Jonathan Amstutz

On Wednesday afternoon, September 2, 2020, Jonathan Lee Amstutz, loving husband of Anna Lou Amstutz and father of three children, passed away peacefully at the age of 99 at Swiss Village in Berne. He was born June 19, 1921, in Mattoon, Illinois to Menno and Louisa (Sprunger) Amstutz, of Kidron, Ohio.
He was raised in a Godly home as the son of a pastor along with his five siblings. He grew up in various towns, with his most formative teen years in Highland Park, Michigan. God called him to missionary service during that time, and he attended Nyack Missionary Training Institute (now Nyack College), graduating in 1944. He began his 30 years of missionary service in Maharashtra, India in March 1947 and continued his studies at Wheaton College, graduating in 1954.
On June 12, 1954, he married Anna Louise Boehr. They raised two sons, Timothy and Steven, and one daughter, Priscilla, during their years of ministry in India.
He completed his master’s degree and graduated from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 1973. He and his wife retired from missionary service in 1977, settling in Berne, where he served in various roles, working for Textron (formerly Micro-Precision, Inc.), serving as pastor of Springhill Church for three years and as visitation pastor of First Missionary Church for 15 years (1992 – 2007).
His overriding passion was to share the good news of Jesus with others. He dedicated himself fully to the study and teaching of Scripture, raising up and influencing the lives and ministry of many pastors and Bible teachers in India. After returning to the U.S., he shared his love for Jesus and care for others with the sick and those who were homebound during his pastoral ministry in Berne. He also had a great passion for music. He played the flute throughout his life, faithfully practicing daily, and sharing his musical gifts by playing in church, arranging hymns for instrumental ensembles, singing with his strong tenor voice in family hymn sings and whistling joyfully wherever he went. Music imbued his life with infectious gratitude.
He is survived by his wife; three children, Timothy (Kathy); Steven; and Priscilla (Dirk); sister, Elizabeth (Olan) Hendrix; six grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; three sisters, Magdalene, Mary, and Lois; and his brother, Mahlon.
Visitation for the public will be held Monday, September 7 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Zwick Funeral Home, Yager-Kirchhofer Chapel in Berne. A small funeral service will be held for immediate family. Officiating will be Pastor Jim Schwartz and Pastor Dathen Foust. For those who would like to watch the service online, you will need to “like” the Facebook page of the Zwick & Jahn where the service will posted later on Monday.
A memorial service to honor him with a broader group of family, friends and members of the community will be scheduled after the COVID pandemic has passed.
Memorials may be made to The Christian and Missionary Alliance or First Missionary Church missions fund.
Arrangements provided by Zwick & Jahn Funeral Home, Yager-Kirchhofer Chapel in Berne. To sign the online guestbook, visit www.zwickjahn.com.