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Olivet Remembers a Great Hero

Olivet University Honorary Chairman Dr. Ralph D. Winter died on May 20 at his home in Pasadena, California, following a long battle with cancer. He was 84.

In the days after his passing, members across the University community reflected prayerfully on his life and work, as well as his commitment to Olivet University.

"Dr. Winter has our gratitude for his lasting contributions to Olivet University," said Dr. David Randolph, president of Olivet University.

In recent years, Dr. Winter served as Honorary Chairman of Olivet University, visiting the campus to participate in University events and consulting University officials on matters of importance from his offices in Pasadena.  In 2007, Olivet University celebrated the official renaming of the University library to the Ralph D. Winter Library with a dedication service and ribbon cutting ceremony.

"Dr. Ralph Winter was perhaps the most influential person in missions of the last 50 years," said Professor of Olivet Theological College & Seminary Dr. Joseph Ray Tallman, a friend and admirer of Dr. Winter.

A Christian missionary and professor of missions, Dr. Winter was named one of America’s 25 most influential evangelicals by Time magazine in 2005. He also founded the Pasadena-based U.S. Center for World Mission (USCWM), a research institute for Christian mission, and the related William Carey International University. Both institutions shaped the work of missionaries and mission scholars for an entire generation.

"A great hero has fallen, but a hero also has risen for the cause of Jesus Christ," added Tallman, whose courses often reference Dr. Winter’s writings and strategies.

"I’ve had the privilege of studying Dr. Winter’s writings and hearing him speak on one occasion, recalled Jenny Guo, a third-year Master of Divinity student. “The way he explained everything from a Biblical worldview opened my eyes more completely to God’s hand at work in history and the world today,” she said.

Winter is survived by his second wife, Barbara; daughters Elizabeth Gill, Rebecca Lewis, Linda Dorr and Patricia Johnson; 14 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and two brothers.

A memorial service is scheduled for 3 p.m. June 28 at Lake Avenue Congregational Church, 393 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena. For more information and an opportunity to share significant memories of Dr. Winter, visit www.uscwm.org.

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