Obituary of Wilbur Nachtigall

Reverend Wilbur G. Nachtigall, age 84, proud resident of the Iowa City area died October 2, 2003 at 3:50 a.m. at the Oaknoll Retirement Community. A memorial service will be held Sunday, October 5 at 2:00 p.m. at the First Mennonite Church in Iowa City. Wilbur’s ashes will forever be celebrated at the Masoleum of Memory Gardens Cemetery in Iowa City. Memorial donations can be made to Palo Hincado Mennonite Church at HC-02, Box 8370, Barrio Palo Hincado, Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, 00794. Wilbur G. Nachtigall was born November 17, 1918, in Hamilton County, Nebraska, the son of Bernard E. and Lena (Franz) Nachtigall. As a child of God, Wilbur accepted Christ as Savior, was baptized and received into membership of the Mennonite Brethren Church in Henderson, Nebraska in August of 1934. He graduated from Henderson High School in 1936. Following high school, Wilbur enrolled at York College (York, NE) for two years before transferring to Hastings College (Hastings, NE) where he graduated in the class of 1940. He began his teaching career at Surprise High School in Surprise, NE. Wilbur taught for one year before accepting an interim pastorate in a local Methodist Church while continuing to teach. Wilbur was a conscientious objector to World War II and entered into the Civilian Public Service in January of 1942 in Denison, Iowa. His alternative service during the war, through the Mennonite Central Committee, eventually brought him to Puerto Rico to begin what became the La Plata Mennonite Unit on the island -- the place of Wilbur’s heart. During this time, he met Grace Kauffman, an MCC volunteer nurse. Upon completion of a four-year term of CPS service, he returned to Lincoln, Nebraska to receive an MA degree in secondary education from the University of Nebraska. On March 31, 1946, Wilbur married Grace Kauffman at the Mennonite Church in Manson, Iowa. Following marriage, the couple moved to Buhler, KS where Wilbur taught in the local high school as well as continuing his pastoral work in a church at Medora, KS. After receiving a call from the Mennonite Board of Missions, Wilbur was ordained into the Christian ministry in Manson, Iowa at the Mennonite Church in August of 1948. Following a short residence in La Junta, Colorado, Wilbur and Grace returned to Puerto Rico in 1949 serving in evangelical and medical work until 1955. Wilbur and Grace’s work in Puerto Rico during these years laid the early foundations for what would become Mennonite General Hospital in Puerto Rico. During this time, they took a yearlong furlough in Goshen, IN where Wilbur studied at the Biblical Seminary, then housed at Goshen College. In 1955, the couple returned to La Junta, Colorado where Wilbur took a pastorate of the Mennonite Church there and later accepted a teaching position at the local high school as well. In 1959, Wilbur and Grace moved to Iowa City, Iowa where Wilbur became pastor of the First Mennonite Church. While in Iowa City, Wilbur continued his education by receiving his MA degree in Spanish in 1962 and his PhD in 1969 from the University of Iowa. During this time, he served churches in both Iowa City and Des Moines while also working as a teaching assistant at the University of Iowa for two years. In 1969, Wilbur took a teaching position in the Spanish Department of Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois. While achieving tenure at Wesleyan, he also continued his pastoral call through serving a number of churches in the area. The Nachtigalls returned to Iowa City in 1980 accepting an eighteen-month interim pastorate at First Mennonite Church. Following retirement, Wilbur continued to serve churches in Iowa, Illinois, and Texas. On September 16, 1990, the First Mennonite Church of Iowa City conferred upon Wilbur G. Nachtigall the honor of Pastor Emeritus. Wilbur has been a member of honor societies in the social sciences and foreign languages departments of the various institutions where he held positions. In retirement, he remained extremely active in their local church, his family, and at the Oaknoll Retirement Community. Most recently, in January of this year, Wilbur and Grace were honored by the Puerto Rican community by having a chapel in the new Mennonite Hospital in Cayey, Puerto Rico named after the founders. His family includes his wife of over fifty-seven years, Grace; children, John Nachtigall of Goshen, IN, Ramon Nachtigall and his wife, Karen Birky of Hopedale, IL, Rosa Brunsma and her husband, Curt of Davenport, IA and Nita Michels and her husband, Jay of Lake Elmo, MN; grandchildren, David Brunsma and his wife, Rachel, Brian Brunsma and his wife Katie, Mark Brunsma, Alicia Donovan and her husband, John, Christopher Nachtigall and his wife, Marena, Michael Nachtigall, and Elizabeth Nachtigall; brother, George Nachtigall and his wife, Norma of Buhler, KS; sister, Betty Gerbrandt and her husband, John of San Jose, CA, and brother-in-law, Harland Pankratz of Kearney, NE. He also has three great-grandchildren, Karina, Thomas, and Henry Brunsma. Wilbur was preceded in death by his parents, his grandson Nick Michels, and sister Florence Pankartz.