Merle Milton Koehn was born on September 4, 1927, at Cimarron, Kansas, the oldest child of Amiel and Hannah Koehn Koehn. He passed away on December 17, 2024, 11:35 pm, at Bethel Home in Montezuma, Kansas, at the age of ninety-seven.

When Merle was very young, he moved with his parents to Winton, California, where he lived until he was twenty. In 1945, a significant year in his life, Dad accepted Christ as his personal Savior, and on February 18, 1945, he was baptized into the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, by Minister A.T. Koehn. Dad left home in California in 1948 to help in wheat harvest in western Kansas, where he met and fell in love with our mother, Letha Mae Harms. They were joined in marriage on September 12, 1948, by Minister David J Koehn. Dad loved western Kansas and wondered how people could live without wind. All seven of us children were born here.

Dad was multi-talented and seemed able to fix almost anything. He was also a successful farmer and businessman and very generous. On February 10, 1963, Dad was ordained into the deaconry by Minister Samuel Jantzen. He had a heart for the widows in the congregation and spent many hours doing maintenance work on their houses or fixing their household appliances. Dad was there nearly every day when the church had a building project. Whether we wanted to or not, Dad took us boys along to work. Dad was also frugal, and no stranger to a shovel, so if there was any digging to be done, he would hand us boys a shovel, and we all went to work. We didn’t need a backhoe, just a strong back. 

Dad was a master gardener, and he and Mom always had a big garden. Dad was able to grow grapes, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries, even though the western Kansas weather made growing them difficult or nearly impossible for most people. Dad continued his gardening at Bethel Home, tending a little plot with his daughter Crystal, until just a few weeks before he passed away. 

We will always remember Dad as a steadfast Christian who loved and supported God’s church. He would lead the family in devotions and read the Bible every morning. We children, and many of the grandchildren, will never forget his impressive prayers. Dad went thru tests and trials in his life but emerged triumphant, and his victory will always inspire us. Though we are tried in the fire, we, too, will come forth like gold.

Dad was always busy, and if you visited him at Bethel Home, you would not find him just sitting in a chair. He would be reading, or writing, or even running his scroll saw right there in his full care room. A big Thank you to the Bethel Home staff, for your excellent care for our Dad. 

Dad lived a long and useful life, but lately had come to wonder why God didn’t take him home. Now that God has granted Dad his desire, we are glad for his sake. He was ready to meet his Savior, and we believe he is resting together with our mother. 

His survivors include four sons: Les and Carol; Larry and Micheline, Ulysses Kansas; Randy and Janice, Hazelton, Idaho; and Rodger and Cheryl, Lakin Kansas; three daughters: Regina and David Jantzen, Lime Springs, Iowa; Julene and Bruce Koehn, Homeworth, Ohio; Crystal and Jeremy Giesbrecht, Montezuma, Kansas; thirty grandchildren, and eighty-two great grandchildren; two brothers: Leonard, Stover, Missouri, and Raymond and Mary, Atwater, California; and three sisters: Neoma Amoth and Ethel Koehn, Livingston, California; and Helen Koehn, Gentry, Arkansas. He was preceded in death by his parents, one brother, and six sisters.

Funeral service will be Sunday, December 22, 2024, at 10:30 AM at the Grant Mennonite Church in rural Grant County with Ministers Denton Koehn, Stuart Jantzen and Karlan Koehn officiating. Interment will follow at the Grant Mennonite Cemetery. Arrangements are in care of Garnand Funeral Home, 405 W. Grant Ave, Ulysses, KS 67880. Condolences may be posted at www.garnandfuneralhomes.com.