Joe and Nellie Buzzard Scholarship Fund

What was it the poet said about the ‘best laid plans”? The gist of it was that such plans inevitably go awry——that life is a series of adjustments to new circumstances. A look at the lives of Joe and Nellie Buzzard proves the truth of that notion. It also shows the benefits of flexibility of not letting an “in the rut” mentality decide things for you.

Joe was born July 30, 1907 in Washington, Illinois. In 1926 he enrolled at Goshen College in a one-year teacher training course. For the next two years he taught in a one-room country school near his home town. He planned to return to college to finish his degree, so in 1930, when his parents moved to Goshen, he came along. But money was tight, so he found a job at the Elkhart Packing Company. He would work for a year or two, he decided, save his money, and finish college when he could.

But sometimes you do a job so well you have to adjust your thinking about the future. That was the case with Joe. He hadn’t been with Elkhart Packing very long when the manager asked him if he wouldn’t stay on and become the company’s accountant and controller. Joe pondered, then agreed. He stayed in that job for the next 23 years. Early in that time he met a secretary in the business, Nellie Nusbaum. They were married and had two children.

You might think the story ends there, with a good job, a marriage and children. Not so. About 1953 Joe was approached by the Mennonite Publishing House in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and asked to serve as the company’s treasurer. He and Nellie talked it over, then moved to Scottdale, their home for the next 24 years. So much for staying in one place too long.

Nellie’s story reflects a blend of the traditional and non-traditional. She was an Elkhart girl, born September 16, 1909. She wanted very much to go to school, but circumstance seemed to work against it. Nevertheless, she became something of a career woman, enrolling in Elkhart Business University for secretarial training, and working at Elkhart Packing for nearly ten years. After she and Joe moved to Scottdale she continued to work outside the home, in the publishing house’s binding and proofreading department.

Since retiring, Joe has expanded his long-time interest in photography, to develop a series of illustrated religious talks. His treatment of the 23rd Psalm and other Biblical passages have become much in demand. “It has become a ministry,” he said. “I visit church groups nearly every weekend.”

These days, Nellie works in ceramics, needlework and quilting. She also assists Joe in his photography ministry.

Joe and Nellie’s lives are still extraordinarily active. Their retirement has brought them back to the Goshen area once more where– wouldn’t you know it?–Joe has found his way back to college. He’s taken several continuing education courses at Goshen College and else where. Joe and Nellie are pleased with the investment of some of their life savings in the youth of the church. They are satisfied that, when they no longer need their resources, there are young people at Goshen College who will continue the values and beliefs they shared during their lifetimes.

Nellie died in 1999 at the age of 90 and Joe died in 2001 at the age of 92.