Litwiller, Ada Ramseyer (1900-1999)
Ada Ramseyer Litwiller: pioneer missionary in Argentina with the Mennonite Board of Missions (MC), Elkhart, Indiana, from 1925-67; born 18 May 1900 in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, the third of seven children of Joseph L. Ramseyer (27 April 1871 - 21 January 1930) and Magdalena "Mattie" (Gingerich) Ramseyer (19 January 1871 - 24 April 1911). Ada married Nelson Litwiller on 23 April 1919 and they had five children: Lois (m. Albert Buckwalter), Beulah (Gonzales), Eunice (m. Daniel Miller), John (d. 1971), and Esther (m. James Shertz). Ada died on 11 July 1999 in Goshen, Indiana, USA and was buried in the Saint Agatha Mennonite Cemetery, Waterloo County, Ontario.
Ada grew up near New Hamburg, Ontario, and attended the Steinmann (Amish) Mennonite Church. Although baptized at age 12, Ada had a "real conversion experience" two years later in evangelistic meetings at the Baden Mennonite Mission. As a new Christian, she felt called to serve God on the mission field. She completed seventh grade, then worked at home on the farm and took two years of Winter Bible School taught by S. F. Coffman.
Shortly after she and Nelson Litwiller were married in 1919, they left for study at Bethany Bible Training School (Church of the Brethren) in Chicago, Illinois. They were the parents of four daughters and one son, four of whom served in overseas mission. Though her Amish Mennonite conference had had little to say in favor of missions, she and Nelson found family and soon conference support for their endeavor. Sister-in-law Edna (Litwiller) and Amos Swartzentruber preceded Ada and Nelson in mission work in Argentina by one year. While Ada's family and support role overshadowed her public role (helping in visitation, hostess at the Mennonite seminary in Montevideo, Uruguay, and some speaking), her own clear sense of call to mission permeated her life work.
Bibliography
Bender, John, ed., Pilgerleben, Pilgrims, Peregrinos. Western Ontario Mennonite Conference, 1984.
| Author(s) | John M Bender |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1990 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Bender, John M. "Litwiller, Ada Ramseyer (1900-1999)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1990. Web. 23 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Litwiller,_Ada_Ramseyer_(1900-1999)&oldid=92452.
APA style
Bender, John M. (1990). Litwiller, Ada Ramseyer (1900-1999). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 23 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Litwiller,_Ada_Ramseyer_(1900-1999)&oldid=92452.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 527. All rights reserved.
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