Former JAARS Board Member and Leader in Bible Translation Dies at Age 81

Thursday, January 20, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WAXHAW, N.C. — January 20, 2011 — Dr. John Bendor-Samuel, a former JAARS board member, died on January 6 after being struck by a car near his home in England. He invested most of his life in Bible translation—as a linguist, a leader in Africa, and an executive director of Wycliffe International and SIL International.

"Dr. John Bendor-Samuel was a man I greatly admired," says Eldon "Butch" Barkman, our interim president. Barkman served as president of JAARS from 1988 to 1994, and he says he was "richly blessed" to work with Bendor-Samuel, who was then the executive director of SIL and a JAARS board member.

"Even in disagreement, he always treated everyone with loving respect," says Barkman. "He was a gentleman in every respect of the word. My wife and I always felt prayed for—just because he and his wife, Pam, said they would. ...

"He was the Cameron Townsend of Africa, envisioning that national organizations should be more involved in the Bible translation movement across that great continent. Heaven rejoices at his entry, and we say goodbye to another great pioneer within our organization."

To learn more about Bendor-Samuel, read:

###

"Email,