Ted H. Cripe

Ted H. Cripe, 86, of Goshen, went to be with his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on Saturday, April 13, 2019 at Goshen Hospital.

Ted suffered the past six and a half years with kidney and heart diseases ending with congestive heart failure when the Lord called him Home.

He was born August 7, 1932 in Goshen Hospital to Theodore J. and Alice (Eby) Cripe.  Ted attended Dell’s School for the first eight grades and then went on to Goshen High School, where he graduated in 1950.

Ted received the Lord as his Saviour during evangelistic meetings at West Goshen Church of the Brethren, when he was 12 years old.  Having a desire to serve the Lord, in 1951 Ted chose to go with the Brethren Volunteer Service, hoping to go to Germany.  The Lord had other plans for him and he was sent to Hastings, Minnesota to work in the State Mental Hospital (the last place he wanted to go).

A month after arriving in Hastings, he was introduced, by mutual friends, to Kay Pederson, in an ice cream parlour.  Kay was heading for nurse’s training and was working in the local hospital.  Engaged or married girls were not accepted in the nursing schools at that time.  Love blossomed and grew and they were married in the First Baptist Church on 17 January 1953 in Hastings, Minnesota.

To that marriage the Lord gave them six children; Rodney (deceased), Susan (Bob Kulp), Beverly (Jack McMahan), Nathan (Susan), Bonita (Charlie Frink), and Joel (deceased).

Ted faithfully taught Sunday School for years at West Goshen.  In 1958 they purchased a farm with Ted’s brother, Dave, near Cassopolis, Michigan. That move led to a change in churches and the following year they began driving into Elkhart to attend Grace Bible Church.  Missions were emphasized at Grace Bible and the Lord began working in Ted’s life.

In the summer of 1962, they attended a Bible Conference at Gull Lake in Michigan.  God spoke to Ted and also Kay at that time and they committed themselves to serving the Lord “wherever He led”.  That led them to Appalachian Bible Institute in Bradley, West Virginia.  Ted thrived on the teaching he was getting and put it into practice by pastoring the Glen View Independent Baptist Church for three years.

Ted and Kay applied to United Faith Mission, now known as Biblical Ministries Worldwide, to serve in the South Pacific.  Although they wanted to go to Western Samoa, the mission asked them to go to New Zealand and work with the Polynesians there.

They sailed for New Zealand, with five children in December 1967.  They faithfully served the Lord in a church planting ministry for 38 years and loved it.  Some of the places they either served in planting a church or in teaching Bible classes are: Turangi, Raetihi, Taupo, Hamilton, Otara, Kaukapakapa, Waiheke Island, TeAtatu South and Clevedon.

He also taught at Maranatha Bible College.  Ted was a good Bible teacher, expository preacher, and children’s worker.  He loved God’s Word and serving the Lord.  The blessing was seeing “kids” he once worked with now pastoring churches, serving as missionaries or in their local church.

In addition to his parents and two sons, Rodney and Joel, he was preceded in death by a grandson, Seth McMahan, a great-granddaughter, Coraline McClure, and brothers, William “Bill” and David Cripe.

In addition to his wife of 66 years, Kay; he is survived by a son, Nathan (Susan) Cripe, Freeport, Ohio; three daughters, Susan (Robert) Kulp, Elkhart, Beverly (Jack) McMahan, Wellington, New Zealand, and Bonita (Charlie) Frink, West Auckland, New Zealand; 12 grandchildren, Melissa (Greg) Smith, Roanoke, Virginia, Aimee (Matt) McClure, Fort Wayne, Monika (Rob) Daugherty, Martinsburg, West Virginia, Luke (Jasmine) McMahan, Whangarei, New Zealand, Katrina (Kelly) Boyce, Grafton, West Virginia, Jacinda (Ben) Golden, Jacksonville, Florida, Lorisa (Tony) Wiedenheft, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, Richelle Cripe, Boulder, Colorado, Alicia (Benji) Cooley, Harrisonburg, Virginia, Shiloh (Bryce) Stone, Columbia, Pennsylvania, Caleb (Danae) Frink, Vienna, West Virginia, Abigail Frink (fiancé Danniel Acosta), Queens Village, New York City, New York; 28 great-grandchildren; a brother, Paul (Sandy) Cripe, Bothell, Washington; and cousins, other relatives and friends in the United States and New Zealand.

Visitation will be Friday, April 26, 2019 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Yoder-Culp Funeral Home, 1911 South Main St., Goshen with the family skyping New Zealand from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

There will also be one hour of visitation Saturday, April 27, 2019 prior to the 10 a.m. funeral service at First Baptist Church, 1011 South Indiana Ave., Goshen. Ted’s son, Nathan Cripe will officiate.

Burial will follow at West Goshen Cemetery, Goshen.

Memorial gifts may be given to the family and will be divided among his four children.  We have no greater joy than to know our children are serving the Lord.