Lona M. Litwiller, 92, of Hopedale, Ill., died Aug. 16, 2021, at Hopedale Nursing Home.
She was born Oct. 15, 1928, to Ira S. and Mary Landis Deter near Coleta.
She married Floyd R. Litwiller on May 24, 1952, at Morrison Mennonite Church in Illinois. He preceded her in death on Aug. 18, 2017.
She graduated from Milledgeville High School. She earned an RN and a bachelor’s degree in nursing through studies at Goshen College in Indiana and La Junta Mennonite School of Nursing in Colorado.
She met Floyd at Goshen College and married him after completing her nurses training. They served as missionaries in Puerto Rico for the first two years of their marriage. Returning to Illinois, they lived on the family farm in the Hopedale and Delavan area. She worked at Hopedale Medical Complex as a registered nurse.
She was a member of Tazewell County Home Extension, Hopedale Betterment Association and the auxiliary of Gideons International. She assisted Floyd in ministry at Logan County Correctional Center Prison Ministry for over 19 years.
Baptized at Morrison Mennonite Church, she attended Midway Mennonite Church for 33 years, where she taught Sunday school and Bible school and led women’s Bible study. After that she was an active member of Hopedale Mennonite Church, hosting Bible study and attending Mennonite Women.
Survivors include her children, Richard (Cynthia) Litwiller of Sacramento, Calif., Kenneth (Laura) Litwiller of Lewistown, Pa., Christina Litwiller of Salina, Kan., and Brian (Cynthia) Litwiller of rural Delavan; a sister, Lois Deter of Sterling; sisters-in-law Evelyn Good of Geneva, Neb., LaVerne Petersen of Fort Wayne, Ind., Ruth Mark of Goshen, Ind., and Judy Muzzy of Orlando, Fla.; seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Floyd; a granddaughter, Esther Mae Litwiller; and sisters-in-law Delora Birkey, Carolyn Welch and Beverly Burmeister.
Memorial services were at held at Hopedale Mennonite Church. Burial was in the Mennonite Cemetery in Hopedale. Memorials may be made to Mennonite Mission Network or Gideons International.
