Grace Beatrice Wolgemuth

She who fed the birds
Gave her hand to feed the poor.
She who loved her fellow man
Loved her God even more.

She who fed the birds,
Knows her Lord, learned to pray,
Lives with God above
With Christ her constant stay.

– By Linda Ruckman

Grace and Sam Wolgemuth both resonated graciousness and a dedication to doing things well. This has been passed down to their family and was reflected in the memorial service that was so carefully planned and presented in a way that honored your mother and surely was pleasing to her Lord.

– Gary R. Collins, PhD

Grace was a great women of God, a true Hebrews 11 hero of faith. She epitomized the two greatest biblical commandments – loving God with all her heart, soul, mind and strength and expressing this love through her love and service to others. I and many others in YFC were at the receiving end of this love and service, and it was a great blessing and encouragement to be served and loved by Grace.

She was a prayer warrior for the Kingdom of God, upholding and battling beside many around the world as they served Jesus. I was one of the ones she prayed for, and she reminded me of this every time I connected with her. What a blessing it was to be prayed for by such a great women of faith.

Through her service and faith Grace has been responsible for introducing many to Jesus and winning many into the Kingdom. As we grieve her loss we also celebrate her life and the impact she has had in this world and in the eternal world beyond.

– David Wraight
President, Youth for Christ International

The extended Wolgemuth wishes to thank our friends and family who came and visited with us today at The Orchard Evangelical Free Church. It was good to see many we have not seen in years, and to be reminded through them of how Grace impacted so many lives. It was truly a rich blessing for us. We look forward to seeing many more today as we join together in worship, to praise God for Grace’s life, and celebrate the hope that we share together in Christ.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. – The Apostle Paul writing in Romans 8: 18-21 [NIV]

The Wolgemuth Family

Remembering your family in prayer as you gather to celebrate the life of your mother, grandmother and great grandmother. Her visits to our community (Mount Joy, PA) were infrequent but memorable.  She left behind a great legacy and large footprints to follow.  May God bless each one of you.

- Galen and Nancy Martin
Friends

Grace had an amazing affect on our lives and family.  Whenever our paths crossed we were the richer for the experience.

Our prayer for you all is the your cherished memories of her will fill the huge hole in your hearts.

She most definitely modeled her name and left a train of witnesses to her legacy.  Wish we could be with you to celebrate her life.

– Karen & Gene Platte

Dear Wolgemuth children & extended family,

As a result of the kindness of Graybill and Cecelia Wolgemuth, Sam’s parents, taking in my father Harry as a child, my brother Dale & I were recipients of a wonderful spiritual friendship with Uncle Sam & Aunt Grace and our “foster” cousins. Many wonderful times were enjoyed at the farm along Mt. Pleasant Road.A spiritual benchmark in my own life as a teenager was a direct result of that association with the cousins. Also Sam & Grace and Dale’s & my parents, Harry & Elizabeth Engle, became lifelong close friends.

Your mother was aptly named. She indeed was a woman of grace. I will remember her sweet gentle spirit. She modeled the fruit of the spirit.

Especially at this time of year we affirm the truth of the resurrection of the saints at the coming of our Lord. Praise God she rejoices in His  presence now. My brother Dale and parents were there to greet her! And we shall see her again, someday, perhaps soon.

Love & Prayers,

Ken Engle

Dear Wolgemuth Family,

I send my love, thoughts, prayers and sympathy to you.  May you feel the peace of knowing Aunt Grace is now in the presence of her Heavenly Father, surrounded by all those who have gone before her, but were touched by her life.

Aunt Grace was an amazing women of God.  Even though our paths did not cross often, I so looked forward to the times I knew I would see her beautiful smile and hear her tender voice with words of encouragement.   She was a very special lady.

I wish that I could be with each of you on Friday, but my schedule does not permit.   I do plan to listen to the service and will be rejoicing with you as you celebrate her life here on earth and her eternal homegoing.

Both of my children, Beth and Bryan send their love and prayers.  They both commented on what a wonderful person Aunt Grace was and an amazing family the “Sam Wolgemuth”  is.

I trust our paths will continue to cross in the years to come.  My life will be forever enriched by knowing Uncle Sam, Aunt Grace, and each of you, their children.

My love for all of us,

Mona (Mrs. Dale) Engle

Your Mum, Grace Wolgemuth was a true Mother to the Christian world community, especially to those of us in Youth for Christ, who she impacted with her ever gentle cheerful spirit, caring love and steadfast encouragement.

In our home, we the parents knew and called her ‘Mother Wolgemuth’, and the children knew and called her ‘Grandma Wolgemuth’, even though some of them never met her in person.

We, (Mabel and I) first met Mother Grace in the company of her beloved, Dr. Sam in Lagos, Nigeria in 1975, when they came to visit our newly chartered Youth for Christ work, which up to that time operated as an independent interdenominational city youth club ministry that was ran by a bunch of us young high school leavers. Mother Grace and Dr. Sam were on an Encouragement Mission; like the Apostles, strengthening the work the Lord had committed to their care. They came to us from Ghana, having visited Liberia and Sierra-Leone. Their words of encouragement; counsel and prophetic prayer upon my life as the leader of the group at that time in Lagos during their visit, became the turning point in my life, as the following year I enrolled at Anderson College in Indiana, to train for full-time Youth ministry work in Nigeria and Africa.

Mother Grace and Dr. Sam were always there together to visit me, and pray with me and encourage me at college in Indiana and later in California. At the end of every visit she would hold my hand and look into my eyes and say ‘Remember those young people you left in Nigeria. Africa is waiting for you and we are praying for you.’ She and Dr. Sam did not only pray me through to return back to Africa, they contributed immensely to my Rockford Summer Institute Training, Credentialing and Internship as a Youth for Christ staff in 1979, before my returning to Nigeria in 1980.

Mother Grace’s faithfulness, belief and commitment to our ministry as a family in Africa, have kept her encouraging us with her cards and e-mails, praying for us and supporting us financially every month till now, even after Dr. Sam, with whom she began supporting us since the 80′s went to be with the Lord.

As you celebrate her beautiful life in her service of passage into Eternal Life, we, with the several others from across the globe whose lives she touched and blessed join with you in giving thanks to God for a True, Gentle and Loving Mother in Christ.

Emmanuel & Mabel Chijindu
(with Bethany, Crystal & Jacinth)
Nairobi, Kenya

Dan,

Without knowing Grace well, I am deeply grateful for how our Lord used her to contribute mightily to the person that you are.  As you remember with love your mom, we celebrate a life well lived, a faithful servant of God, and YOU–one of her most glorious legacies.  Bless you and all the family, my friend.

With all our love,

Dave & Susie Rahn