Rev. Taylor Sharp, a retired United Brethren pastor and ordained minister, passed away July 14, 2019, at his residence in Nashville, Ill. He was 90 years old.

Sharp graduated from Huntington University in 1953 with a degree in Sociology, and graduated from the Huntington University seminary in 1956 with a Master of Divinity. He pastored United Brethren churches in Lakewood and Modesto, Calif., 1956-1965. He was ordained in 1957.

From 1967-1975, Sharp served as a chaplain in the US Army (under the NAE Commission on Chaplains). He then became associate pastor of Morning Star UB church (Kokomo, Ind.), and later senior pastor of Crestview UB church (Lafayette, Ind.). He retired in 1989, and retained membership at College Park UB church (Huntington, Ind.).

Sharp is survived by his wife, Donna. They were married in 1952 and, in June of this year, celebrated 67 years of marriage.

The funeral was held July 19 in Nashville, Ill., with son Pastor Scott Sharp officiating.

June Baker

June M. Baker, 85, passed away April 15, 2019, in Chambersburg, Pa. She was the wife of Rev. Paul B. Baker. They were married in 1953 and served 36 years in pastoral ministry in the United Brethren church. For 30 of those years, Paul was senior pastor of King Street UB church in Chambersburg, the denomination’s largest congregation.

June grew up in Chambersburg, taught Sunday school for over 40 years, and was employed for 24 years with F&M Trust Company. She is survived by her husband and their son, Jeffrey.

A memorial service was held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 20, at King Street Church. Rev. Jody Bowser, the current pastor, and Rev. Kevin Witter officiated.

Condolences can be send to Rev. Paul Baker at this address:

Rev. Paul Baker
c/o King Street Church
162 E King Street
Chambersburg, PA 17201

Lamar and Karen Crumbley as missionaries in Honduras.

Karen Crumbley, 82, a former UB missionary in Honduras and Macau, died March 26, 2019. She and her husband, Lamar, were finishing a cruise to celebrate their 51st anniversary when Karen suffered a massive heart attack during the night.

Lamar and Karen Crumbley were missionaries in Honduras over a 15-year period beginning in the late 1970s, and also served a short-term stint in Macau in 2003.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, at the Shoal Creek Baptist Church in Canton, Georgia.

Grace Green

Grace Green, a retired United Brethren pastor’s wife, passed away March 25, 2019. She was 99 years old. She and her husband, Rev. Harold Green, during their 49 years of marriage, pastored UB churches in Michigan and spearheaded a church plant in Colorado. She is the sister of Rev. Donald Dennie, a retired UB minister living in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Viewing: 4-7 pm Thursday, March 28.
Funeral: 11 am Friday, March 29.
Viewing and funeral location: Roth-Gerst Chapel, 305 N. Hudson, Lowell, MI 49331.

Mrs. Sonia Blair passed away March 18, 2019. Until December, she was served as secretary and in other capacities at Pleasant Hill UB church in Greencastle, Pa. Among Sonia’s children is Dr. Anthony Blair, an ordained UB minister who is currently president of Evangelical Seminary in Myerstown, Pa. The funeral will be held at 11 am Saturday, March 23, at Pleasant Hill.

Terrence L. Bakner Sr., 80, passed away on March 12, 2019, in Chambersburg, Pa. He was a former United Brethren minister in Pennsylvania, including at Blue Rock UB church in Waynesboro. He was also a graduate of Huntington University.

Rev. Ralph Faber

Ralph Faber, 83, passed away February 9, 2019, in Princeton, Ill. He graduated from Huntington College in 1968 with a degree in Bible and Religion, and in 1992 earned a Master of Christian Ministry from the HC School of Christian Ministry.

Ralph pastored non-UB churches 1965-1970, and then spent the next 35 years, 1970-2005, pastoring United Brethren churches in Illinois and Kansas. They included the Illilnois churches in Manlius, Quincy, Rockford, Leaf River, and Claytonville; and the UB church in Abiliene, Kansas.

He is survived by his wife, Ruth, with whom he shared 64 years of marriage; and three sons.

Visitation: 5-7 pm February 15, 2019.
Visitation location: Grant-Johnson Funeral Home, Princeton, Ill.
Funeral: 10 am Saturday, February 16, 2019.
Funeral location: First United Methodist Church, Princeton, Ill. Rev. Steven Barber, an ordained United Brethren minister, will officiate.

George McCombs

George Alexander McCombs, Jr., 76, passed away on Wednesday, January 9, 2019. After many years as an accountant, he became a United Brethren minister at age 55 and served United Brethren churches in the area of Columbus, Ohio. He was ordained in 2005 after graduating with a Diploma of Pastoral Leadership from the Huntington University Graduate School.

Visitation: 4-7 pm Monday, January 14.
Funeral: 10:30 am Tuesday, January 15.
Location: Schoedinger Northeast Chapel, 1051 E. Johnstown Road, Gahanna, Ohio 43230.

Shirley and Emmett Cox and family as missionaries in Sierra Leone.

Shirley Cox, 90, former missionary in Sierra Leone and UB pastor’s wife, passed away December 28, 2018, in Huntington, Ind.

Shirley Cox

Visitation will be held 3-7 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2019. Location: Bailey-Love Mortuary, 35 West Park Drive, Huntington, IN 46750. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Shirley grew up in a United Brethren pastor’s home in Ontario, the daughter of Rev. Glenn and Lillian Betterly. At Huntington College, she met Emmett Cox, and they were married on August 14, 1948. They both graduated from HC in 1951, Shirley with a degree in Education. Emmett went on to graduate from the HC seminary.

Shirley and her family were missionaries in Sierra Leone over a 20-year period beginning in 1957. During those years Emmett served as a high school principal, business manager, general superintendent, primary school secretary, and field secretary. Shirley kept busy with her own various roles, including matron of the Minnie Mull girls’ home and teacher at Centennial Secondary School.

In 1969, General Conference elected Emmett as General Secretary of Missions. He filled that role for four years. Then he and Shirley pastored churches for the next 30 years:

  • 1976-1984: Victory UB church (Burbank, Calif.).
  • 1984-1985: First UB church (Lake Havasu City, Ariz.).
  • 1985-1992: Willshire UB church (Willshire, Ohio).
  • 1992-2003: Six Mile Church, a non-UB congregation in Bluffton, Ind.

In retirement, Shirley and Emmett served short-term as volunteers in Myanmar.

Shirley and Emmett enjoyed 66 years of marriage before his death in 2015. They had four children: son Douglas, daughters Diane and Darlene, and foster son Billy Simbo, from Sierra Leone.

Preferred memorials are to UB Global, the United Brethren in Christ mission organization. Send in care of Bailey-Love Mortuary, 35 West Park Drive, Huntington, Indiana, 46750.

Three former Sierra Leone missionaries from Grace UB church. L-r: Audrey Fiederlein, Kathy Jones, and Shirley Fretz

Shirley Fretz, who served 18 years as a United Brethren missionary in Sierra Leone 1967-1985, passed away Wednesday, September 26, 2018. She had suffered from Huntingtons Disease during the last several years.

Funeral time: 1pm on Saturday, October 6, 2018.
Funeral location: Grace UB church, Sherkston, Ontario

Shirley Fretz

During her 18 years in Africa, Shirley received a letter from her mother nearly every week. The letters often arrived three or four at a time. “She was very happy when I became a missionary,” Shirley said of her mother. “She had been praying for Sierra Leone before I was even born. Tears came every time I left for Africa, but she knew the Lord wanted me there.”

Shirley grew up at Grace UB church in Sherkston, Ontario, a church that has produced a number of missionaries over the years. She dreamed of being a missionary like Olive Weaver and Ruth Benner, two women from the church who were then serving in Sierra Leone. Shirley spent ten years working for law firms, but couldn’t get missions out of her mind. She eventually responded to an altar call by Bishop Clyde W. Meadows, a call to serve Christ wherever God wanted.

Before she knew it, she was contacted by the UB missions office. They needed someone to oversee the Minnie Mull boarding home in Sierra Leone. Was she interested?

Shirley arrived at Minnie Mull in April 1967. The school had over 400 primary-age girls with 104 staying in the boarding home. Shirley procured supplies, kept financial records, helped supervise cooking and laundry, counseled children, and generally served as a mother to over 100 youngsters.

Her second term, which began in August 1971, found her in a whole new role: business manager of Mattru Hospital. She spent the next ten years handling the payroll, bookkeeping, banking, and other non-medical responsibilities. After the 1974 arrival of Dr. Ron Baker, Shirley watched Mattru develop into a thriving hospital.

Shirley decided the hospital needed a male administrator, especially since the culture favored having men in supervisory positions. So after her 1981 furlough, she moved to Bumpe and spent two terms working in Christian education. For four years, she devoted much of her time to the Bumpe Primary School children. After school, kids walked to her house for Bible classes, and she often provided one-on-one spiritual counsel. Later, her job was placed under the direction of the national church’s Christian Education Department. They held clinics and workshops in various districts, helped with the camping program, and emphasized Christian Endeavor.

During her furlough in 1983, Shirley had a difficult decision to make. Her father had been hospitalized with cancer almost continuously since July 1982. Should she stay home and await his death, or return to Sierra Leone in December as scheduled?

Shirley later recalled, “My dad was very alert right up to the end. He knew exactly what was going on, and I’m sure that if I had visited him the day I was supposed to leave for Africa, he’d have said, ‘What happened? Why didn’t you go?’ I knew he would be gone soon, and it would be good for me to be there, but you can’t just stay home and wait for something to happen.” She left at the end of November and arrived in Bumpe on December 6, 1983. The next day she received a telegram saying her father had passed away on December 6.

Bishop Jerry Datema was in Sierra Leone at the time for annual conference. He led a memorial service at the Bumpe church the same day as the memorial service back in Canada. The church was full of people — they didn’t know Shirley’s father, but they knew Shirley. The Bumpe primary children sang a couple of her father’s favorite songs, and then Bishop Datema preached. Shirley said, “It was almost like being home for the funeral.”

Although Shirley fully supported the 1985 nationalization process, it brought an end to her position. Everyone knew Shirley was leaving the country—this time for good —on Monday, August 19. The stream of constant good-byes began on Saturday. “I must have had 50 people visit my house between Saturday afternoon and Monday morning. To Sierra Leoneans, people are important. When they know you are leaving, everybody wants to come and spend time with you. It was rather hard saying good-bye to all the people I had grown close to during my 18 years there, knowing I might not see them again.”

Wanting to remain in some kind of mission work, in December 1985 Shirley became receptionist-bookkeeper for the Brethren in Christ mission office in Stevensville, Ontario.