James Duane Swartzentruber was born May 20, 1954 in Iowa City, Iowa, the son of Eli and Katie (Schrock) Swartzentruber. He attended Maple Grove rural school and Mid-Prairie. On May 28, 1983 Jim was united in marriage to Sherry Wehr at the Kalona United Methodist Church. Jim has lived in the Kalona community his entire life except for a few months when he lived in El Dorado, Arkansas. He worked for Goodwill Industries in Washington for 8 years. Jim’s interests included fishing, shooting pool, playing cards, doing word find puzzles, and listening to music, either bluegrass or Southern gospel or hymns. He always had to have his music playing on a CD player; even in his final days. He also liked to listen to Johnny Cash read the New Testament part of the Bible on CDs. And he really liked to hang out with Joe in his car shop and be one of the guys. He also truly enjoyed the company of his immediate and extended families. His unique greetings for each of his immediate family was a handshake that turned into an arm wrestle for Nathan and him; a kiss on Hannah’s dimple; and a smile with “there’s my sweetheart” for Sherry, and a special smile for each. Jim was a member of the Full Gospel Revival Center of Kalona for over 30 years. Jim died on Friday, July 8, 2016 at the Pleasantview Home in Kalona at the age of 62 years.
Jim is survived by his wife, Sherry Swartzentruber of Richmond; two children, Hannah (Ryan) Liddell of Kalona, and Nathan (Lucy) Swartzentruber of Wellman, three grandsons, Josiah, Boaz, and Samson, and four siblings: Verton (Pat) Yoder of Mishawaka, IN, Barb A. (John D.) Miller of Kalona, Laban (Kathy) Swartzentruber of Junction City, KS, and his twin Joe (Deb) Swartzentruber of Kalona. He was preceded in death by his parents Eli and Katie Swartzentruber; mother-in-law, Shirley (Mallory) Wehr and a niece, Barbara Kay Miller.


Funeral Service will be held at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at the Full Gospel Revival Center in Kalona. Pastor Ron Breese will officiate. Visitation will be held from 2-8 PM on Tuesday at the Yoder-Powell Funeral Home in Kalona where the family will greet friends from 2-4 and 6-8 PM. A memorial fund has been established for Full Gospel with monies directed to Mexico Missionaries. The Yoder-Powell Funeral Home in Kalona is caring for Jim and his family.