Obit: Guenther, Minnie K. (1890 - 1982)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Guenther, Kochendorfer, Ferg, Hillyard, Kessel

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 1/28/1982

Guenther, Minnie K. (1890 - 1982)

Minnie K. Guenther, 91, a native of Neillsville who served wither husband as a missionary on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation for more than 50 years, died January 8 in her Whiteriver, Arizona, home.

Mrs. Guenther was named Arizona Mother of the Year. She was also a recipient of a Builder of a Greater Arizona Medallion.

In 1910, Mrs. Guenther moved with her husband, Edgar, to East Fork, Arizona, where they ran the Lutheran Apache Mission. Mrs. Guenther began a parochial school and nursery there.

In 1919, the Guenthers moved to Whiteriver, where Mr. Guenther built the Church of the Open Bible Lutheran Apache Mission. At that time, they began taking abandoned Apache children into their home and rearing them. In 1922, they began an orphanage.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the Guenthers rode by horseback throughout the Indian villages, administering home remedies to those stricken by epidemics. They founded the Whiteriver Library, Women’s Club and PTA.

Mrs. Guenther, whose husband died in 1961, is survived by her children, Winnifred Kochendorfer, Dorthea Ferg, Myrna Hillyard, Ruth Kessel, Edgar, Jonathan and Arthur; 23 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were held on Tuesday, January 12, from the Church of the Open Bible in Whiteriver.

Note: When checking elsewhere for information I found Minnie was born July 12, 1890, in Neillsville and her maiden name was Knoop. Dmk