Ernest Henry Sprenger

The Reverend Ernest (Ernie) Sprenger died at the age of 89 on Sunday, Sept. 29.

He was born on the family farm on April 7, 1924, to Christian and Martha Sprenger at Elgin, N.D. He was one of 14 children.

He graduated from high school as salutatorian of his class and attended Yankton College, School of Theology, Yale Divinity School and Hartford Seminary. He later completed graduate work at the Pacific School of Religion.

He married Elizabeth “Betty” Strobel on June 20, 1947, in Portland, Ore., and together they had four children, Elizabeth, Mark, Scott and Cindy. They served parishes in Selby, S.D., Longmont, Colo., Middle Haddam, Conn., and also served as appointees to the National Youth Council of the Evangelic Church of Germany. Betty died in 1973.

He married Thelma Jean Koch, and expanded the family with two more children, David and Darlene McCormick. He served the Philadelphia Congregational Church and Zion Church in Ritzville until retirement in June 1986. Thelma passed away in 2012.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Christian and Martha Sprenger; wife, Elizabeth “Betty” Strobel in 1973; wife, Thelma Jean Koch in 2012; siblings, Oscar, Soloman, Reinhold, Edgar, Raymond, Leslie, Dan, Emma, Elsie and Grace; and many beloved pets.

He is survived by his children, Elizabeth Ann Larson, Mark (Lynette) Sprenger, Scott (Janet) Sprenger, Cindy (Gene) Smith, David (Michelle) McCormick and Darlene (Gary) Hoefel; grandchildren, Brock Larson, Joshua (Emlyn) Sprenger, Aimee (Gavin) Heider, Jacob (Austin) Ritenour, Sarah (Kyle) Hutto, Katherine (Kyle) Burke, Andrea Smith, Brenda (Jeremy) Garberg, Jennifer and Jessie Jones, Brittanie and Samantha Asmussen; four great-grandchildren; and was excited about the birth of four additional great-grandchildren over the next few months; sisters, Gertrude and Bertha; brother, Allen; and numerous nieces and nephews.

His life was marked by his extraordinary love and compassion for people and the community of Ritzville, his profound embrace of life, commitment to his faith, family and his passion for serving the Lord.

A celebration of life will be on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 1 p.m. at the Zion Philadelphia UCC in Ritzville. A private burial will be at Ritzville Memorial Cemetery.

Memorial contributions are suggested to: The Zion Philadelphia UCC in Ritzville; or Huntington’s Disease Society of America, HDSA Research, 505 Eighth Ave Suite 902, New York, NY 10018.

Danekas Funeral Home of Ritzville is entrusted with the arrangements. An online guestbook is available at the website at http://danekasfuneralhome.org.