Jon Nussbaum Memorial Scholarship Fund

Jon Nussbaum came to Goshen College in the fall of 1987 from the Kidron, Ohio area. A highly energetic and personable young man, he was interested in pursuing a business degree.

Jon grew up next door to his grandparents’ farm with his family, Curt and Gloria Amstutz Nussbaum, older brother Van and Dan. He was a member of the Kidron Mennonite Church. When he was very young, he spent his summers and evenings working on the farm. As a teenager he worked in his father’s plumbing business, saving his money for college.

Jon knew he wanted to attend Goshen College, which was the alma mater of his mother and where Van was a student. Jon and his best friend, Todd Neuenschwander who was also from Kidron, roomed together at Goshen where they were both well liked by their classmates.

During spring break of their sophomore year, just prior to Van’s graduation from Goshen, Jon and Todd drove to Hesston College to visit friends for a few days. On Saturday, April 15, 1989, the day before graduation, they were struck by a drunken driver about fifty miles east of Hesston. Both young men were killed instantly.

The Nussbaum and Neuenschwander families and entire campus were shocked and saddened by the double tragedy which cast a pall over baccalaureate and commencement ceremonies. One immediate result was renewed commitments by students to abstain from drinking and driving. The incident also moved a student to produce a public service announcement for television about the deaths of these two young men, combined with a message warning against the perils of drinking and driving.