Obituary for Rev. Dr. John Herbert Ness ('Jack') 9/29/1919 - 9/18/2000 (Sometimes referred to as Rev. John H. Ness Jr. though his middle name and his fathers' differed. (Herbert vs Harrison) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Originally published in the Frederick News-Post September 21, 2000. http://www.fredericknewspost.com/ Date of Death: September 18, 2000 The Rev. Dr. John Ness The Rev. Dr. John H. "Jack" Ness, 80, of 3 Buckley Court, Towson, formerly of Mont Alto, Pa., and Quincy, Pa., died Monday, Sept. 18, at Hospice of Baltimore, Gilchrist Center of the Greater Baltimore Medical Center. He was the husband of Naomi Kaiser Grieve Ness. They were married Dec. 14, 1973, in Mont Alto and lived at Lake Junaluska, N.C. for nine years. They moved to Mont Alto following his retirement in 1982 and then to Quincy Village in Quincy in 1995. The Rev. Dr. Ness and his wife recently moved to Towson with family. Born Sept. 29, 1919, in Hagerstown, he was the son of the late John H. and Myra Kiracofe Ness. The Rev. Dr. Ness received a bachelor's degree in 1940 from Lebanon Valley College, Annville, Pa. In 1942 he earned his master's degree in history from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and in 1945 his master of divinity from the United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio. His doctor of humane letters was conferred by Lebanon Valley College in 1966. He also received certificates of training at the Colorado Archives and National Archives in Washington. The Rev. Dr. Ness ministered in a number of cities throughout the United States starting with the United Brethren in Christ Church in 1945. Through the years his parishes were located in York Haven, Pa., Pleasant Grove, Pa., Frederick, Mont Alto, Manchester, Pa., Dayton, Ohio, and Lake Junaluska. His ministry spanned the evolution of the church from the United Brethren in Christ Church to the Evangelical United Brethren Church to the present day United Methodist Church. While in Dayton, he became the curator of the Commission of Archives and History of the United Methodist Church. At the same time he was pastor of both the Belmont Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Good Shephard Evangelical United Brethren Church. In 1966, with the merger of the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church, he became the general secretary of the Commission of Archives and History of the World Methodist Church and was voted honorary president of the Methodist Historical Society. After he retired in 1982 he served as chairman and acting director of Contact, a crisis hotline, in Chambersburg, Pa. for three years. He was the St. George's Gold Medal Award winner and a master mason for 53 years with York Lodge 226. He was author of "One Hundred and Fifty Years, History of Publishing of the Evangelical United Brethren Church." In addition to his wife, he is survived by one daughter, June Garritano of East Stroudsburg, Pa.; two sons, John H. Ness of Dayton, and Harry A. Ness of Richmond, Va.; one stepdaughter, Donna Russell of Towson; one stepson, Robert Grieve of Mont Alto; six grandchildren; three stepgrandchildren; two great-grandchildren; four great-stepgrandchildren; one brother, Robert Ness of Kensington. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, in Otterbein United Methodist Church, 9 Park St., Mont Alto, with the Revs. Wilson Shearer and David L. Deatrich officiating. The family will receive friends in the church one hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Quincy United Methodist Home Benevolent Fund, P.O. Box 128, Quincy, Pa. 17247. Arrangements are being handled by Grove-Bowersox Funeral Home, Waynesboro, Pa. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ obit1: Originally published through a UMC news network Church historian John H. Ness Jr. dead at age 80 9/25/2000 The Rev. John H. Ness Jr., 80, the first executive for the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History, died Sept. 18 at the hospice at Gilchrist Center of the Greater Baltimore Medical Center. Born Sept. 29, 1919, in Hagerstown, Md., Ness served for 10 years as secretary-curator of the historical society of the former Evangelical United Brethren Church. When the denomination merged in 1968 with the former Methodist Church to become the United Methodist Church, he was named staff executive for the new Commission on Archives and History. He retired in 1982. He earned a bachelor's degree from Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa.; his master's degree in history from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia; and his master of divinity degree from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. Ness' father, a former EUB clergyman, served for many years as staff executive of that denomination's Board of Pensions. Ness is survived by his wife, Naomi (Kaiser) Grieve Ness, whom he married in 1973, a daughter, two sons, one stepdaughter, one stepson, six grandchildren, three step-grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and four step-great-grandchildren. He was author of One Hundred and Fifty Years: A History of Publishing in the Evangelical Church, published in 1966. A memorial service was held Sept. 23 at Otterbein United Methodist Church in Mont Alto, Pa. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Obits also published in - York Daily Record & York Dispatch on 11/14/2004. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ See also NESS, JOHN HERBERT in this file http://www.lycoming.edu/umarch/N.doc It is part of the: UNITED METHODIST ARCHIVES Central Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church http://www.lycoming.edu/umarch/ Pennsylvania Conference UB Pastors http://www.lycoming.edu/umarch/pastors.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ link to the book mentioned: One hundred fifty years: A history of publishing in the Evangelical United Brethren Church, Author: John H Ness, ISBN: B0006-BOYF-U Publisher: Board of Publication of the Evangelical United Brethren Church Publish Date: 1966 --