H. Neufeld, died July 18 in Bakersfield,
Calif., after a brief illness.
He was born
April 11, 1920, in Shafter, Calif., one of six children of Nicolai and Justina
Neufeld, and raised on the Neufeld family farm west of Shafter. He graduated
from Wasco Union High Schools in 1939 and married Ruth I. Neumann Nov. 17,
1940. After working the farm for a few years, Neufeld decided to pursue a
college education. He and his family moved to North Newton in 1946, where
Neufeld studied at Bethel College, graduating in 1949 with a bachelor of arts
in music. They returned to the Shafter farm for a year before moving to Chicago
in 1950, where Neufeld attended Mennonite Biblical Seminary, earning a divinity
degree in 1954. Before he completed his divinity degree, Neufeld moved the
family to Donnellson, Iowa, where he served as pastor of Zion Mennonite Church,
commuting to his seminary classes in Chicago. In 1955, the family moved to New
Jersey, where Neufeld earned masters and doctoral degrees at Princeton
Theological Seminary in 1957 and 1960, respectively. In 1959, Neufeld was hired
as faculty in the Bethel College Department of Bible and Religion and the
family moved back to North Newton. After one year of teaching, Neufeld accepted
the position of president of Bethel College, serving from 1960-67.'He was
president when I came to Bethel to teach in 1963,' said Keith Sprunger,
professor emeritus of history. 'I appreciated his leadership very much. He
presided over Bethel in a dignified and thorough way. He represented Bethel
College in the community very well.' Walter Jost and J. Harold Moyer were
Bethel classmates of Neufeld's, music majors as well who went on to become
music faculty members at the college. Moyer remembers that Neufeld sang in the
choir and gave a senior voice recital. He was also president of the class of
1949.'The Fine Arts Center was planned and constructed during his presidency,'
Moyer said. 'I remember one meeting where the architect had brought several
different drawings, and there were questions about how auditorium would be set
up. He was a key person in [deciding] that.' The FAC, with Krehbiel Auditorium,
was completed in 1966. Following his tenure as Bethel president, Neufeld and
his wife moved to Fresno, Calif., where he became executive director for
Mennonite Mental Health Services, serving until 1982. Neufeld retired in 1982
and spent his time with family, research on Mennonite and Neufeld family
history, music and woodworking. Vernon and Ruth Neufeld moved to Bakersfield in
1984. Survivors include Ruth I. Neufeld, his wife of 67 years; son Ramon
Neufeld, M.D., and wife Karen of Bakersfield; son Howard Neufeld and wife
Carolyn of Portland, Ore.; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. A
'Memorial Celebration of Life' service for Vernon Neufeld will be Aug. 9 at
First Congregational Church in Bakersfield.
