Obituaries

By Norman Wells

September 2018

News > People > Obituaries

Remembering Valerie Riches (1924-2018)

Valerie Riches, the founder president and former director of the Family Education Trust, died earlier this year, aged 93. When I was first introduced to Family and Youth Concern, as it was then known, in 1993, Valerie Riches had been labouring on behalf of the family and the welfare of children and young people for over 20 years. She was already over the normal age for retirement, yet such was her commitment and devotion she kept going. When she eventually stood down from the daily running of the organisation, she maintained a keen interest in the work, serving as a trustee and founder president. Valerie...

By Andrew Fellows

August 2018

News > People > Obituaries

OBITUARY: Ray Wilkie (1930–2018)

Leslie Raymond Wilkie, went to be with the Lord on 6 June 2018, after a short period of illness from cancer. He died peacefully at home, with his immediate family around him, who sang some of his favourite hymns as he was taken into his greater home. Ray, as he was called, was born in Bradford, in West Yorkshire, on 1 October 1930. He attended Sunbridge Road Mission with his parents and was a committed member of the Boys’ Brigade, swinging the mace in the Bradford battalion band. He was later apprenticed at English Electric and qualified as a draughtsman. In 1954, after completing two...

By Timothy Cross

July 2018

News > People > Obituaries

Obituary: Dr Theodore C. Danson

Dr Theodore C. Danson Smith of Edinburgh went to be with Christ on May 8th 2018, having been in hospital for some months. Theodore trusted the Saviour at five years of age, and went on to have a lifetime of Christian service until his health declined. He was manager of B. McCall Barbour Christian Books, Edinburgh for the whole of his working life. This took him to all four corners of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland for colporteurage. During his yearly travels, he also preached in local churches. Theo — as he was known — authored five Christian books, all of which were widely...

By Paul Barnes

April 2018

News > People > Obituaries

Obituary – Dick Saunders (1930-2018)

Dick Saunders, international evangelist, Bible teacher and pastor, died on 19 January 2018, aged 87. Richard (Dick) Stephen Saunders was born in Hailsham, East Sussex, on 16 July 1930, the son of a Strict Baptist lay pastor, Alfred Saunders. He grew up surrounded by the prayers and godly example of his parents, and trusted Christ as his own Saviour at the age of 18. Soon after his conversion, he married Betty (née Thomas). After the bitter disappointment of the loss of their second child, Dick made a fresh surrender of his life to Christ. Later, they joined an Open Brethren gospel hall in Hailsham, where...

By Simoney Kyriakou

April 2018

World-famous evangelist called home

Whether or not you agreed with his politics or inclusivist theology, nobody can deny that Billy Graham’s ministry was well known across many continents. Rev. Billy Graham’s passing on 21 February this year reignited international debate across all platforms over the measure and the message of the man. For some, he was a tireless campaigner for equality, social justice and the gospel. For others, he represented homophobia and bigotry, being known as a friend and adviser to disgraced former president Richard Nixon and refusing to back down on his anti-same-sex marriage stance. It is easy to dismiss both the lionising and the lambasting as simply...

By Paul Barnes

February 2018

News > People > Obituaries

Evangelist Dick Saunders 1930-2018

Dick Saunders, international ‘crusade’ and radio evangelist, Bible teacher and pastor, died 19 January, 2018 aged 87. Richard (‘Dick’) Stephen Saunders was born in Hailsham, East Sussex, on 16 July, 1930, the son of a Strict Baptist lay-pastor, Alfred Saunders. He grew up surrounded by the prayers and Godly example of his parents, and trusted Christ as his own Saviour at the age of 18. Soon after his conversion he married Betty (née Thomas). After the bitter disappointment of the loss of their second child, Dick made a fresh surrender of his life to Christ. Later they joined an Open Brethren Gospel Hall in Hailsham,...

By Philip Swann

February 2018

News > People > Obituaries

Rev. Dr Eifion Evans (1931-2017)

Born in Cross Hands, Eifion trained as a pharmacist before entering theological training for the Presbyterian Church ministry. He ministered in Cardiff, Aberystwyth, Belfast and Abergavenny before returning to pharmacy in West Wales while continuing his preaching ministry and the encouraging of smaller fellowships. Like many Christians, I first met Eifion Evans through his books. When he is come, on the 1859 revival in Wales was the first book I read as a new Christian. It had a lasting impact on me. Eifion’s gift of writing church history with clarity, warmth and challenge was a rare one and his books leave a helpful legacy for...

By Philip Eveson

February 2018

News > People > Obituaries

Rev. J. Glyn Owen (1919-2017)

Rev. Glyn Owen was my minister during the formative years of my life. He and his wife Prudence were also very supportive of my dad and me when my mum died of cancer. Arguably, the first Evangelical Movement of Wales (EMW) English youth camp was started when Mr Owen sent a group of us young people to the Welsh camp at Glynllifon in 1957, and special English meetings were arranged. Glyn was born in Woodstock, Pembrokeshire. After leaving school, he became a local newspaper reporter and was converted when his Christian editor sent him to report on an evangelistic mission. He trained for the Welsh...

By Dafydd Ifans

February 2018

News > People > Obituaries

Bobi Jones (1929-2017)

Scripture records the Lord Jesus as saying: ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children’ (Matthew 11:25). Bobi Jones, no doubt, was the exception to the rule, as he was a man of exceptional intellect and creative ability, but he was also a beloved child of God. Robert Maynard Jones was born on 20 May 1929 to English-speaking parents in Cardiff and learned to speak Welsh as a teenager at Cathays High School. He went on to gain a first-class honours degree in Welsh at what is...

February 2018

Obituaries

R. C. Sproul (1939-2017)

The holiness of God, by Robert Charles Sproul, is perhaps one of the best known books written by 20th century Christians and is found on the bookshelves in many Christian homes. This pastor, who died on 14 December 2017, was also a passionate proponent of Reformation theology and supporter of the Reformed Protestant faith. Mr Sproul, who was born on 13 February 1939, was an American theologian, author, and ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America. He was co-pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Florida, and first president of Reformation Bible College. He was also on the council of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals....

February 2018

News > People > Obituaries

Dr Simon Kistemaker (1930-2017)

Dr Simon J. Kistemaker was born on 21 October 1930 and passed away on 23 September 2017. According to a statement from the Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) in the US, Dr Kistemaker’s teaching ministry at RTS began in 1971. After he left RTS Jackson in 1996, he and his wife Jean came to RTS Orlando, and he taught on the Orlando campus until 2011. Known affectionately as ‘Dr K’, his 52 years of teaching, and scholarly and publishing achievements, were widely accessible. His staff and faculty colleagues will remember him for his constant cheerfulness, prayerfulness, wisdom, and kindness. The statement recalled how he walked daily...

By Graham Wheeler

January 2018

News > People > Obituaries

John Hancock (1936-2017)

The church on earth has lost a Christ-like servant in the death of John Hancock. John was saved through the joyful life and testimony of some fellow national service soldiers, with whom he went to a SASRA meeting and heard the gospel. This great liberating and saving experience helped him move on from a difficult childhood, during which his only brother died. He was called to serve his new Lord. Out of gratitude, he gladly obeyed and spent his whole life preaching the same glorious gospel of grace and forgiveness, through the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ. He served full-time for most of...

All articles in category Obituaries

By Norman Wells

September 2018

News > People > Obituaries

Remembering Valerie Riches (1924-2018)

By Andrew Fellows

August 2018

News > People > Obituaries

OBITUARY: Ray Wilkie (1930–2018)

By Timothy Cross

July 2018

News > People > Obituaries

Obituary: Dr Theodore C. Danson

By Paul Barnes

April 2018

News > People > Obituaries

Obituary – Dick Saunders (1930-2018)

By Simoney Kyriakou

April 2018

World-famous evangelist called home

By Paul Barnes

February 2018

News > People > Obituaries

Evangelist Dick Saunders 1930-2018

By Philip Swann

February 2018

News > People > Obituaries

Rev. Dr Eifion Evans (1931-2017)

By Philip Eveson

February 2018

News > People > Obituaries

Rev. J. Glyn Owen (1919-2017)

By Dafydd Ifans

February 2018

News > People > Obituaries

Bobi Jones (1929-2017)

February 2018

R. C. Sproul (1939-2017)

February 2018

News > People > Obituaries

Dr Simon Kistemaker (1930-2017)

By Graham Wheeler

January 2018

News > People > Obituaries

John Hancock (1936-2017)

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