From Alan's sister Miriam's "scrapbook" she made about Alan's life story:

 

Photos and memorabilia from PAX experiences in Viet Nam and Korea

 PAX buddies in Viet Nam:

And years later, with wives: 

Construction projects in Korea

My brother Alan - Mary Ellen Kaufman

My brother Alan: 

     Alan had a good memory and a very mathematical mind.  My sister, Miriam, and I called him every week at his assisted living facility.  One time we reminisced about people who attended our church in Nappanee, Indiana, when we were teenagers.  We talked about an older gentleman, Jerome Birkey, who drove an old car and raced the motor as he drove out of the church driveway.  Alan said, "His license plate number was ______."  He knew the license plate number of people who drove into the parking lot and could tell you the number immediately.  It seemed an effortless skill for him.  The license plate number was more pertinent than the type of car they were driving.

     He was a good brother.  When he made return trips to Indiana, many days were spent visiting people he knew especially relatives. Geneology as important to him.  He was compassionate and liked to help people.  When he talked about his experiences in Vietnam, often times he would "tear up" and found it difficult to talk.  He revisited Vietnam several times.  

     On his last visit to Indiana,I asked him if there was anything we could do for him.  He said, "Just take my Parkinsons away."  This is the only time I heard hm complain about his disability.  What a tribute to him after having Parkinsons for 37 years.

     His sister, Mary Ellen Kaufman

Alan's sister Miriam Hochstetler's Reflections

                                               My Brother Alan - Miriam Hochstetler

     Our wise mother knew that when she left some cookie batter in a large bowl for Alan and me to eat with our spoons, she should make a dividing line at the bottom of the bowl to separate each of our halves and establish the boundaries.  Should one of us disregard the boundaries, mother would hear in Pennsylvania Dutch, "Mama, gook!"  meaning "Mama, look!"  She would come to our rescue.

    Alan liked icing on a cake, slicing it, and placing it beside his plate.  He then regarded that particular spot as his "private domain" indicating to the rest of us that we were not to molest it.  That was the most savory last bite for him.

    He liked to eat butter and lots of it.  While eating at the table, he might hear, "Do you eat butter with bread or bread with butter?"

    Our parents raised young peeps.  One was crippled and Mother named it Mehibosheth referring to a biblical character who had also been disabled.  This little peep followed Alan outside and they became "companions."  It even climbed inside his pant leg.  It provided interesting scenes.

    Alan and I liked to play softball in our yard near a few trees.  Sometimes we would disagree about something while we were playing.  I don't remember what those disagreements were but we were loud enough for the neighbor man across the street to whistle at us.  That was a signal that we need to stop arguing.  Alan also hit the ball hard enough to crack and break slate on the building near the house.  He was quite a ball player as well as a ping pong player with many different twists and turns to keep one swinging the paddle in all kinds of ways and still lose the game!

    The Hochstetler family liked to eat ice cream which was somewhat a delicacy in our household.  When our parents were preparing to go to the grocery store, I would beg for them to buy ice cream.  One time our Dad came home with a gallon of ice cream.  To our delight, Dad, Alan, and I sat around the table devouring every bite of the delicious ice cream until we had eaten the entire gallon.  Fortunately, none of us got sick from overeating!

     On Alan's return trip to Indiana, we would put a jigsaw puzzle together if time permitted.  One time we were finishing a puzzle but could not find ONE piece. After searching and searching for it on the floor, under objects, and anywhere we thought the piece could be found, it was eventually discovered where it was safely nestled in his shirt pocket.  How the lost piece got there remained a mystery and the puzzle was now done.  After this incident, Alan was teased numerous times about keeping puzzle pieces in his shirt pocket.

    The Hochstetler family liked to eat ice cream which was somewhat a delicacy in our household.  When our parents were preparing to go to the grocery store, I would beg for them to buy ice cream.  One time our Dad came home with a gallon of ice cream.  To our delight, Dad, Alan, and I sat around the table devouring every bite of the delicious ice cream until we had eaten the entire gallon.  Fortunately, none of us got sick from overeating!

     One lasting remembrance is for our family to gather around the piano and sing hymns, many of them unfamiliar to us.  Once we bought a new hymn book on a Saturday at the local book store.  We spent several hours singing the unfamiliar hymns in four part harmony as Dad, Mary Ellen, Alan, and I gathered around the piano as we sang.  Alan had a very good bass voice, Dad sang tenor, Mary Ellen soprano, and I sang alto.  Dad was very musical and provided the opportunities for us to enjoy music as well as participate singing in quartets and choirs.  He also took us to concerts.  The love of music was kept alive all these years.  

     A special tribute to my brother, Alan:  compassionate, uncomplaining, competent, dependable, skillful in many areas, and kept his mind active with certain activities even though somewhat physically disabled.  He is a brother that has left an empty spot but never forgotten in our family. 

Nephew Clair's favorite photo of Alan with his rambunctious nephews!

I'm sitting in front of Alan, and standing in front is my brother Donald on the left, then the youngest Lee, then the jester among the bunch: Verle.

Alan's beloved '56 Chevy!

 

Alan's license plate collection

In June 2017 nephew Clair Hochstetler recorded a video of Alan’s extensive Indiana license plate collection 

posted on YouTube -- click on the hyperlink above. 

Below is the puzzle Alan's sister Miriam put together on this theme:

Obituary

ALAN RAY HOCHSTETLER

May 7, 1939 – April 7, 2018

Alan Ray Hochstetler, a resident of Morningside Assisted Living of Williamsburg, Virginia, died April 7, 2018, due to complications of Parkinson’s disease that he had for 37 years.

He was born May 7, 1939, in Nappanee, Indiana, as the youngest of five children born to William and Mary (Maust) Hochstetler.  He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Eugene and Dean Hochstetler, and nephew, Donald Hochstetler. Another nephew, Lee Hochstetler, died the following day after Alan’s death.  Survivors are his wife, Donna, and two sisters, Mary Ellen Kaufman and Miriam Hochstetler of Nappanee, Indiana. Other living relatives are nephews Clair (Carole Anne) Hochstetler, Verle (Marci) Hochstetler, step-children and step-grandchildren.

Alan’s educational background includes Bremen High School class salutatorian of 1957, undergraduate studies at Goshen College with a B.A. in chemistry in 1964, and graduate school at Northwestern University with a doctorate in organic chemistry in 1968.  

After completing a year at Goshen College, he applied to Mennonite Central Committee for the PAX (peace) program to meet alternative governmental requirements for the draft.  A three-year term in Viet Nam from 1958-1961 was accepted. As a foreman, he designed and built two wings onto an existing leprosarium in Banmethuot. During the latter part of his term, he was transferred to South Korea to supervise construction of a barn and a building for orphan boys.  He returned to the United States in 1961. Alan had such a compassion for the Vietnamese people that he revisited the country several times.

After returning from his term of service abroad, he reentered Goshen College to complete his B.A. and graduated in the summer of 1964 with honors.  In the fall of 1964 he began graduate work at Northwestern University and was awarded a doctorate in organic chemistry in 1968. Following the completion of his Ph.D, he accepted a one-year assignment as a lecturer in the chemistry department at Northwestern.  On September 8, 1969, he was offered a research job at Givaudan Corporation in Clifton, New Jersey, and experimented with cedar wood oil chemistry and process research. During his career he was involved in 27 publications and patents. After working at Givuadan for 25 years as a scientist, his professional career in chemistry ended in 1994 due to Parkinson’s disability.  

He was a member of Williamsburg Mennonite Church and appreciated the caring people there.  He was a volunteer at the Williamsburg Mennonite Retreat Center. He drew diagrams of his genealogy, liked to work on old cars, put jigsaw puzzles together, and collected Indiana license plates beginning in 1913 to recent ones that are displayed in a garage.   He enjoyed collecting coins and stamps and singing in a male quartet. As a young boy he found empty locust shells, counted them, and saved them in an oatmeal box.

Visitation: Saturday May 12 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. at Thompson Lengacher &Yoder Funeral Home, Nappanee, Indiana. Memorial Service:  Saturday May 12 at 3:00 at the Funeral Home.

ORDER OF SERVICE

A CELEBRATION OF ALAN HOCHSTETLER’S LIFE - May 12, 2018

Thompson Lengacher & Yoder Funeral Home, Nappanee IN

Organ prelude:  Miriam Hochstetler

Worship leader:  Clair Hochstetler

Reading of Obituary 

Special music:  The Rusty Four (a male quartet) 

Meditation:  Prepared and sent ahead by Pastor David Lehman

Scripture:  Heinz Plato

Sharing experiences:  Don Voth and Leland Good

Open Sharing

Special music:  The Rusty Four 

Closing comments and Prayer by Clair Hochstetler

***************

Miriam Hochstetler:  sister to Alan

Clair Hochstetler:  nephew to Alan and chaplain in Cincinnati, Ohio

Male quartet:  Kenneth Yoder, Truman Weaver, Kevin Ramer, Glen Anglemeyer

Piano accompanist:  Sandy Bates

David Lehman:  Alan’s pastor at Williamsburg Mennonite Church, Williamsburg, VA

Heinz Plato:  Alan’s former neighbor and good friend in Williamsburg, VA

Don Voth Ph.D. from Albuquerque, New Mexico; served in Viet Nam with Alan

Leland Good from Archbold, Ohio; served in Viet Nam with Alan

Pastoral Meditation for Alan Hochstetler’s Memorial Service, Saturday, May 12, 2018

(Composed and shared by Alan's Pastor David Lehman during a worship service April 29 at Williamsburg Mennonite Church and then read by Clair Hochstetler as the Meditation for Alan Hochstetler’s Memorial Service, Saturday, May 12, 2018 in Nappanee, IN)  

Theme: Reasonable Patience  - James 5:7-11

Coming up with a favorite passage from scripture is about as difficult as choosing one interest or hobby as a favorite of Alan’s.  Plenty passages of scripture come to mind when I think of Alan but I’m not sure of a particular favorite.  The same is true for Alan’s interests or hobbies…   Plenty come to mind but I’m not sure of a particular favorite!  Many of you may have a better perspective on all this.  My years of learning to know Alan were mostly these last few when he was no longer living at his Williamsburg house.  Yet even during these years of decline… still he seemed to be interested in so many different things…   Alan was quite the multidimensional person.

First of all Al loved people.

He loved his family (He’d show me letters/pictures/articles from home)

He loved his church family.  He was zealous for getting to Williamsburg Mennonite even when that was quite difficult to pull off. 

His door (Room 113 at Morningside Assisted Living) was always open.  I think he liked to hear the chatter in the hallway and what the nurses/attendants were up to.) 

Then there were stamps, cars, music, languages, sports, and chemistry. Alan knew more about each of these things than I’ll ever know about any one thing!  He had an incredible mind. 

During my weekly visits with Alan I never had to wonder what we are going to talk about. 

If I only knew how, we could communicate in Pennsylvania Dutch or chemical formulas. 

We could enjoy good music or discuss auto mechanics.

We could watch Wimbledon and talk tennis or the latest interesting stamp we had come across.

We could share a good laugh over something that tickled the funny bone or pray concerning the difficulties and trials of Parkinson’s.

(By the way…   the best part about Al’s jokes was seeing how much he enjoyed them.  He’d put on that whole face grin and you couldn’t help but laugh with him.)

But one hobby (doing puzzles) does lead me to James 5:7-11.   

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. ⁸ You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. ⁹ Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! ¹⁰ Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Often times when peering into Room 113 I’d find Al in the middle of some puzzle.  They became more simple of late.  But I saw him put together some serious puzzles over the years.  Once after completing a “1000 – piecer” I commented… “I don’t think I could do that Al.”  After one of his signature pauses… He replied:  “Oh, it does require a reasonable amount of patience.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if a certain characteristic of a friend could rub off on you?  I don’t think I got any of Alan’s patience.  But I’m certainly inspired by it.  Alan lived this passage.  Especially verse 9… don’t grumble.  Alan might not ever be known as one of the prophets of verse 10 “who spoke in the name of the Lord.”  Yet Alan’s life speaks volumes… I believe we can dare to customize verses 10 and 11 to say:

Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take Alan.  As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Alan's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

May we indeed be inspired to answer the call of verse 8 as Alan did:

You, also, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. 

As Alan displayed that precious fruit of the Spirit… we, his brothers and sisters in the Spirit can do the same.  Amen.

Don Voth's recollection of the stories he and Leland Good shared at Alan’s Memorial Service, May 12, 2018

            Leland and I (Don) were introduced by Clair Hochstetler and invited to two chairs at the front.  We came up and actually stood, each with a piece of paper from which to read, and I had a small book with me.  Since Mr. Heinz Plato had just read a passage from the Bible in German, I started by saying something like “Since we are dealing with language, I’d like to tell you about one little puzzle.  In German the word “ich,” means “I or me.”  In the Ede language, which we learned in Banmethuot, Vietnam, the same word means “you.”

            Then I began to read the little dialogue we had prepared in the Ede language, but Lee suggested that we tell our stories first.  So I suggested that he tell his story about Alan.

            Leland told about how “we” had tricked Alan.  Alan depended heavily on his glasses, so one time while he was taking a shower “we” took his glasses and hid them.  When Alan finished the shower he reached for the glasses, and they weren’t there.  And, of course, his vision was such that he really couldn’t look for them effectively.

            Then I told my story.  I told just a bit about how the construction for which Alan was responsible was done at the leprosy hospital, in very primitive circumstances, getting sand from a river in our Dodge 4 x 4, and the timber from a tree in the nearby jungle.  Still, in just a little more than a year the two wards were finished, and Alan was transferred to the coastal city of Nhatrang to supervise construction of a residence, warehouse, and a clinic building for a hospital the MCC was establishing with the Evangelical Church of Vietnam.   For that the lumber was also cut in the jungle nearby the leprosy hospital and hauled down to Nhatrang with our 1938 5 ton Citroen truck.  He completed the residence and warehouse and had begun work on the clinic when there was a delay in funding and he was transferred to Korea, so the remaining work was supervised by a Vietnamese contractor.

            Then, many years later, in 1997, Alan and I visited the Nhatrang hospital site and reconnected with it, which was, now, being operated as a Rehabilitation Hospital by the Provincial government.  That led to a series of workcamps we organized with the Vietnam YMCA, in which we built several additional buildings there; all the while the original clinic building Alan had designed and started remains and is still being used. Alan was able to see it when he accompanied me on a workcamp there in 2006.

            There are two main points to this story.  First, the many times I have visited there since 1997 up until 2014, I have always been shown that original clinic building and usually I’ve been told that “we simply can’t build like this anymore, it was built so well.”  Second, on one of the early workcamps, perhaps 2006 when Alan joined us, we found that the Vietnamese had apparently never figured out exactly how the windows worked.  You see, they are American style with panes that slide up and down; Vietnamese windows are always hinged like shutters.  After all of the years and many coats of paint, it wasn’t easy to get them moving again, but we did.  Finally, I was back four years ago in 2014.  I was again shown the building with emphasis about how sound the building still is and that it is still being used, even though the Provincial government has provided funds for a fine, new, 3 story building just across the yard.

Then Lee and I had our little dialogue using the Ede language, as follows:

Lee:  Si ngă, swaih asei mlei mơ? (Hello, how are you?)

Don:  Swaih mơh, bi ih? (I’m fine, and you?)

Lee:  Ya do hdruom hră ih mao anan? (What is that book that you have?)

Don: Hdruom hră anei jing sa kdrêc hlăm Hdruôm Hră Klei Aê Diê Blu, leh anăn Y Mathiơ cih.  (This book is a part of the Bible, the book written by Matthew).

Lee:  Ya ih sorang ngă mbit hong hdruom Hră Klei Aê Diê anei?  (What are you going to do with this Bible book?)

Don:  Kao sorang dlang hlam anei kdrêc nam, dua pan truh ko pluh tlao.  (I shall read from it chapter six, nine to thirteen.)

Lee:  Ya klei mao hlam kdrec anan?  (What is found in that part?)

Don:  Hlam anan mao klei wah lac ko Yang Jesu brei ko bing kna ñu brei di ñu wah lac nanao.  (In this part there is the Lord’s Prayer which Jesus gave to his disciples, to pray always.)

Lee:  Sonan, brei ih dlang he, brei ko jih jang mnuih tinei sorang dui hmu.  (Okay, so go ahead and read so all of the people here can hear.)

Don in Ede, Lee in English, reading Matthew six, nine to thirteen

Ơ Ama hmei dôk hlăm adiê ơi.  (Oh, our Father who resides in Heaven.)

Brei anăn ih mpu bi jăk.  (May your name be praised.)

Brei buôn ala mtao ih bi truh. ( May your kingdom arrive.)

Brei klei ih ciăng sơrăng jing.  (May what you will be done.)

Ti lăn ala mse si hlăm adiê. (On the earth as well as in heaven.)

Brei kơ hmei mnơng bơng huă bi djăp kơ grăp hruê.  (Give us the food enough for every day.

Pap brei kơ klei soh hmei, Forgiveness give for our sins.)

Mse si hmei pap brei kơ mnuih bi msoh kơ hmei leh; (As we forgive those who have sinned against us.)

Đăm atăt ba hmei hlăm klei mplư ôh.  Don’t lead us into temptation.

Biădah be mtliah hmei kơ klei soh jhat.  But deliver us from bad sin.

Kơyuadah buôn ala mtao, klei myang, leh ană klei guh kơang pioh kơ ih nanao nanao hlong lar, Amen.   Because heaven, power and glory belongs to You forever and ever.  Amen

 Later, during an “open sharing” session, I told another story.

            Alan and I had already both been transferred away from the leprosy hospital  at Banmethuot; Alan to Nhatrang and I to Saigon, when both of us made a weekend visit back up to Banmethuot.  We knew about some ancient Cham (Hindu) remains hidden away in the jungle near the Loatian border not far from the hospital. We decided that on Sunday we would take the motor cycle that Alan and Lee owned together to try to find it, Alan driving and me riding on the back.

            We came to the last village and inquired about the site and how to get there.  We were told that there was going to be a team of some kind of researchers going out by elephant “soon.”  Well, we knew what “soon” meant, so we got as much information as we could and headed out to try to find the site ourselves. We crossed at least one stream and were trying to make our way when there no longer was any kind of discernable trail, just some jeep tracks.  Then the first thing happened; the throttle cable broke off of the handle.  However, Alan was able to simply pull the cable by hand, and, although very inconvenient, that worked.  After driving a bit more, not having found anything, as it was starting to get dark the second thing broke.  This time it was the clutch cable.  But we could still ride.  Whenever we stopped Alan could get the cycle shifted into neutral.  Then I would push him to get started, once moving Alan could shift into first gear, and I could jump on.  Then, although it wasn’t easy, Alan was able to shift gears, so we continued on our way home.

            We finally got out of the jungle, through the last village, and out on a reasonably decent dirt road.  By now it was pretty dark.  Then the cycle’s light began to dim and, soon after that, the engine began to miss fire, and, in just a bit, it stopped completely.  And, of course, it would not start.  So, what to do?  We decided to park the cycle alongside the road and walk, not really having any idea how long we would be walking there in the dark before reaching something or someone.  But, fortunately, we didn’t have to walk very long when we saw some little lights alongside the road; and there was a camp of road workers in a little thatch shack with several bamboo bunk beds.  They invited us in, gave us each a cooked banana and some of that bitter Vietnamese tea, and let us sleep on two of the bunks which were empty.  They told us that there would be a truck with road workers coming along early in the morning, and, sure enough, at around 5:30 the truck showed up, let us get on, and so we got into the town of Banmethuot.  A little after getting to town we ran into Leland, who was out looking for us.  Unfortunately, both Alan and I had to leave that day, so we left the cycle out there on the road for Lee to pick up and get repaired.

Bob Gerber and a colleague were on their way by boat returning home from Korea and made a stop in Vietnam to see Alan.  Of course Alan knew they were coming, so he had arranged to drive our 1938 5 ton Citroen truck to Saigon from Banmethuot so as to get some construction supplies, as well as to meet them in Saigon.  So the two of them traveled the 300+ kilometer road, which is narrow but paved, up to Banmethuot with Alan, and then back down again with him on the truck after their brief visit.

-----------------

Additional recollections Don shared about Alan by text:

Mary Anne Lee Tribute in Memory of Alan at Williamsburg Mennonite Church