Around the State: Retired missionaries mark 75 years together

David and Maxine King of Marshall, retired foreign missionaries, celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary on May 12. The couple met in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Olivet Baptist Church and were married there on Mother’s Day in 1946. After King completed his service in the U.S. Air Force, they moved to Brownwood where they earned degrees from Howard Payne College. While he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, King was pastor of churches in Angus, Star and Keller. The Kings were appointed by the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board in 1959 as missionaries to the Middle East and North Africa. During his time teaching at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Beiruit, Lebanon, they lived through 12 years of civil war. After retirement in 1989, he continued teaching Arabic in two-week summer seminars for pastors in Morocco and Algeria. He also taught Bible classes at East Texas Baptist University, where he served as adjunct faculty from 1990 to 1995. The Kings live at the Reunion Inn Assisted Living Facility in Marshall and are members of First Baptist Church of Marshall. A podcast interview with David King is available here.

The McLane family of Temple made a major gift to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor for a new 2,088 square-foot video board at Crusader Stadium. Drayton and Elizabeth McLane—along with their two sons, Drayton III and wife Amy of Salado, and Denton and wife Amy of Birmingham, Ala.—have been longtime supporters of UMHB. In 2012, when the McLane family learned the university was considering building an on-campus stadium, they immediately expressed an interest in the project and provided the largest gift in UMHB history to help build Crusader Stadium, which opened in 2013. “The university has been richly blessed by the friendship and generosity of the McLane family for many years, and we could not be more grateful to them for ensuring that Crusader Stadium remains one of the top venues in the country for NCAA DIII football and many other university programs and activities that take place there,” said UMHB President Randy O’Rear.

Residents, family members, and staff of Baptist Retirement Community in San Angelo recently celebrated the senior living community’s 70th anniversary. “Being able to celebrate 70 years of serving senior adults in San Angelo is even more special after last year,” said Aaron Hargett, executive director of Baptist Retirement Community. “We overcame so much together, and we did it through faith, compassion and perseverance.” Baptist Retirement Community opened its doors in 1951 as the Baptist Memorials Geriatric Hospital, a facility founded to serve patients suffering from tuberculosis that transitioned to senior residential living. In 2010, Baptist Retirement Community became affiliated with Buckner Retirement Services. Today, Baptist Retirement Community is home to more than 500 senior adults in its independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing residences and helping residents navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, Baptist Retirement Community completed renovations on 21,000-square feet of amenity spaces within the Henley-Mabee High Rise, part of the community’s $8.4 million renovation project. The renovation transformed the building’s main lobby and dining spaces to improve efficiency, enhance wayfinding and create elevated environments where residents can socialize and connect.

Retirement

Rick Erwin after 33 years as pastor of Proctor Baptist Church in Port Arthur and more than 50 years in the ministry. A reception is scheduled from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. June 13 at Proctor Baptist Church.