YFC Special Announcement Email
Sent via email on March 18, 2010
YFC/USA Loses a Champion
Wednesday morning, Grace Wolgemuth, the wife of Sam Wolgemuth (our fifth President) was escorted into glory. She was a woman of elegance and authenticity, of tenderness and courage, of laughter and tears, of strength and humility. She was adored by her husband, loved by her family, revered by the YFC movement, and relied upon for regular, deliberate and powerful prayer support.
Grace was 93 years old when she passed away on March 17, 2010. She was ready… in so many ways… most especially to be reunited with Sam. She leaves behind six children and their spouses that she loved as she did her own children; twenty grandchildren and their respective spouses that she loved well; and twenty-seven great-grandchildren that she had been introduced to, with three more great-grandchildren on the way. As you can tell… Grace loved family, and God blessed her with a big one.
I will miss Grace for the financial sacrifice… the personal and passionate intercession… the tender way that she encouraged me… the many, many staff that she supported in prayer and with funding… and for her readily available encouragement that reminded me every day that our mission was worth living for and worth sacrificing for. She did both.
YFC has lost a champion… and I have lost my Mom.
Dan Wolgemuth
President, YFC/USA
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Dan,
Although we did not know you well, your parents were a great example and encouragement to Jane and me when we worked with YFC in the late sixties and early seventies. They have left behind a rich legacy of faith and family. We are blessed because of them. Sincerely,
Bob and Jane Henley
We appreciate your including us in the announcement; we and particularly Mona really looked to Grace as a model of a Christ centered women. Isn’t nice to know the reunion will be so sweet.
Marshall and Mona
Dear Dan,
Just a quick line to say what a beautiful announcement you wrote about your Mom. Moms hold a special spot in a son’s heart and your love and affection for Grace is so gently displayed. While Grace is physically gone, her influence on many members of the Wolgemuth clan will go on for years. She was a special lady and while many will miss her, many more will love her memory and will never forget her.
May God continue to guide you and bless you and the family in these painful times.
Love,
Dad and Mom
Dear Dan,
I am so sorry to hear about your mom’s home going. While we KNOW that she has passed from this life to eternal life it must be still hard to loose your loving mother. Thanks for sharing your heart with us. We are with you in your grief and yet rejoice with you in knowing that she is with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Your mom and dad had a huge spiritual impact on my life; they were the ones who were my “advocates” when I applied for American citizenship when I cam to the US in 1976; they were one of the first people to commit to financially support me after starting ministry with YFC in 1981; they were models of prayer (I will never forget your dad and mom being the first ones to join our Mid-Winter prayer meetings early mornings, very few people came to these meetings but your parents were always there). You are truly blessed to have been raised in a godly home…what a privilege. I will forever cherish their love and concern for, not only me, but also Tammy and so many others in the family of God.
Keep the faith, brother.
For Him and His glory….and in His grip,
Erik Burklin
President
China Partner
Dear Dan,
I remember the invitation your mother and father gave me to visit them. The gracious hospitality she gave to us and the wonderful time of prayer and focus on the word as we had breakfast together is still a memory of joy in my life.
I have come to realize that the impact of my parents prayers for me has continued beyond their life and is still impacting and protecting me today.
You have been, and continue to be blessed by their lives and their prayers.
My you come more and more to know the God she so vibrantly knew and loved.
IN HIM,
Clyde
Dan,
Thank you for informing us as we had not heard. We will be remembering you and your entire family during these days.
I know you are filled will many emotions, including thankfulness for Godly, loving parents. When I think of saintly women, your Mother is at top of the list with my Mother. I love you!
Jerry (for Lynne, too!)
Dear Dan,
It was sad to hear about your mother and our friend Grace Wolgemuth. I always remember your parents for their godly advice and gentle nature. We in India yfc have always been grateful for the support they gave us. May the Lord continue to give your family the comfort that He alone can give.
Nilofer George
(India YFC)
We will be thinking and praying for you, Dan, and all of your family for the services this week, and beyond. Your first paragraph described your mom so vividly….. She greatly impacted me (whom she called “Gracie”, during our Wheaton/Carol Stream days.)
We are so grateful we got to be with her at the Teen Team Alumni Reunion in Winona Lake a couple summers ago—so wonderful to reconnect with her. And she was just as elegant, tender, fun-loving, gracious—a woman of strong faith– as she had been decades earlier……
Give our love especially to your wife, to Ken and Sharon, to Ruth and Stan, and the rest of the family.
We hope she passed away peacefully….your note didn’t say. Hope it wasn’t an illness or a struggle or some sort.
We also hope there can be news from the services—either video or written.
Thanks so much….and much prayer,
Grace and Dean
Dear Dan,
The family of India Youth for Christ grieves with you at the passing away of your mother Mrs Grace Wolgemuth – a long standing friend and supporter of India YFC.
I am sure she is rejoicing in heaven right now with all the saints who have gone on before.
We praise God for the godly legacy she has left behind for us to follow.
Vijay Thangiah
India YFC
Grace was a Proverbs 31 woman. She was an inspiration to Dick and me, especially in our early years with YFC at Winona Lake. One afternoon as the ladies met in the large living room of the Homer Rodeheaver Home, a storm suddenly hit, with waves tossing a boat which had broken loose down the way. Grace spontaneously led us in singing… “The wind and the waves they obey Thy will, Peace Be Still…” As we finished singing the song, the storm stopped! Just like that. Probably 45 years ago, but still vivid in my mind.
– Mary Norton
Remembering Grace….
…from the front row in Waynesboro, PA Church with husband, Sam and 4 children back in the early 50′s as our “trio” sang that night.
Remembering Grace…
…at Winona Lake, fresh back from Japan, sitting in the car on a hot July day with twins Debbie and Dan, bottle of milk in each hand, feeding her new babies.
Remembering Grace…
…in her Emerald Green home by the river, along with Evelyn Petersen, as we were putting together almond breakfast rolls for our morning together. And maybe that “little family of ducks” made it all the way downstream to my place, as the same river flowed past my back door for the 11 years I lived in Warrenville.
Remembering Grace…
…in many YFC ladies’ meeting in conferences in the U.S. and overseas
Remembering Grace…
…finally, saying my last goodbye to her in her apartment at Ruthie’s before I moved to my new place in Colorado. That was a special moment!
– Barbara Schultz