Loretta Krehbiel Obituary

Loretta Rachel (Penner) Krehbiel was born March 30, 1930 in Goessel, Kansas to parents Albert H. Penner and Susan (Krehbiel) Loganbill Penner. She was born only minutes after her twin sister Lorene Catherine Penner Goering. Their siblings told the twins, their father was so pleased, he hurried home to pick up the other 5 children and take them to church so he could share the good news.

Loretta was born into a "yours, mine, and ours" family, both parents having suffered the loss of their first spouse. Her paternal grandfather, H. D. Penner had been a pastor at Susan's home church and played matchmaker to get the couple together. Loretta only referred to her older siblings as "half-siblings" when she was trying to explain how she was related to the Loganbill girls or why she had Ruesser cousins.

Growing up during the depression as well as being part of a "yours, mine and ours" family, Loretta learned unconditional love, adaptability, and faith. These values served her well throughout her life.

She grew up in Hillsboro, Kansas attending schools there. In high school she enjoyed playing the trombone in the band. She also played girls basketball. She would have enjoyed this more had the rules at the time not been that girls could only run half the court. She wanted to run a full court.

Her early jobs were driving the tractor for her Uncle Al, working as a soda jerk at Tip Top Dairy, and later wrapping butter in the dairy itself with her twin.

She graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1948 and went to Bethel College in North Newton Kansas for one school year. She then entered nurse's training at Bethel Deaconess Hospital. As part of her training, she spent a semester at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. She graduated from Nurses training and became a Registered Nurse in September, 1952.

At Bethel College she met Victor Krehbiel. When he called the girl's dorm asking for Lorene, Loretta pretended to be her twin and told him she was too busy to go out with him. A short time later, he asked Loretta out. The romance blossomed. Victor graduated from Bethel and began his career in education while he waited for Loretta to finish nurses' training. The couple were married on December 21, 1952.

The couple lived in Buhler, Kansas for a few years while Victor taught there. Their oldest two children were born while they lived there. Vicki in 1957 and Von in 1959, the same year the couple bought their first brand new car, a Triumph Sedan.

They moved to Salina, Kansas in 1961 where Victor taught for a few years before becoming an Elementary School principal. Daughter Clarice was born there in 1964.

Victor encouraged Loretta to join the PTA and get involved in leadership. This included a year as PTA president at Grace E. Stewart Elementary School. Loretta also participated in a Faculty Wive's organization developing some lifelong friendships with some of the other spouses. As her children grew, she also became a parent leader for the 4-H club her children participated in. She also enjoyed volunteering as a Red Cross nurse for many blood drives.

Loretta enjoyed parenting. So, when she was asked to babysit a newborn infant of one of the other principals and his wife, she agreed. Lex became a part of the family until he was old enough to start school.

Lorene believed her twin needed a collection of some kind. So, she gave Loretta some coffee cups to get her started. Everyone knew how much Loretta enjoyed her coffee. Family and friends loved this idea and began giving Vic and Loretta coffee cups for every occasion. The children however, stopped giving coffee cups as gifts when they were told they would inherit back the cups they had given! Over the years, the collection grew to be more than 400 cups. The collection now lives in the rafters of one of the granddaughter's basements.

Loretta and Lorene also enjoyed many years of participation in the Kansas Twins Association. They served together as secretary/treasurer for at least one year.

Once Lex went off to school and her own children were growing up, Loretta worked as a substitute nurse for the Salina School District. She later worked as a para professional in the Special Needs classroom at the elementary school level.

Throughout her life, faith was important to Loretta. She was baptized in the First Mennonite Church of Hillsboro in 1947 by Pastor H. T. Unruh. Victor and Loretta were a part of the Mennonite church wherever they lived. While in Salina, there was no Mennonite church. So, while the children were young, they made the trip to McPherson, Kansas every Sunday to participate in the First Mennonite Church there. In later years, a Mennonite fellowship was planted in Salina and Loretta and Victor enjoyed serving there. In 1999, they moved to Pretty Prairie, Kansas to be closer to family and they moved their membership to the First Mennonite Church there. They enjoyed watching three of their granddaughters grow up in that church. They served as a couple in this church until Victor's death in 2004.

Loretta's life came full circle when she moved back to Goessel in 2021 to join the community at Bethesda Nursing Home. She made the transition to her Heavenly Father's home on September 18, 2025.

Loretta was preceded in death by her spouse, Victor Krehbiel, her parents Albert and Susan Penner, her 6 siblings and their spouses as well as her daughter-in-law Rhonda Krehbiel and great granddaughter Knoxley Colton.

Loretta is survived by her children: Vicki Krehbiel of Kansas City, MO; Von Krehbiel of Kingman, KS; and Clarice (Nelson) Voth of Goessel, KS; four granddaughters: Marsha (Philip) Roth of Kansas City, MO; Kate (Chance) Colton of Shawnee, KS; Kirsten Krehbiel of Atlanta, GA; and Kendra (Adam) House of Lenexa, KS; great-grandchildren Kellen and Rowen Roth; Caysen, Kannen, Kylen Colton; and Jack House; and sister-in-law Florene Krehbiel of Pretty Prairie, KS.

A Time of Remembrance will be held Saturday, October 18, 2025, from 2 to 4, at First Mennonite Church, Pretty Prairie, 1718 W. Pretty Prairie Rd., Pretty Prairie. There will be a time of sharing at 2:30 p.m. This will all be held in the basement of the church. Unfortunately, the elevator is out of commission so those attending will need to use the stairs to get to the basement. Friends may sign her book weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Elliott Mortuary.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Bethesda Home, Goessel or Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), in care of Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS 67501.