Memorial services for 69-year-old Ed Duerksen of Wichita, Kansas, will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, March 26, 2016, at Shalom Mennonite Church in Newton, Kansas, and at 11 a.m. on Monday morning, June 13, 2016, at Bethel Mennonite Church in Mountain Lake.
Cremation has taken place.
Ed Duerksen passed away on Friday, March 4, 2016, at the Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice in Wichita.
Ed requested that memorial gifts be sent to the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).
Ed was born in Mountain Lake on April 20, 1946, the son of Peter H. and Linda (Rupp) Duerksen. He grew up working on the family farm. At the age of 17, he suffered a serious illness. After tests and a long stay at the University of Minnesota Hospital, it was discovered he had Addison’s disease. It was special for him to know that President John F. Kennedy also lived with that disease.
After attending Mankato State College in Mankato Minnesota for two years, he worked at Franz Fairway, Hiebert Greenhouse, and Balzer Manufacturing, all in Mountain Lake. He then worked 23 years at the Good Samaritan Village in Mountain Lake until his retirement in December 2012. Ed made good friends wherever he worked.
After struggling with his diabetes, he moved to Newton in December 2012. He lived with his brother, David and sister-in-law, Mary, until he moved into an apartment at Kidron Bethel Village in fall 2013. He had just moved into healthcare at Kidron Bethel this past February.
Ed loved life. He enjoyed the outdoors and was an avid bird-watcher. He took trips with his cousin, Lester Rupp, and brother, Rich, to northern Canada and southern Baja, Mexico in the early 1970s to see new species of birds. He enjoyed being a member of the Minnesota Ornithologist’s Union. He greatly anticipated the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas bird count, some years walking up the Des Moines river in -25 degree weather. He was also a charter member of the Cottonwood County Bird Club. When he saw an uncommon bird, he would say he saw a genuine.
Another hobby Ed enjoyed was looking for and collecting Native American artifacts. The farm on which he grew up held many arrowheads and had been an encampment places for Native Americans. Ed found hundreds of artifacts, even a rare tool, and loved to show his recent findings to anyone. He had many amazing and unique collections.
Upon confession of faith in Jesus Christ, Ed was baptized and received as a member of Bethel Mennonite Church, Mountain Lake on May 21, 1967. He remained a lifelong member of Bethel Mennonite, and attended Shalom Mennonite while living in Newton.
He is survived by brothers, David (Mary) Duerksen of Newton; Eugene (Margaret) Duerksen of Delft, Minnesota; Richard (Deanna) Duerksen of McPherson, Kansas; sister-in-law, Joan Duerksen of Rosemount, Minnesota; many nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews, and a host of family and friends.
Ed was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, James Duerksen. All of his family loved him very much. He will be greatly missed. His nieces and nephews had a special relationship with their Uncle Ed. He was one-of-a-kind.