Melinda Clemens

Other Events:

• Name: Melinda Hallman
• Eby ID Number: 00023-1828
• Residence: 1881, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Hallman, Melinda, daughter of the late George and Salome Clemens, was born May 18, 1873 at Breslau, Ont.; passed away at the South Waterloo Memorial Hospital, Galt, Ont., of a heart attack, Feb. 12, 1956; aged 82 y. 8 m. 26 d. On Aug. 9,1893, she was united in marriage to Eli S. Hallman, who preceded her in death on Aug. 25, 1955, after living together for 62 years. She was a resident of the Fairview Mennonite Home, Preston, Ont., less than three weeks prior to her passing. At the age of sixteen she accepted Christ as her Saviour, and united with the Zion Methodist Church, Breslau, Ont. Two years later she transferred her membership to the Mennonite Church during the time of John S. Coffman revivals in Ontario. She faithfully served her Master in various communities in Canada, and in the southern part of the United States as companion to her husband in his ministry; and in cheerful encouragement to those whom she contacted. Surviving are the following children (George B., White Fox, Sask.; William E., Argentina, S. A.; Abram P., Akron, Pa.; and Anna-Mrs. B. Frank Byler, Argentina), also 14 grand children, and 6 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by one son, Clemens S., on Aug. 23, 1927. Funeral services were held Feb.15 at the Cressman Mennonite Church, Breslau, with Oscar Burkholder, Glen Esh, and Howard Good officiating. Interment was made in the adjoining cemetery.

Gospel Herald - Volume XLIX , Number 18 - May 1, 1956-page 431, 432

Melinda married Rev. Eli S. Hallman 9 Aug 1893, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Eli (son of Abraham C. Hallman and Maria "Mary" Schmidt) was born 26 Feb 1866, Blenheim Twp., Oxford Co., Ontario, Canada; died 25 Aug 1955, Akron, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA; was buried , Breslau Mennonite Cemetery, Breslau, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Anna — Frank Byler. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-24846

Notes:

Hallman - Clemens S. oldest son of Eli and Melinda Clemens Hallman, was born at Kitchener, Ont., June 11, 1895; died at St. Paul,s Hospital, Saskatoon, of inflammatory rheumatism and heart failure, after an illness of over five weeks; aged 32 y. 2 m. 12 d. On June 19, 1919, he was married to Cleo Shearer of Wakarusa, Ind. To this union were born 4 children: one whom died in infancy. The family who mourn this loss are his beloved wife, two daughters, one baby son, his parents, three brothers (George, William, Abram). And one sister (Anna), besides his relatives and a host of friends. During the first evangelistic meetings held in this part of the country by Bro. A. D. Wenger in the pioneer days of this district, he became the first convert to Christ, at the age of 11, and was later baptized and received into the Mennonite Church of which he was a member till death. In the year 1915 he graduated with the academy class at Goshen College. He later continued his studies at Saskatchewan University. For a few years he taught public school and in college; but the most of his secular profession was devoted to the education work for the Department of Agriculture in the Province. In the days of his sickness he sincerely regretted that he did not give more of his devotion to the cause of Christ, and trusting anew in the mercy of God realized Hid pardon, and rejoiced in hope of the glory of God. In the last days of suffering, as the end drew nearer heaven became dearer, and the things of time were fading away. Our loss is his eternal gain. Funeral services were held at the Sharon Mennonite Church, conducted by I. S. Rosenberger, M. H. Schmitt (text. Psa. 90: 12), and Edwin Bartel (text, Lam. 1: 12).

Gospel Herald - Vol. XX, No.24 - September 15, 1927, pages 543

Clement married Cleo Shearer 19 Jun 1919. Cleo was born Abt 1895, Of, Wakarusa, Elkhart, Indiana, USA; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-24847
• Residence: 1955, White Fox, , Saskatchewan, Canada

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-25088
• Residence: 1955, , , Argentina

Notes:

Rsrch. Note:
1. William Eli Hallman (Eli (Schmidt) Hallman2, Abraham Hallman1) was born 29 Jan 1904 in Kitchener, Waterloo Twp. Waterloo Co. Ont. Can., and died Sep 1993. He married Betrice Iris Hershey 18 Oct 1931. She was born Abt 1907, and died May 1993.

Child of William Eli Hallman and Betrice Iris Hershey is: 2 i. Clemens. L. (Hershey) Hallman was born Abt Apr 1934, and died 17 Apr 2001 in Gainsville, Florida, USA.

Other Events:

• Name: Abe Hallman
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-25089
• Residence: 1955, Akron, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA

Notes:

Island man looks back on 100 years lived to the fullest

BY JACQUELYN LEWIS, The Island Packet (Beaufort, South Carolina)

Published Monday, December 12, 2005

Abe Hallman recently pulled off a feat that has earned him countless congratulations, a mountain of greeting cards and a mention on the Today Show. He turned 100 years old on Thursday. "It's like a dream," Hallman said, his warm, gentle features lighting up as he recalled watching Willard Scott telling him "happy birthday" on television. "It doesn't seem real."

But Hallman's daughter, Joanne Hallman Dahl, said the accolades aren't just because her father, who moved to Hilton Head Island in September, has become a centenarian. Instead, she said, the cards and congratulations are kudos for a lifetime of love and service to others.
Hallman helped organize Mennonite Mutual Aid in the 1940s, an organization that helps Mennonite church members obtain affordable insurance. For about 20 years, he spent his spare time traveling the country to volunteer with the organization. Hallman also helped start a church organization that aids missionaries in their travels, and he founded a Mennonite church in Lancaster County, Pa.
Dahl said Hallman, now a grandfather of seven and a great-grandfather of six, also approached fatherhood with the same dedication, becoming a "kindred spirit" to his children.

"(My father) is basically kind of a shy person, but he is so well loved by everyone," Dahl said. "He loves serving and helping people."
Hallman's commitment to helping others dates back to his upbringing in the Mennonite church, he said.
Hallman was born in 1905 in the tiny farming town of Berlin, in Ontario, Canada, and his father, Eli Hallman, was a minister and wheat farmer. Hallman's mother, Melynda, ran the household.

"Those were very happy years, as I remember," said Hallman, who grew up with a younger sister and three older brothers.
"We did farm work; we milked cows and worked in the fields, and this was before you had machines for harvesting," Hallman reminisced from a cushy chair in his small, tidy room at Broad Creek Care Center. "I worked hard, but I was a very happy teenager."
Still, Hallman said, most people in Berlin never went to high school, let alone college. And the farming life wasn't enough to satisfy a young man who dreamed of becoming a stockbroker.

Hallman said his oldest brother, Clemens, was his inspiration to strive for excellence, because Clemens graduated from high school and worked for the government in Canada.

Hallman found a Mennonite school in Indiana where he could earn his high school diploma, and after that, he enrolled at Goshen College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in business and science.

But upon graduation, Hallman said, the Great Depression dashed his hopes of becoming a stockbroker. "It was 1931," he said. "I would have really liked to sell stocks or futures, but there were no jobs in finance." He ended up working for a "huckster" -- a produce farmer who went door to door selling his wares -- for a year. "I rode beside him and carried the basket with some sweet cream butter, eggs and maybe a chicken," Hallman said. Job prospects weren't much better the next year, he said, and he spent 12 months loading trucks and filling out paperwork for a pork processing plant. "There wasn't a future in that," Hallman said. "But it was a job."

He was about 30 when he fell in love with a college friend, Esther Yoder. Hallman and Yoder kindled a romance after they met again at a Goshen College reunion. "We were friends in college, but after the reunion, I saw her in a different light," Hallman said. The two were married on Christmas in 1936. They went on to have two children, Jim and Joanne.

Shortly before he got married, Hallman took a job as a traveling shoe salesman at the now-defunct Miller, Hess and Company. "Selling was the last thing I ever thought I wanted to do," Hallman said. "But it was a job, so I took it." Hallman managed to parlay that job into a 51-year career, in which he traveled the country selling shoes and worked his way up to company president and chairman of the board of directors.

And, despite his initial doubts, he said he ended up enjoying his career. He got to see the entire United States, and in between working and volunteering with his church, he took his family on vacations to places like New York City. "I've never in my whole life had an 8-hour a day job where I had to sit at a desk," he said. "That's unusual."

Hallman also developed some unusual talents over the years. He picked up woodcarving when he was in his 70s. He learned to sculpt detailed figures such as cowboys and Santas from blocks of basswood after he saw a wood carving display in a Phoenix, Ariz. mall.
"That was on a Wednesday," he said, the meticulous fruits of his more than 20 years of labor dotting the dresser and tables in his room. "I took a (wood carving) class on Friday, and I was hooked. It must have been working with my hands and the details that I liked. Apparently, I had an ability that very few people have."

He also learned to make hook rugs after his second wife, Lois, got involved with the hobby. "At first I said, 'absolutely not,'" Hallman said with a laugh. "But then I was watching her, and I got hooked."

Although Hallman said he has slowed down a bit since approaching 100, he brought both hobbies with him when he moved to Broad Creek Care Center from Goshen, Ind., to be closer to his daughter. He also walks, lifts weights and does crossword puzzles every day. "I've had a good life," he said. "But it hasn't all been a bed of roses."

He said he had to face the death of his first wife, Esther, in 1972 -- he married a second time, to Esther's sister, Lois, in late 1973 -- and the death of his only son, Jim, when Jim was in his 40s. Then, Lois died in 1994. But Hallman said he's been able to get through the tough times by drawing on his faith and his ability to adapt to any situation. "You can always begin again," daughter Dahl said. "And he always has."

Birth date: Dec. 8, 1905.
Hails from: Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario, Canada.

Greatest life lesson: "I have a philosophy that I call 'go with the flow.' You can try to change something you dislike, so you fight it and try to keep everything going as it was. But when a river is dammed, it has no outlet and it tends to get stagnant."

Abram married Esther Yoder 25 Dec 1936, , USA. Esther (daughter of Yoder) was born Abt 1905, Of, Goshen, Elkhart, Indiana, USA; died 1972. [Group Sheet]

Abram married Lois Yoder 1973, , USA. Lois (daughter of Yoder) died 1994, , USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Jim Hallman
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-25247