Keith Sprunger

Keith LaVerne Sprunger, 87, of North Newton, Kansas, passed away Sunday, April 24, 2022, at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas following a winter of declining physical health. His roots in Berne ran deep. He was born March 16, 1935, to Arley and Lillian (Mettler) Sprunger in their home on Compromise Street. Upon confession of faith, he was baptized as a member of First Mennonite Church of Berne.
He attended Wheaton College (Illinois), spending summers in Berne working for Fox and Hawkins house painters and Christmas vacations delivering mail for the post office.
After graduating from Wheaton and completing an M.A. in history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he taught history, economics and mathematics in the Berne-French schools for two years.
Eventually, he completed his Ph.D. in history at the University of Illinois and went on to teach at Bethel College (North Newton) for 38 years, earning multiple national and institutional awards for his teaching and scholarship. He published five books and over 25 scholarly articles. His academic interests centered on English Puritans in the Netherlands, printing history, church architecture and Mennonite studies.
In 1959, he was married to Aldine Mary Slagell at First Mennonite Church in Berne, and they had three children, all of whom became college professors.
He and his family enjoyed traveling. Exploring the small roads and towns of Kansas was an annual tradition. They traveled extensively in Europe—most recently to Sicily in 2017—and also enjoyed trips to Hong Kong and Morocco. On sabbaticals from his teaching, the family lived in Amsterdam and London. His other hobbies included collecting books, reading, gardening and socializing with friends.
He is survived by his wife; three children; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and two siblings, Ardus Gene (Loren) Sprunger; and Hugh David (Janet) Sprunger.
A memorial service was held May 7 at Bethel College Mennonite Church in North Newton. He was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Newton, Kansas in a private ceremony prior to the memorial service. The memorial service is available on youtube.com.