One Family Gives 175 Years of Service
FORT MYERS – Shell Point resident Dr. John Taylor, and his wife, Pearl, shared a special story of love and faith. The couple first met in 1954, when John was teaching at Nyack College and Pearl, a recent graduate, served as his secretary for two years before going out into the mission field. Their lives went in separate directions, but both continued in full service to the C&MA.
| The Taylor family (John, Phyllis and Kenneth) then and now. | |
John continued teaching at Nyack College and was later promoted to Vice President of the college. Following 10 years of missionary service, Pearl returned to the United States and worked as a secretary to Vice President Gordon Cathey (now also a Shell Point resident), and an administrative assistant to three of the C&MA’s presidents, Dr. Louis King, Dr. David Rambo and Dr. Paul Bubna. With almost 40 years of service to the C&MA, Pearl retired to Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1968.
Later she moved to Shell Point where she was surprised to find her old friend, John Taylor. “We ran into each other outside the bank one day,” said John with a twinkle in his eye. “My heart definitely went bumpity-bump!” The two friends spent hours getting caught up and quickly developed a wonderful relationship, which resulted in their marriage in June 2000.
But John and Pearl were not the only ones in the Taylor family who had given years of service. When Pearl passed away in spring of 2004, John’s brothers and sisters all came to Shell Point for a memorial service in her honor.
John’s brother, Kenneth, and his sister, Phyllis, are both retired from service in the C&MA as well. Kenneth Taylor served as a missionary in Indonesia from 1957 to 1969 and then from 1992 to 2003 headed up a program known as Christ for the Island World. Phyllis served as a missionary in Zaire for more than 16 years and then served in Taiwan until 2002.
“It’s amazing to think that all of us have been in different parts of the world, for so many years, and this is the first time we have been reunited in more than 50 years,” said John.
This small group of individuals – John, Pearl, Kenneth, and Phyllis – were all committed to the vision of The Christian and Missionary Alliance for reaching the lost around the world for Christ. Together they were able to accomplish something wonderful, as they gave a combined 175 years of service in ministry.
Return to 2004 News and Stories.
