April 26, 2010 issue
Freedom to learn set life’s path
Alternative service led to expertise in X-ray technology
By Laurie Oswald Robinson For Mennonite Weekly ReviewGLENDALE, Ariz. — Growing up on a farm near Haven, Kan., Ken Bontrager’s love of books helped him cope with not being as physically strong as his four brothers.
Ken Bontrager’s alternative service work in a Denver hospital’s X-ray department led him to become an expert in radiology and a writer of textbooks. With him is his wife, Mary Lou. — Photo by Laurie Oswald Robinson
Today, he is widely known as a writer of medical books.
Bontrager found the courage to leave the farm in search of God’s call. He went on to earn degrees in the sciences and education and in 1982 authored the Textbook of Radiographic Positioning and Related Anatomy.
Radiology training programs around the world use the book. The seventh edition was printed in 2009 in Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Taiwanese and English.
Despite the book’s success, fame is not what most gratifies Bontrager.
“I saw that becoming a millionaire was not my main purpose in life,” said Bontrager, 72, who lives at Glencroft retirement center with his wife, Mary Lou. “What matters most is making a difference in this world by using my God-given gifts to prepare students and health workers using the latest technologies.”
Bontrager, the son of the late Andrew A. and Nora Yutzy Bontrager, feels his work in health education helps him redeem the unaffirmed aspects of his boyhood.
“I was never encouraged to go to college, so I didn’t take biology, chemistry or algebra,” he said. “I took shop and learned carpentry. I never studied much, but my mother was a strong encourager of books. I read late and had difficulty getting up for 5 a.m. chores.”
Straining to do chores was small compared to straining for his dad’s approval, he said.
“Dad didn’t understand me and compared me to my brothers,” he said. “But I couldn’t keep up.”
Comments
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Thanks for sharing this article. Their story is truly inspiring. I have received much encouragement from Ken & Mary Lou through our interactions at Trinity Mennonite and am grateful for their friendship and service.
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I was employed by Ken for a short time at Multi Media Publishing Company. I have known Ken and Mary Lou for years and yet some of their history was news to me. I'm sure it is a reflection of their desire to keep the spotlight on Christ's work in their lives. Good article!
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