Ethel F. Klopfenstein

Ethel F. Klopfenstein passed away on Dec. 28, 2020. She was born on Nov. 3, 1934 in Akola, India to missionaries Olen and Ruth Schlatter. She spent her youth in India, attending Breeks Memorial School in Ooti, India, and Hebron School for Girls in Canoor, India, graduating in 1953. She received her Bachelor’s in Nursing from Fort Wayne Bible College in 1959 and Master’s in Nursing from IU in 1965. She was named Fort Wayne Bible College Outstanding Alumna of the Year in 1976. Her career included time as the Director of Nursing at both DeKalb Hospital and Lutheran Hospital, and she worked as a nursing supervisor and oncology nurse at St. Joseph and at Parkview Hospitals.

As a single woman in her early 30s, Ethel used to pray for the opportunity to have a family. In April of 1967, she married Gordon Klopfenstein, a widower with four children. Two years later, they added a fifth. She was a loving mother to all of her children and later a doting grandmother to her seven grandsons.

She was a caregiver by nature. She served her church, the Church of the Brethren, as lay pastor and volunteer in many areas, including a time on the board at Manchester College. She loved being outside, enjoying flowers and nature, and she was an avid walker and bicyclist. She often biked over 2,000 miles per year, even when she was well into her 70s. She was the oldest woman to ride in the Hilly Hundred outside of Bloomington in 2011 (at age 76), and she rode that year surrounded by “Team Ethel,” a group of her children and grandchildren. She also loved to explore. Her travels took her all over the U.S. and Canada as well as to Europe, Asia and Australia/New Zealand.

Surviving Ethel are children Mike (Heather) Klopfenstein of Indianapolis, Joe (Nancy) Klopfenstein of Corvallis, Ore., Dan (Judy) Klopfenstein of Fort Wayne, Ann (Tina) Klopfenstein of Indianapolis, David (Karol) Klopfenstein of Brooklyn, NY; seven grandsons; sisters June Fritschi of New Zealand and Wilma Riggenbach of Niles, Mich., and brother Orvil Schlatter of Fort Wayne.

Ethel was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and her brother, Olen Schlatter.

There will be a private graveside service. A public memorial service will be held later in the year. Memorial donations can be made to Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren, ACRES Land Trust, and the Alzheimer’s Association. Arrangements by D.O. McComb and Sons Maplewood Park Funeral Home. Please visit www.mccombandson.com to sign the online guestbook.