ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Mission Network)—John E. Beachy, a 23-year mission worker in India, died Monday afternoon at the age of 92 at his home in Goshen, Ind.
John and Miriam, his wife, served in Bihar, India—now Jharkhand—with Mennonite Board of Missions, a predecessor agency to Mennonite Mission Network, from 1948 to 1971.
Beachy (College Mennonite Church in Goshen) was born Aug. 12, 1918, in Plain City, Ohio, to Eli C. and MaryAnn (Kauffman) Beachy. On Aug. 29, 1942, he married Miriam Weaver of Goshen.
While in India, Beachy supervised the building of the homes of three mission workers and Nav Jiwan Hospital. He created and was the principal of a pastors’ training school, served alongside Indian pastors, and planned for Indian leadership of the church in Bihar. In 1966, he directed a large famine relief effort in Bihar which grew into an agricultural development program.
Beachy was also instrumental in developing hostels where children from rural villages could live and attend good public schools. As a result, many of the children who would not have had the opportunity for a good education were able to become leaders in the church, the medical field and other community services.
Myra Danielson of Morden, Manitoba, grew up in Bihar near John and Miriam—whom she called Uncle John and Aunt Miriam—as the daughter of mission workers Milton and Esther Vogt. She remembers that John planned and supervised the construction of the mission workers’ homes. They built them from scratch, including molding and drying the bricks. He used his creativity to overcome some of the challenges mission workers there faced—the lack of heat and running water, and the abundance of snakes.
He designed fireplaces for heat in the winter, and a running water system for flush toilets. He also came up with a snake-proof entryway, pouring cement over a pipe to create a lip that snakes couldn’t pass through to get into the houses.
He also had a strong aesthetic. Danielson said her house had polished red cement floors in the dining and living rooms.
“He built really lovely homes for the missionaries,” she said, “and they were so practical and well designed. He just thought things through very carefully.”
She also remembers his gifts at relating to his Indian neighbors, including Hindus and Muslims. She said he was a good listener and sought to understand their beliefs before sharing his own.
John F. Lapp, Mennonite Mission Network’s director for Asia, said Beachy was always “thinking mission,” even years after returning from India.
“An important part of his responsibility in the mission field in Bihar was to build some of the necessary physical structures, such as bungalows and the new mission hospital,” Lapp said. “But John was called for far more than just brick and mortar; he was called for nothing less than to build a new society—whether in India or here in North America – in preparation for God to create God’s kingdom.”
Beachy graduated from Goshen College and Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary before heading to India.
In 1972, John began work as director of finance and services with Mennonite Publishing House, Scottdale, Pa., retiring in 1985. In 1995, following 10 years in Sarasota, Fla., where he served in church and conference assignments, he moved to Goshen.
Surviving are his wife, Miriam; two sons, John Allen of DeKalb, Ill., and Kenton (Rhonda) of London, Ohio; two daughters, Cheryl Jo (David) Paulovich of Phoenix and Lynette (Leon) Bauman of Goshen; 11 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; two brothers, Alvin (Donna) and Eli (Katie) Beachy Jr.; and three sisters, Betty Lyles, Anna Christner and Lena (Omar) Showalter.
He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers Jonas, Neil, Noah and infant brother Leroy; and a sister, Florence B. Hostetler.
Visitation will be from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Yoder-Culp Funeral Home in Goshen. A private burial service will be at Violett Cemetery. The memorial service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at College Mennonite Church. The Rev. June Alliman Yoder will officiate.
Memorials may be directed to Mennonite Central Committee or Mennonite Mission Network for the Bihar Mennonite Church, India.
##
Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, leads, mobilizes and equips the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Media may contact Andrew Clouse at andrewc@mmnworld.net, 574-523-3024 or 866-866-2872, ext. 23024.