Dr. Donald D. Hochstetler

Dr. Donald “Don” Hochstetler of Milford, New Hampshire, died peacefully at home surrounded by loved ones on November 27, 2024, at the age of 78. 

Born on November 2, 1946, he was raised in Kokomo, Indiana, among the Amish and Mennonite communities. He was the beloved son of Alvin and Lula Hochstetler, who instilled in him a passion for learning and a deep sense of responsibility. 

After graduating from Northwestern High School in 1965, he received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Indiana University and dedicated his life to the university’s motto of Lux et Veritas (Light and Truth). 

Don served in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1971 including deployment in Pleiku, Vietnam. He was more interested in the culture, the cuisine, and the people than the destruction and senseless nature of the war. He approached it more as a sociologist than a soldier, but he served with a sense of duty and dignity as best he could under the circumstances. How does an academic end up in the U.S. Army? He was drafted. 

Upon his return, he put the G.I. Bill to good use and earned his PhD in medieval history from Michigan State University. In 1979, he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study at the University of Tübingen in Germany, where he examined the university archives containing the charters of early medieval nuns for his dissertation. He also found time to explore his Germanic ancestral roots, sample local lagers, and walk the cobblestone streets while appreciating the medieval architecture. 

In 1992, he published a book titled, A Conflict of Traditions: Women in Religion in the Early Middle Ages 500–840. He also extensively researched Menno Simons, founder of the Mennonites, and presented his findings at numerous medieval history and theology conferences. 

During his career, he served a number of distinguished institutions of higher education including Marian University, the University of Maine at Presque Isle, and Worcester State University where he retired as the Library Director and was awarded Professor Emeritus in 2012. 

He was devoted not only to his studies, but also to his cherished wife, Jeanne, throughout their 36 years of marriage. He is survived by her and his stepchildren, Grant Sarber, Katharine “Katie” Kinnane (Sarber), Jill Goddard (Sarber), sons-in-law, Robert Kinnane and Brian Goddard, and four grandchildren, Lex, Ben, Sam and Jack. He shared his love of learning, dry wit, and enduring wisdom with each generation. He is predeceased by his parents, Alvin and Lula Hochstetler, and his best friend, Craig Sarber.

Don will be remembered with a meerschaum pipe in one hand and a cold Heineken in the other conversing with loved ones for hours on wide-ranging topics. May he commune with his great historical heroes and his bygone friends in the kingdom of Heaven forevermore. 

The funeral and burial will take place on Wednesday, December 4 at noon in the Gothic Chapel at Crown Hill Cemetery, 700 38th Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. Details of a memorial service at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Milford, New Hampshire, will be forthcoming. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in his memory.