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Light a Candle
Ever since I can remember, my father Earl was deeply caring and stood for the right- to uphold the standard for Christ. He was willing to struggle to deepen his understanding of how to serve God and his fellow man. May God grant us the grace to do the same.
On Earl : A professor writes, "I met Earl Stevick...He was lecturing to some trainees...and I happened to walk through the auditorium. I stopped and thought, "This guy knows what he's talking about!" and sat down and listened to the rest of the lecture.
Dad was born in Sioux City, Iowa and raised in Joplin, Missouri. One of the churches that his father Paul's congregations built was the Chitwood Church. The beautiful stone church is still there today. At one time there was a mural with Christ's arms outstretched over the Joplin miners at the front of the church. It was near there that Dad used to sit on the steps of his home and read the license plates from different parts of the country. His mother Elizabeth was a much loved school teacher.
His father promoted him going to Harvard and so it was. It was with this experience that Earl realized that he was a good example of what the system could do. But he was not satisfied with the system. So he chose to follow the narrow path and do what God was aking him to do and leave the results for the Lord. Thus, began his career as a teacher. One who did not try to establish his authority but to prepare the student to learn. In 1948 he married Betty Rae Culp. She worked to help him get through his master's and doctorate degrees. They both had high hopes for each other, which were not disappointed.
His first book, Learning English as a Second Language was one of a handful of books on the subject at the end of World War II. We were in African countries 1956- 1958. There Dad was helping establish ways for the missionaries to learn the languages. It was at this time the USIA contacted him about developing English as a Second Language programs. He started working with the Peace Corps. His books included Memory, Meaning and Method and A Way and Ways.
In 1960 we moved to Arlington, Virginia where Dad rode his bicycle everyday to work at the Foreign Service Institute. At FSI there was a need to shorten the time it took to learn languages. He was instrumental in this process.
By this time all of his children were born; Becky, Marian and Joel. Becky devoted much time to carrying for her parents and currently runs a bed and breakfast in Lexington, VA: EnfieldHouse. I am a writer, LPN and integrated reflexologist. I would like to invite you to visit DesignersHealth.wordpress.com. Joel has the gift to encourage and is a software engineer (digital languages!)
Dad is missed but his memory is emblazoned on our hearts.
