I learned of the death of Gene Stoltzfus via an email earlier today. I would have heard several days ago if my spam filter hadn’t pulled the first message into a hidden pile. We had just spoken via Skype about three weeks ago, and he spoke as he always did, with clarity, humility, and wisdom.
It’s amazing that after nearly 50 years bearing witness to the ravages of war, traveling to some of the earth’s most dangerous places and standing for peace in the face of the assembled forces of the modern warfare state, Gene died on a day hinting of spring while riding through the countryside he loved.
Please click on the link below to read Gene’s final reflection.
WORTH LIVING FOR—WORTH DYING FOR
March 14, 2010, 2:26 pm
Filed under: Detainees, Iraq, Militarism, Nonviolence, Philippines, Politics of Empire
This is Gene Stoltzfus’s last essay, completed on Wednesday, March 10, 2010, just before he headed out on his beloved motor-assisted bicycle on the first spring day of the year. He picked up his U.S. mail in International Falls, MN. Then on his return journey, less than a kilometer from home in Ft. Frances, ON, his heart stopped.
Please feel free to leave comments after this post on his blogsite: http://peaceprobe.wordpress.com. For more background on Gene’s life and updates on his memorial services, see: http://www.cpt.org.
Gene Stoltzfus, 1940-2010, Presente!
–Phil Stoltzfus, Gene’s nephew
–Dorothy Friesen, Gene’s wife
See:
“Getting in the Way“–Sojourners Magazine, January 2005
“Standing for peace on the eve of war”–Christianity Today, March 2003
Obituary, CommonDreams.org
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Very sad news.
Gene Stoltzfus’s essays written in retirement, on whatever topic he chose, were the best treatment of that topic I read anywhere. I will not forget his blog about running to tell his father the news that World War II was over. He was 5 years old. He called it his first peace message.
At the time of my brother Pete Hunting’s death in Vietnam, Gene was his closest friend. They had bought motorcycles together and planned adventures they would have after completing their IVS service. Years later, Gene and I met and he played a part in the healing journey that became my memoir “Finding Pete.” Gene figures prominently in the story, which includes what he told me about resigning his position with IVS, facing the U.S. press corps in Saigon, and leaving Vietnam to work for peace.
It was a privilege to have known such a man.
http://www.JillHunting.com
Thank you so much. I couldn’t agree with you more.