Class Of - Shawn Snider

6 Class of ‘58
'
Ruth (Benner) Dean
Vernon Birky
well from Goshen Hospital Progressive Care Unit. We
stay active with travel, gardening, numerous volunteer
projects in our church ad community, and most
especially, enjoying our grandchildren.
—Earl and Ruth (Beachy) Delp
Dear Classmates,
My husband, Herb, and I live 4 ½ miles west of
Harrisonburg on Apple Tree Drive. Our three children
are married and live in the Harrisonburg area. We feel
fortunate to have them and our six grandchildren live
close to us.
I retired from Virginia Mennonite Retirement
Community last year after working there for 25
½ years. Herb is also retired. We enjoy camping,
gardening, helping care for our grandchildren and
attending their ball games, recitals, etc.
Sincerely,
—Ruth Benner Dean
Christ Lead Onward
John Stahl
When we eager youth, O Lord, we mount the upward way
To meet each challenge and gain new heights to follow Thee,
We pray, give us new vigor when we may weary be
To bravely thus declare; Our saving Christ lean onward.
Lord to thee we give our lives to climb this rugged path
And to help the wayward find this way that leads to thee.
Give faith to follow on through the path we cannot see,
And grant us faith to say; Our guiding Christ lead onward.
Let us ever onward press and gain the greater height
Until the top is won and to Christ our praise we give.
O, Christ, help us to see this goal and for Thee to live.
We’ll ever sing to Thee; Our loving Christ lead onward.
Classmates: After graduation, I worked for a short time as a DHIA milk tester in my hometown area of
Pennsylvania. I then went into VS for two years, serving time in Both Colorado & Ohio working with Juvenile
Delinquents. I also had a short work time in Hesston, KS doing construction at Showalter Villa. After my
VS term, I was married to Carol Dintaman who was from Indiana. We have made our home in Indiana since
‘63. I worked at numerous jobs, mostly related to farming and construction. I have been self-employed in
construction/remodeling for the past 25 years. I am currently semi-retired, working mostly on our own home
in Goshen, IN. Ten years ago, we purchased an old house( built in 1885). We are in the process of doing some
restoration which we find very time consuming but enjoyable!
Carol & I have two biological children plus another son who arrived at age 5yrs! We have been blessed with
5 grandchildren who keep us active and interested in many things. Our son Tim and his family live in Bucks
Co. PA. Our daughter Amy lives here in Goshen. Her husband is a soccer coach at GHS. Needless to say, we
can often be found helping with two little grandsons at the soccer games! We have been host parents to several
students from Puerto Rico who came to Goshen to attend Bethany Christian High School. We still keep in
touch with them and recently spent spring break with them in PR. They have children of their own now and
have informed us they will be coming to Bethany and living with us! Not sure I’m up to that experience again!
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in October.
—Vernon Birky
Little did I imagine as a high school senior in 1958 that I would be one of those seniors (now of another sort)
invading EMHS for my 50-year high school reunion. My mind says that this can’t be possible, however, as I look
into the mirror reality stares back at me – quite a different reality from the one I faced in 1958, a time before
additional education, career, family, travel, living abroad, and retirement.
Music has been very real in my life, in fact, it was my career. I received my BA in Music Education from Goshen
College and did my graduate studies at the University of Oregon. Teaching, performing, and music in general have
allowed me to explore and express who I am, and, I hope, provided joyful learning and inspiration for my students.
Except for the four years when our two oldest children were little, I’ve been in the classroom. I’ve taught music to
children from Kindergarten through 9 th grade in Goshen, Indiana (5 years), Kalona, Iowa (11 years), and Hesston,
Kansas (21 years).
My life as a wife and mother has kept me busy, challenged, loved, and always in touch with reality. In 1965, I
married Dave Rhodes, a music student and graduate of Goshen College. We have 3 children: Ingrid (40 – can’t
believe it!), our older daughter, married a young man from Hamburg, Germany where they now live and are rearing
their two bilingual children. Our son, Shawn (38), now single, lives here in Hesston and also has two wonderful
children. Gretchen (31), the youngest in our family, lives in Maui, Hawaii, where she works and performs. People
sometimes want to know what it’s like to have our children spread across the world and we respond by saying that
we’ll take responsibility for this situation since we made a determined effort to expose our kids to life outside of