JOHN ABUHL, father of alumni, Duane Abuhl ('75), Lee Abuhl ('76) Sharon Abuhl Pelton, ('75) Gwen Abuhl Alderman ('78), and Beth Abuhl Worley ('79), went to be with the Lord on Monday, August 10, 1998, dying of a brain hemorrhage. Funeral services were held at Ankeny Baptist Church, Ankeny, IA. John and his wife, Betty, served with Evangelical Baptist Missions for 37 years, including several years as Beth Eden dorm parents at ICA in the '70's. They were just retiring from ministry in France. 

MARLENE DECKER died of cancer on April 6, 1996.  Her memorial service was held April 13, 1996 at First Baptist Church in Salem, OR.  A retired missionary lady and friend of Marlene's from C.I. (Ruth Casey) wrote a letter to many of the CB missionaries about the service.  Parts are excerpted here:  ....There was a picture of Marlene surrounded with some flowers and copies of her biography from CBI.  On the table in the sanctuary they had a 16”x24” smiling picture of Marlene in a rosy-red blouse, with a Bible lying open in front of it.  And there were many baskets and other arrangements of lovely flowers on each side of the table and on the platform.  In giving her life story, the speaker didn't just read an obituary, but reviewed the main points of her life in such a loving and personal way.  He said he thought these words described her: Sweet (always with a smile), Committed/Dedicated, Patient (especially during the long months of treatments), and Giving (he mentioned how she thought of some fellow missionaries in her will and also talked about the loving, giving between all the members of her family during her illness. ...He talked about how she took her mother and her father ...with her most of the time as she traveled on deputation)   Since [CBI's Africa secretary] was [in Africa at the time], they sent Dick and Ruth [Jacobs] out to the memorial.  He too gave such a personal tribute.  He talked about how much she cared for her students, and especially for the little people like his daughter.  He told of her noticing that some of them sat at their desks with their little legs not touching the floor, so she went out and got some concrete blocks for them to use as footstools, and recounted how the kids teased her for wearing her highest heels the first day of school so folks could tell that she was a teacher and not one of the students.  He read a wonderfully touching thank-you letter that Brent Slater ('76) had written to Marlene telling how he had felt  so lonely in the dorm, but when she got in class she made him feel at home with her love and caring.  Ken and Julie Vaughan came up from California to represent ICA; he read a letter that  Dave Baldwin had written for the occasion expressing their appreciation for her life and ministry at the school.  There was a sermon about The Wonderful Attraction of Heaven, a duet, He Touched Me, slides of Marlene from her stroller up through her days of ministry at ICA.  The church provided lunch for all of those from out of town, which was like an Ivory Coast reunion of sorts. 

BOB, JOHN & SARAH HAYES
On Wednesday, August 12, 1998, in Nkawkaw, Ghana, God took Bob Hayes, his daughter, Sarah Hayes (ICA '75), and his son, John Hayes ('77), home to be with Him. Bob had come out from the States to be the key-note speaker for the first believers conference ever to be held in the Techiman, Ghana, area where John, his wife, Juleen (Swinborne '77), and Sarah worked. John and Sarah were driving their dad back to Accra to return to the U.S. when their pick-up was struck head-on by a tractor trailer. Uncle Bob and Sarah were killed instantly. John was taken to the hospital at Nkawkaw, where he was able to tell the doctors how to find telephone numbers so they could notify the missionaries. At about 3:00 p.m. John was ushered on to Glory. 

AUSTIN LAND ('92), 22, died on Wednesday February 21, 1996, from a head-on collision. The other driver had been under the influence of alcohol. Austin was a devout Christian who placed God first in his life. With great zeal and boldness, he and my brother Andrew led the Land family into a spiritual renewal that began approximately one year prior to the date of his death. While Austin was living, he made a tremendous effort to share the gospel of Jesus Christ to all those he came into contact with. This incredible passion for Jesus was evidenced by his witness through e-mail messages that were sent prior to his death. 

JARRETT MEEKS ('92), son of Jerry and Jo Meeks, and brother to Justin, died Sunday, October 10, 1999 in a car accident.  Jarrett was driving on Highway 85 when his vehicle hydroplaned into a bridge embuttment.   The funeral was held on Friday, Oct 15, in Inman, SC. Jarrett's parents, Jerry and Jo Meeks, are missionaries in Ukraine; his brother is Justin ('94); Jarrett had two young daughters, Sara and Hanna Mundy; and a fiancée, Tracey.  They were to have been married December 11. 

HERB NEHLSEN (dorm parent with wife Jessie, at Bethel Dorm, 1966-67 and 1971-72, and father of grads, Debbie Peck '68, Becky '70, Steve '76, and Judy '79) passed away on Saturday, September 02, 2000.
Report on Herb Nehlsen Funeral September, 9, 2000, from Jean Hotalen (Bethlehem Dorm Mother 70's-90's). Bud and I went to the memorial service for Herb Nehlsen, and it was wonderful. So God-honoring, so joyous even in the midst of sorrow. We went with a vanload of missionaries from Toccoa and got to Arden, outside Asheville, NC, right at 11 a.m. when it started. The large funeral home chapel was packed. Jessie and family sat in the front 2 rows on one side. Jessie, Becky, Debbie, Steve and Judi all had something to say about Herb. Very touching! I called Jessie the eve. before, and she said the grace of the Lord was wonderfully upholding them all, and they were sensing a marvelous strength and calm. They were sure it was due to all the prayers going up for them.
Dave and Margot Kennedy came, Dave representing the C&MA Division of Overseas Ministries (DOM) and doing a great job. Deloris Burns Bandy, Nansie Burns Ike, Doug Conkle, Rusty Eramo, Laura Livingston's mother, and 2 old-time friends of Herb all shared remembrances and kind words. The best thing was, that all the nice things said about Herb were true. He was the dearest man, so Christ-like in many ways. Herb's pastor spoke of his strong passion for the lost, especially the Muslims of Africa, and how he kept this burden before their local church. Amy Nehlsen, Steve's wife, and a young man both sang specials. Stan Burns played the tom-tom while we all sang a favorite Jula chorus of Herb's.
The service went about an hour and a half, then there was a receiving line in a room off the chapel where we could talk with all the Nehlsen family. Steve and Amy Nehlsen, Abby, Kari and Peter came from Cote d'Ivoire; Debbie and Larry Peck, Andrea and Nathan came from Rome, Italy; Becky came from Las Vegas, and Judi from West Palm Beach The ladies of the church served a fabulous buffet to all the out-of-town guests and family members at the community center at the retirement community where Jessie lives.
We saw, among others, John and Diane Bostdorff, Dick and Lil Phillips, Deloris Bandy, Steve and Nansie Ike, Jim and Judy Plumb, Stan Burns, Hosh Livingston, Dr. John and Marian Slater, Rusty Eramo. From Toccoa we were the Ritcheys, the Peases, the Conkles, Dr. Deb Walker, Betty Canberg Smith, the Dave Harveys and Clarence Walker, all in a van.

DAVE SOLVIG ('88), son of Roy and Kathy Solvig, C&MA missionaries in West Africa, died on June 5, 1992.  Dave was returning to his home in Anderson, SC late at night and had an accident just a couple blocks from home.  No one knows what caused the accident.  He had his seat belt on but it did not help him.  He died in the hospital only 5 minutes after coming down from surgery.  His brother, Arnie was at the bedside.  His dad and mom were  in Toledo, Ohio for meetings.  The funeral was held in Anderson and then he was buried in the grave yard behind the Grace Alliance Church in Lexington, NC.  Dave was 23 years old.  He was a good driver and worked for Domino Pizza. Briefly, Dave accepted Christ when he was in second grade and had a tender heart to God, responding to God's working in his heart in many special meetings.  However Dave had trouble staying close to his Savior. Praise God, three months before he died, he got right with God.  He once said that he felt God wanted him to be an evangelist.  God's plans do not change. So since Dave's death God  has used Dave's story to reach many young people.

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