The Zehrs: A Story of Faith & Community

Cliff and Cindy Zehr have lived in Kosciusko County for the majority of their lives. Cindy grew up in Silver Lake, while Cliff came to Indiana from New York to attend Goshen College (where he met Cindy) and has lived here ever since.

Together, Cliff and Cindy operated Kerlin Bus Sales, a business established in Silver Lake by Cindy’s father, Ed Kerlin, in 1962. They have two adult daughters, Melanie and Sara. Melanie has taken over the family business and Sara is a physical therapist.

Operating the family business and raising a family took up a lot of their time, however there were many volunteer activities that Cliff and Cindy participated in. They have both been on short-term mission’s trips, and Cindy has been a hospice volunteer for 20 years as well as serving on the board of directors for organizations such as Combined Community Services and Kosciusko County Community Foundation. Cliff volunteers for Habitat for Humanity and they both volunteer through their church.

Their faith is a big part of who they are, which is why they started the Be Beautiful Feet Fund at the Community Foundation. The name of the fund is taken from the Bible verse found in Romans 10:15. They established the fund to “support organizations that do God’s work.”

Cliff and Cindy agreed that when you help others, you are more blessed in return and that generosity is contagious. They feel thankful that the Community Foundation manages their fund saying that they trust the fund is being handled wisely and that the Community Foundation is very trustworthy. They are confident that the Community Foundation will honor their wishes. They stated that Kosciusko County is a very caring and giving community that is blessed with many resources to help others and to thrive because of how many people support the community.