A lasting legacy

Erma and John Stutzman’s lives combined love, joy and an understanding of peace and reconciliation, with countless memories and learned lessons accumulated over the years. That much is reflected in the gifts they left to the various ministries that inspired and nourished them in their lifetimes.

The couple, having lived in central Illinois and later in Ontario, Canada, left their entire U.S. estate worth about $5.5 million to institutions that guided them and played important roles throughout their lives. These include Bluffton (Ohio) University, Mennonite Central Committee, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (Elkhart, Indiana), Mennonite Disaster Service, the Illinois State University Mennonite College of Nursing (Normal, Illinois), and Doctors Without Borders.

Everence Foundation worked with John and Erma to create a charitable plan for giving. After their passing in 2019 and 2021, respectively, John and Erma’s nephew Rick Shantz and his wife Ruth-Ann worked with Everence to settle the estate.

“John and Erma wanted their generosity to extend beyond their lifetime, and these gifts help define their legacy,” Everence Stewardship Consultant Lyle Miller said.

THE SUM OF TWO LIVES

John grew up in central Illinois. His mother, Clara, was a graduate of the Mennonite School of Nursing at Illinois State University. His father, Clarence, died when John was four weeks old. Clara married Earl Stutzman when John was six years old and had a son, James. James died in a farm accident at the age of 16.

As a person who appreciated details, John wrote his own eulogy after the idea was floated to him.

“My mother knew tragedy, but I learned from her how life was to be lived,” John wrote.

Out of those early tragedies John chose to dedicate his life to helping people. John graduated from Bluffton College (now University) with a Bachelor of Arts, and from the University of Illinois School of Medicine as a Doctor of Medicine. Later, he would choose to specialize in urology.

But before acquiring his specialization, John spent two years in alternative service in lieu of military service, working through Mennonite Central Committee as a physician at Grenfell Mission Hospital in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, from 1957-1959. It was in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, that John and Erma met.

Erma grew up on a farm near Baden, Ontario, where she spent her childhood with her parents and seven siblings. She deeply valued her time spent with them and her extended family.

Erma attended Rockway Mennonite School (now Collegiate) in Kitchener, Ontario, and the Stratford Normal School, (Stratford Teacher’s College in Stratford), Ontario. She had a sense for adventure and made lifelong friends everywhere she went. Ruth-Ann said Erma seemed to begin a new adventure every two years; she taught in Northern Ontario, traveled in Europe and spent time in England, serving at the Mennonite Centre in London.

“Her nieces often said that they looked up to Erma because she lived an independent life and her travels seemed quite exotic,” Ruth-Ann said.

Erma took up a volunteer teaching position with MCC at the Grenfell Mission School. John and Erma became friends but parted ways after their respective services in Newfoundland, only to both return two years later to serve once again in their fields.

“Neither of them knew that the other was planning to return, but they did wonder, years later, if this was an act of providence,” Ruth-Ann said. Soon after meeting again, they began dating.

John and Erma continued living lives of joy and giving in Bloomington, Illinois, for most of their married life. They moved to Waterloo, Ontario, in December 2018 to be closer to Erma’s extended family.

Erma would tell family this was John’s last gift to her, to bring her “home,” closer to her family. John passed away unexpectedly nine months after their move to Waterloo. They didn’t have children, but they fostered strong relationships with their extended Stutzman and Hunsberger families, and shared their love with their nieces and nephews and their families. Rick and Ruth-Ann formed a bond with the Stutzmans during annual visits to Sarasota, Florida, and together they found ways to connect with each other wherever they lived.

Erma and John traveled numerous times to help at Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Desjardines, Haiti, where John was able to provide many surgical procedures as a urologist.

LEGACY AND GIVING

Erma and John worked with Everence Financial Consultant Greg Liestman to create a charitable plan. The three formed a strong relationship and, out of that shared trust and respect, the Stutzmans appointed Everence as the executor of their estate in the U.S.

In Canada, most of their estate went to Rockway Mennonite Collegiate and Conrad Grebel University College (Waterloo, Ontario), where John and Erma were married in the Grebel Chapel in 1972.

John and Erma reached out to Everence through a friend many years prior, to make a charitable plan. Greg worked with the Stutzmans for five years up until John’s passing in 2019, and Erma’s in 2021. Afterward, he continued working with Rick and Ruth-Ann.

“John and Erma were people who were always welcoming and inviting into their house,” Greg said. “John was very detailed and organized, and Erma had a good sense of humor, she kept things fun and exciting.”

Lyle Miller said one of the first steps in an Everence member’s journey is considering how to be faithful with the resources entrusted by God. After addressing the allocation of resources to the individual members’ needs, they can establish goals for giving.

A consultant can help members think about what ministries they are passionate about and the impact members can make by allocating their resources to further a cause.

“For many of us, no matter our means, intentional planning can help us be even more generous than we thought possible,” Lyle said. “Talking with an Everence consultant who shares your passion for supporting ministry is a great way of extending God’s healing and hope in the world.”