James D. Swartzentruber

KALONA ? James Duane Swartzentruber, 62, of Richmond, died Friday, July 8, 2016, in the Pleasantview Home in Kalona.

Funeral service will be held at 10 a.m., Wednesday, July 13, at the Full Gospel Revival Center in Kalona with the Rev. Ron Breese officiating. Visitation will be from 2 to 8 p.m., Tuesday at the Yoder-Powell Funeral Home in Kalona, where the family will greet friends from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. A memorial fund has been established for Full Gospel, with monies directed to Mexico Missionaries.

Mr. Swartzentruber was born May 20, 1954, in Iowa City, the son of Eli and Katie (Schrock) Swartzentruber. He married Sherry Wehr on May 28, 1983, at the Kalona United Methodist Church.

He attended Maple Grove rural school and Mid-Prairie. He had lived in the Kalona community his entire life except for a few months when he lived in El Dorado, Arkansas. He worked for Goodwill Industries in Washington for eight years. His interests included fishing, shooting guns, shooting pool, playing cards, doing word find puzzles, and listening to music ? either bluegrass or southern gospel or hymns. He always had to have his music playing on a CD player, even in his final days. He also liked to listen to Johnny Cash read the New Testament part of the Bible on CDs. And he really liked to hang out with his twin brother in his car shop and be one of the guys. He enjoyed the company of his immediate and extended families, and had a unique greeting for each of his immediate family and a special smile for each. He was a member of the Full Gospel Revival Center of Kalona for over 30 years.

Surviving are his wife, Sherry Swartzentruber of Richmond; two children, Hannah Liddell and husband Ryan of Kalona, and Nathan Swartzentruber and wife Lucy of Wellman; three grandsons; and four siblings, Verton Yoder and wife Pat of Mishawaka, Indiana, Barb A. Miller and husband John D. Miller of Kalona, Laban Swartzentruber and wife Kathy of Junction City, Kansas, and his twin, Joe Swartzentruber and wife Deb of Kalona.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Eli and Katie Swartzentruber; his mother-in-law, Shirley (Mallory) Wehr; and one niece.