February 10, 2025

Linn County News

Published February 12, 2025

Martha Ellen Deibler was born on June 10, 1934, in Crawford County, Penn., to Nelson and Anna (Roth) King and departed this life on Feb. 5, 2025, in Tahlequah, Okla., at the age of 90.                                  

After high school Martha worked for a number of years in a small church in eastern Ohio. Then, after graduating from Ontario Mennonite Bible Institute in 1964 and Malone College in 1967, she went to Guatemala under Wycliffe Bible Translators for 25 years, working in Bible translation in several dialects of the Cakchiquel language. She served as a Bible translator and later as a supervisor of mother tongue translators in two other dialects while also being a translation consultant. 

At the end of 1992 she came to Ohio to care for her widowed mother. After her mother’s death in 1997 she felt led of God to remain in Ohio, which she did until she married Ellis Deibler in 2004. Together Ellis and Martha worked in Bible translation at JAARS in North Carolina and traveled to various countries checking translation of books of the Bible in a number of languages until they moved to Go Ye Village in February of 2015, where they continued working in Bible translation, although with reduced hours. 

Martha was a member of Hillside Church. Martha was a special woman who had a very big heart for her Lord and Savior, his Word and those around her.

Martha is survived by Ellis’s five children; 18 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews, great-great-nieces and nephews, and by four great-great-greats. She was preceded in death by her husband; her brother, who died in infancy; her six half-brothers and sisters; several nieces and nephews; and great-nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be made to Wycliffe Bible Translators or to Go Ye Village.