In Memoriam: Barbara Nixon Clark (May 29, 1942—November 18, 2020)

Elder Jeff Clark and beloved wife, Barbara.

Well done thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord (Matthew 25:21). 

A funeral service of worship in praise to God through Christ and with thanksgiving for the life and ministry of our sister will be held at Christ Reformed Baptist Church (2997 Courthouse Road, Louisa, Virginia 23093) on Monday, November 23, 2020 at 2:00 pm. The family will greet friends in the Fellowship Hall after the service. Interment will be private.

JTR

"absent from the body ...present with the Lord": David Larlham

Image: David Larlham (left) at the Lynchburg RB Mission, September 2019.

I received the note below today from a friend with news of the passing of David Larlham:

Just a quick email to let you know that we have received the sad news that our esteemed brother David Larlham was called home suddenly this morning following a heart attack.  But we rejoice that he is now “with Christ; which is far better” and has heard those blessed words “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

I know that all our hearts will go out in deepest sympathy to Monica, the immediate and wider family, and to David’s “church family” at Camberwell, who we know he loved so dearly.

I have been sent this link to the last sermon that David preached at Camberwell, only just over two weeks ago:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AApUIWhSzpU.

Further details concerning the funeral will follow as they become available.

It was my pleasure to meet David and his wife Monica last September while they were on vacation in the area and attended worship at CRBC.

I did the interview below as WM 131 with David in which he gives his testimony and tells of his career as a banker and then his second career as Assistant to the General Secretary of the Trinitarian Bible Society:

The interview makes clear David's love for his family, his church, and the Bible as the Word of God. Most importantly, it provides a clear testimony to his faith and hope in Christ.

"absent from the body ... present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8).

JTR

Thomas D. Howie (1908-1944): "The Major of St-Lô"

Images: Kable Hall and the memorial to Thomas D. Howie on the old campus of SMA, Staunton, Virginia, May 25, 2020

Somehow it has become something of a tradition for the Riddle family to go play some tennis on Memorial Day.  Today with the courts closed down in Charlottesville and Albemarle, we made the trip over to nearby Staunton and played on the courts at Mary Baldwin College.

The courts are in a back section of the college, which was formerly the campus of the Staunton Male Academy, later known as the Staunton Military Academy, or SMA (a designation still prominently stamped in various places on campus). The school existed from 1884-1976. After the school closed, the property was sold to the adjacent Mary Baldwin. Notable alamuni of SMA include 1964 Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, folk singer Phil Ochs, and Tarheel basketball legend Lenny Rosenbluth (see the SMA Wikipedia article).

On a walk through this part of campus today, I stopped in front of Kable Hall, once the main dormitory at SMA, where there is a central memorial to Thomas D. Howie (April 12, 1908-July 17, 1944). Howie was a teacher and coach at SMA who died in France during the liberation of Normandy. For the Battle of St-Lô, see this article. A granite plaque records that he had challenged his troops in battle by saying, "I'll see you in St-Lô." It continues: "After he fell they entered the city and placed his flag draped coffin in the ruins of Sainte Croix Church." It then adds: "Wherefore in his nation's history, he is 'The Major of St-Lô.'" The memorial closes: "Dead in France, Deathless in Fame."

It seemed a fitting place to pause today as we enjoyed and considered the freedom given us by previous generations.

JTR

Memorials to Rev. John J. Murray

Note: I received the email (with links) below from my friend Sherman Isbell yesterday and thought others might profit from it. I remember reading Murray's booklet Behind a Frowning Providence several years ago and was edified by it. 

Dear friends,

A friend of mine going back fifty years, Rev. John J. Murray, died recently in Scotland from the coronavirus. He was a minister of my denomination, the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing). In the 1960s and 1970s he was one of the editors at the Banner of Truth Trust, and then studied for the ministry, overlapping my time in the same seminary in Edinburgh. After he became a pastor one of his three children, Lynda, died in 1980 at the age of fourteen, and he wrote the booklet, Behind a Frowning Providence. More recently, his daughter Anna died of pancreatic cancer in 2019.

John's son Andy is a social worker with a Christian relief organization, Bethany Christian Trust. Andy has a fine blog, "Ragged Theology." There Andy has provided some fascinating tributes to his father and to his sister Anna, including a film and a written account about Anna and her Christian testimony. The blog address is http://raggedtheology.blogspot.com/.

The funeral sermon for John was preached by William MacLeod of Glasgow, formerly of Portree, and may be heard here: http://bible-sermons.org.uk/audio-sermons/4712-their-works-do-follow-them/. Andy also made a video with reflections at the cemetery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5fBxgJO7ro.

Here is an earlier tribute that Andy wrote in 2018 to mark his father's forty years in the ministry, and laying out the emphases of his preaching and life:

https://raggedtheology.blogspot.com/2018/12/an-enduring-legacy.html.

Here is Andy on twitter, writing about his Christian social work:

https://twitter.com/realandymurray.

Behind a Frowning Providence:

https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/christian-living/behind-a-frowning-providence/.

-Sherman        

The Vision (5/20/10): In Memoriam: R. William LaGrange (1936-2010)

On Wednesday afternoon, May 19, 2010, our brother Bill LaGrange went to be with the Lord. Bill was born in Endicott, New York and worked for over 35 years with IBM. While a student at Rider University Bill met and married Judi. The Lord blessed their union with three daughters and twelve grandchildren.

The biggest event in Bill’s life happened when he was 38 years old. At the time, the LaGranges were living in Northern Virginia. Some friends at Bill’s workplace kept bugging him about going to their church. He finally went and was converted under the preaching of the gospel. A month and a half later, Judi was also converted. Bill’s life began to change dramatically. Before his conversion he was a self-confessed “golf bum” with an overly competitive spirit. The only reading he did was Golf Digest and Sports Illustrated. After he was converted he gave up golf completely. He developed a passion for reading and studying the Bible. That led to reading other Christian books, especially the works of Reformed writers like D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and R. C. Sproul.

After Bill retired from IBM he threw his life into Christian service. He and Judi became founding members of a church plant in Burlington, Vermont that was meeting in a classroom at a local university. Bill became an Elder there while Judi became the church secretary. That little plant, Christ Memorial Church, eventually became a thriving congregation and the mother church for numerous church plants across New England.

Just a couple of years ago, Bill and Judi decided to retire and move to Charlottesville. Bill had suffered with a blood disease, and he wanted to escape the harsh New England winters. Soon after moving to Virginia, however, Bill’s health began to decline. Most troublesome was the development of an aggressive skin cancer on his arm. Last November, Bill was told that the skin cancer was beyond treatment and that he would soon die. Bill’s prayer was that he would be able to “to finish well.”

Though told he had mere weeks to live, the Lord had other purposes and Bill’s life was graciously extended for more than six months. During that time, he and Judi became founding participants at another church plant, Christ Reformed Baptist Church. Bill was there on the very first Lord’s Day when we met in January and missed only one Lord’s Day gathering up until four weeks ago. Over the last few months I often sought Bill’s valued counsel as we moved forward with our church.

We will miss Bill greatly. We grieve alongside Judi and her family but not as men who have no hope. We find great comfort in knowing that Bill has finished his course and is now engaged full time in the very thing he enjoyed most while here on earth, worshipping his Lord.

There will be a service of worship to offer thanks to God for Bill’s life at 11:00 am on Monday, May 24th at the Hill and Wood Funeral Home in Charlottesville. A graveside service will follow at Riverview Cemetery. There will also be a reception following the graveside service at 1410 Incarnation Drive (Suite 202-B) hosted by CRBC.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

In Memoriam: Howard Anderson (1943-2009)

Yesterday (Sunday, July 19, 2009) I led in one of the most difficult funeral services I think I have ever had to do as a Pastor. My dear friend Howard Anderson died unexpectedly in a boating accident near Gloucester, Virginia last Wednesday, July 15th. Howard was a regular reader and contributor to this blog. It was not at all uncommon for him to call me on the phone when a post went up to discuss whatever issue or comment was being addressed. I always looked forward in particular to seeing him at our Wednesday evening meeting at JPBC and touching base on how the week was going. The last two years, Howard went with me to the Banner of Truth ministers conference, where I was richly edified not only by the conference but perhaps more particularly by our fellowship and conversation.

Howard was an accomplished man. He graduated from UVA and had a distinguished career as an accountant. As I noted yesterday, Howard also had diverse and multi-faceted interests in aviation (he was a skilled pilot who had accomplished a life-long dream in 1994 when he built his home in Scottsville so that he could walk out of his house to his hangar, plane, and runway [which doubled as his driveway]), music (he loved bluegrass and gospel music and could play the guitar, banjo, and mandolin, among other instruments), writing, and theology (he loved the doctrines of grace!).

He and his wife Joan had a peculiarly satisfying marriage union in which Howard’s love for Joan so clearly reflected Christ’s love for the church. Our hearts have been broken for Joan as we have grieved alongside her this past week.

According to God’s Providence, the Lord’s Day before Howard’s death (July 12th) our church had gathered at the Anderson’s home for our July Church Family Fellowship. In the meeting Howard had picked up his guitar and led us in singing the hymn, "Because He Lives." As we reminded each other yesterday, we grieve not as men who have no hope (1 Thess 4:13). Howard could say with Paul, "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain" (Phil 1:21). We find immense comfort in that.

JTR

In Memoriam: Brian Hamrick

I got a call from a Pastor friend last Saturday evening telling me that our mutual friend Brian Hamrick had passed away at age 33. Brian leaves behind a wife, Katherine, and two young sons, Nathan (4) and Luke (1).

Brian was a native of Richmond, Virginia and attended Southwestern Baptist Seminary. I got to know him while he was serving as Pastor of the Fairfields Baptist Church in Burgess, VA in the Northern Neck. He was also part of the Evangelical Forum.

We printed an excellent article from Brian on the subject of church discipline in the summer 2006 Evangelical Forum Newsletter titled "If there is sin, what then?" (look here on pp. 44-52). It was adapted from a sermon he had preached in April 2006 at the annual meeting of the Rappahannock Baptist Association. He also did an article on our 2005 Evangelical Forum meeting for the Founder's blog. I recall when he told me he was moving to Florida to become pastor of the First Baptist Church of Clewiston, I told him that this was really going to be a loss to those of us who had been so encouraged by his fellowship in Virginia and in the Evangelical Forum.

Tom Ascol has offered some insightful reflections on Brian's death on his blog. Tom describes a visit with Brian:

I visited with Brian last Sunday night during one of his more difficult times. I read Augustine's favorite Psalm to him (Psalm 32) and before we prayed, he said, "Tom, I want you to know that I am ready for whatever the Lord has for me. If He heals me, I am ready. If not, I am ready for that, too. It's OK." His grip was as strong as his faith and I left encouraged by the obvious display of God's grace in his life. I grieve over our loss.

I remember Brian as a big, tall (he stood 6' 6''), handsome, articulate, intelligent, warm, and able young man. He loved the Lord, He loved his family. He loved the local church. I don't know all the circumstances of his death. Just a few weeks ago he was in the pulpit. He had some intestinal surgery. He developed sepsis. And now he has gone to be with the Lord. His death is a reminder that no man knows his time. It also brought to mind the last verse of "Soldiers of Christ, in Truth Arrayed":

We meet to part, but part to meet

When earthly labors are complete,

To join in yet more blest employ,

In an eternal world of joy.

A funeral service will be held at 11 am on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at FBC-Clewiston, Florida. A memorial serivice will also be held on at 2 pm on Friday, May 1, 2009 at Huguenot Road Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia.

JTR