Arthur Busenitz
Obituary
Arthur Busenitz was born to John A. and
Justine (Wiebe) Busenitz on Aug. 11, 1927, in Newton. He was the last
of 11 children, but the first to be born in a hospital. His siblings
were John, Herman, Justina, Willie, Albert, Edgar, Margaret, Hedwig,
Ben and Elizabeth.
Art grew up on the family farm two
miles southeast of Elbing. He enjoyed ice skating on Henry Creek and
hunting with his friends. He walked or rode his horse to Hunter
School and also attended six weeks of German Bible School every
spring. He also completed two years of high school at Hesston
Academy.
Art accepted Christ as his personal
Lord and Savior as a 12 year old when the Biola Quartet came to
Emmaus. He said, "I remember feeling that I didn't sin unless my
dad found out about what I did. But, that night I was convicted of my
sin and went to the front where a student led me to the Lord."
Baptized by Reverend J.C. Kaufman, Art became a lifelong member of
Emmaus Mennonite Church, where he served faithfully in many areas,
including on the church board and as a Sunday school teacher.
Farming was Art's passion. Following
his two years of high school, he farmed with Ben and also helped his
other brothers as needed. In 1952, he served in alternative service
in the 1 Worker (1-W) program at the Grace Children's Home in
Henderson, Nebraska. He made many good, lifelong friends. Following
these two years, Art returned to farming south of Whitewater.
About this time, a romance developed
with Carolyn Claassen. They were married on June 10, 1954. God
blessed this union with seven children. Serving with the Gideons
International brought many opportunities to attend conventions as a
family, and as a couple they faithfully served in numerous offices.
One of his special memories was being asked to go to the Philippines
to hand out Bibles with 25 other men from the U.S. and other
countries. Carolyn and Art also went with Operation Mobilization to
Holland and Germany to help with the rebuilding of Logos II, a
mission ship. He was a generous giver to missions and an encourager
of missionaries around the world.
His pastimes were listening to opera
and classical music, reading Christian biographies and singing. He
had a beautiful voice and loved singing with the Emmaus Men's Chorus,
the Mennonite Men's Chorus and even recently during chapel services
at Wheat State.
On Feb. 5, 2019, Art went home to be
with his Savior at the age of 91. He is lovingly survived by Carolyn,
his wife of 64 years; his children: Jerome and Mary Anne Busenitz of
Southhaven, Mississippi, Steve and Julie Krahn of Derby, Cathy and
Chuck DeForest of Florence, Dwight and Diane Busenitz of Whitewater,
Susan and David Carp of Wichita, Jeanette and Todd Marcy of Holdrege,
Nebraska, and Tom Busenitz of Benton; 22 grandchildren; and 14
great-grandchildren. His daughter, Marcia Krahn, and all 10 siblings
preceded him in death.
As a family, we are thankful for the
care Art received at Wheat State Manor. Memorials have been
established with the Gideons International and Wheat State Manor. A
visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday (Feb. 8, 2019) at
Emmaus Mennonite Church, Whitewater. A memorial service will take
place at 3 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 9, 2019), also at Emmaus.