Earl Sears
Obituary
Earl Sears, of Goshen, Indiana, died on
Friday (April 6, 2018) at Goshen Hospital, surrounded by close family
members. Earl was born on Jan. 10, 1935, to Harvey and Dina Camp
Sears. Earl and his four brothers grew up in Tazwell County,
Illinois, and attended Metamora Church.
A conscientious objector during the
Korean War, Earl did 1-W service in Goshen. He earned a degree in
secondary education at Goshen College where he met his wife, Jane
Falb, who he married on June 18, 1961. Earl received his masters in
Divinity from the Mennonite Seminary in Goshen, attended Harvard
Divinity School as a fellow in the Merrill Program and earned his
doctorate of Ministry at the Claremont School of Theology.
Earl served his first congregation,
Waldo Mennonite Church, from 1964 to 1968 in Flanagan, Illinois,
before moving to Southside Fellowship in Elkhart, Indiana, where he
remained until 1987. He served from 1987 to 1997 at Faith Mennonite
Church in Newton. In retirement, he pastored the Mennonite Church of
Boston and Union Church in Brasilia, Brazil.
In addition to ministry, Earl's calling
included work for peace and justice. He cofounded the Victim Offender
Reconciliation Program, worked in prison ministry, established gun
buyback programs and advocated for refugees through the Sanctuary
movement. The family lived for one year in Asunción, Paraguay, where
he and Jane taught at Asunción Christian Academy.
Earl deeply valued his upbringing on
his family's farm. In 2000, he and Jane retired to pursue
conservation work in Illinois, where they also cherished
relationships with nearby family and actively contributed to the
Illinois Mennonite Heritage Center. In 2015, they moved to Goshen and
joined Eighth Street Mennonite Church.
Earl is survived by his wife, Jane
(Goshen, Indiana); daughter, Carmen Logue (Acton, Massachusetts) and
her husband Kevin Logue; daughter, Jeanette Sears (Clinton, Ontario)
and her husband Roger Stryker; daughter, Jennifer Sears (Brooklyn,
New York); and five grandchildren: Marije, Anneke and Karsten Sears
Stryker, and Ethan and Joseph Logue.
Donations may be made to Mennonite
Central Committee or Eighth Street Mennonite Church.
Online condolences may be shared at
www.yoderculpfuneralhome.com.
