Funeral services will be held at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday at the United Methodist Church in Harper.

Burial will be in Pleasant Valley Cemetery at sunset.

Hours of Visitation
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday,
9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, and 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Wednesday all at the funeral home

Memorials in memory of Lu, may be given to Victory in the Valley or Harper Hospital and may be sent in care of the funeral home.

Prairie Rose Funeral Home, 613 W. 14th Street ~ Harper, KS 67058.

Luella Mae Hostetler, or "Lu" as she was best known, was born September 18, 1934, to Wesley E. and Evelyn Shenk, in the family home near Sheridan, Oregon. Lu was a bright child with a playful streak who loved to laugh and play jokes on her friends and family. She often told her children about rolling her brother and sister down a steep hill in a baby buggy. Despite her occasional mischievousness, Lu's parents instilled in her a strong Christian faith and work ethic, to which she held fast all of her life.

Lu went to Kansas to attend Hesston Bible Academy and graduated with the class of 1952. Just before leaving for Kansas, Lu's grandmother warned her "not to fall in love with a Kansas boy." Despite this advice, Lu met and married the love of her life, Delbert Hostetler, on October 30, 1953. This fruitful marriage produced four children: Michelle, Tamara, Charisse and Brian. As a wife and mother, Lu was multi-talented and resourceful. A skilled seamstress, Lu sewed most of her children's clothes when they were young and had a discerning eye for making a home a beautiful and comfortable place to live. She was a wonderful cook who could produce delicious meals from scratch for two people or two hundred. Lu also loved Christmas and planned for it year round. Her family would look forward to her gifts with both delight and dread, as they knew she was extremely generous, but were ever mindful of her love for practical jokes. Lu was an active member of Pleasant Valley Mennonite Church for many years before joining the United Methodist Church. Lu passed on her strong Christian faith and tradition to her children and grandchildren. She often read them stories from "Little Visits with God" and delighted in the reading of the Story of the Nativity on Christmas Day.

In addition to her role as wife and homemaker, Lu was an active member of her community. She was co-owner of a home decorating business The Homeworks, and she applied her strong decorating skills to design and furnish other people's homes, including those of her children. Eventually she used these skills to remodel homes in Harper and provide affordable housing for many Harper families. Many of these families came to view Lu as another grandmother and turned to her for comfort and advice. Never afraid of hard work, as a mail carrier, she walked a twelve-mile mail route daily and befriended many of the people along her path.

Lu showed her kind heart and generous spirit by opening her home to all who needed it, including foster children, Mennonite Central Committee trainees and people she just thought needed help. Her nephew Rick Yoder, his wife Meredith and son Tobin became like additional children to her. Lu's friendly and outgoing personality made her many friends in the community, as she was a great storyteller and loved to laugh, play Bridge and Pitch, and joke with her friends. She found tremendous satisfaction in volunteer work at the Econ Shop in Harper and always looked forward serving there alongside her good friends. When she visited her family in Oregon, the playful spirit of her youth was always evident as she played and joked with all of them. Lu gave people the confidence and encouragement to achieve things they hadn't dreamt they could do. Lu was also blessed with a strong alto voice, and could always be counted on to carry the harmony line. Even in her final days and at the peak of her illness, Lu knew the words to her favorite hymns.

On Friday morning, November 3, 2006, four days after her 53rd wedding anniversary, Lu Hostetler passed away, surrounded by her family at the Harper Hospital. She was preceded in death by her parents and one brother, Donald Shenk. She is survived by her husband Delbert Hostetler of the family home near Harper, KS; her three daughters, Michelle Hostetler-Nugent and her husband Robert of Ft. Collins, CO, Tamara Schrock and her husband Steve, and Charisse Hostetler, all of Harper, KS; one son, Brian Hostetler and his wife Cammi of Kiowa, KS; two brothers, Wesley V. Shenk and his wife Sharon, and Ronald Shenk and his wife Sally, all of Willamina, OR; three sisters, Beverly Emmert and her husband Calvin, and Louise Marner, all of Sweet Home, OR, and Kathleen Coblentz and her husband Daniel of Chester, CA; seven grandchildren, Kelsey Starrs and her husband David, Tyler Nugent, Craig and Nathan Schrock, and Corry, Keeli, and Kacee Hostetler; and countless other relatives and friends who blessed and enriched her life for 72 wonderful years.

The day Lu learned that her cancer had returned she was asked if she would be okay that night, she replied, "I'll be fine, I'll be resting in the arms of the man I love." We can all take comfort in knowing that now she sleeps in the arms of another man she loves, Jesus Christ. Lu's passing leaves a huge gap in all of our lives. She joins her Savior now, no doubt already redecorating her room in Heaven and making sure He takes care of all those she leaves behind.