G. DeWayne Bontrager

Reverend G. DeWayne Bontrager, PhD, 85, of Plantation, passed into the presence of his loving Savior on 1/4/2018, in Merritt Island, Florida surrounded by his family.  Born 12/9/32 in LaGrange County Indiana, DeWayne grew up in Elkhart Indiana and served as a musician in the Navy from 1952-1956 during the Korean War.  He graduated from Taylor University in 1960.  While there he met and married Judith R Hoffman of Youngstown, Ohio.  They married on August 20, 1960.   They then moved to New York where DeWayne worked at First Presbyterian Church of Flushing and attended New York Theological Seminary where he received his Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1964.  From there, Judy and DeWayne moved to Kokomo Indiana, where DeWayne served as assistant minister of St Luke Evangelical United Brethren Church. While in Kokomo, Mark was born.  In 1965, he was ordained into the United Methodist Church and moved to Maple Lane United Methodist Church in South Bend, Indiana, where he served as senior pastor.  While in South Bend, Todd was born in 1966.  In 1969, Pastor Daniel Poling, who had mentored DeWayne while in seminary asked him to come to New York and serve as an assistant pastor at Fort Washington Collegiate Church in Washington Heights, New York.  They moved their small family to Leonia, New Jersey and DeWayne served there from 1969 to late 1973.  While there, Amy was born and the Bontrager family was complete.  While in New York, DeWayne earned a Master of Theology in Pastoral Counseling from Princeton Theological Seminary.   In late 1973, DeWayne received a call to Florida to serve as minister of the Plantation Community Church.  The family moved to Florida in 1974 where he served as minister of the Plantation Community Church until 1984.  While there, Plantation Community Church grew significantly and the Deicke Fellowship Hall was built.  In 1984, DeWayne retired from pastoral ministry, but he continued to minister throughout the rest of his working life.  He founded the Family Place Inc. which provided marriage and family counseling to individuals and families.  As one who loved learning, DeWayne received his PhD in Theology in the late 1980s from Heed University.   He served as a mental health counselor to inmates in county and state facilities, and continued to help inmates after they were released to live healthy and productive lives. In 2014, the effects of Parkinson’s disease became more pronounced and he retired from his working life.  He was known by his trademark antique cars.  From his 1931 Model A to his 1921 Model T truck, DeWayne always enjoyed driving and working on his antique vehicles.  A loyal Dolphins and Marlins fan, DeWayne attended countless football and baseball games and had the distinction of being present for the 1997 Marlins world series win.  DeWayne is survived by his beloved wife of 57 years, Judy, children Mark (wife Julie), Todd, and Amy and Grandchildren Joshua, Daniel, Timothy, and Benjamin and many nieces and nephews.  A gentle man who was always ministering, DeWayne’s kindness surrounded his family and extended to all those who knew him.  A man of God who deeply loved his Lord and his family, will be missed and remembered by all who knew him.  Viewing will be at 4:00pm Thursday, January 11th at Our Savior Lutheran Church, 8001 NW 5th Street followed by the worship service of Celebration of Life at 5pm.