Comments on: In Memoriam: Laban Peachey ’52, MA ’97, former dean and faculty member

By: Galen Kauffman

Galen Kauffman — Thu, 06 May 2021 03:39:37 +0000

Getting the freshman tour of the Hesston College admin building, including the president’s office, in the fall of 1974 (the centennial of Mennonites arriving in Kansas) I noticed the president had a pen with “hard red turkey winter wheat” encapsulated in it. I made a smart aleck remark that Eastern Montana wheat was better and brought Laban an ice cream bucket full after Christmas. Later that spring my visiting father, Norman, EMC ’50, and I were invited to the president’s house for a breakfast of cooked (Montana) wheat.

Galen Kauffman, Hesston College ’76, EMC ’79

By: Mary Kauffman Martin

Mary Kauffman Martin — Wed, 05 May 2021 01:15:57 +0000

When the new student center was built there was not yet a concrete walkway from the dining hall/women’s dorm to the new building. Laban said we wait to see where people make a path through the grass and that will show where the walkway should be. We smile at his wisdom every time we visit the campus and walk that path and go down the steps that took us to check our mailboxes every day.

Mary Kauffman Martin, Class of 1961

By: Paul Yoder

Paul Yoder — Tue, 04 May 2021 13:02:28 +0000

Thanks for sharing these stories! I knew Laban as a family friend and then as a neighbor. Our family often chatted with Laban when we crossed paths while out on a walk. I can attest to the fact that Laban lived until he died. A life well lived indeed!