WACO—Seth Dorrell, 32-year-old director of Mission Waco’s global arm—Mission World—died of a heart attack June 16 while he was serving on a mission trip in Mexico with his family.
Dorrell’s heart attack was believed to be related to his two-year battle with cancer, his family said.
His father, Jimmy Dorell, founder and executive director of Mission Waco/Mission World, told the Waco Tribune-Herald his family had been traveling to Mexico for humanitarian missions since his son was 5 years old. Seth Dorell spent his last days working with homeless people and orphaned children with physical or mental disabilities.
The Baylor University graduate had worked at MissionWaco/Mission World two years. He had been involved in community development in Philadelphia and Haiti, as well as in Waco and Mexico.
“The family and our community are grieving the loss of Seth,” Kathy Wise, assistant director of Mission Waco, told the Waco Tribune-Herald. “He had a passion for the poor and marginalized of the world and lived a life of love.”
Jimmy and Janet Dorrell moved into a blighted neighborhood in North Waco in the late 1970s with their young children to live among people in need. More than 20 years ago, their experience in what they called “incarnational living” launched Mission Waco. The $2.5 million Christian organization focuses on community development and transformation in Waco, and through its Mission World branch, it reaches out to the poor in Mexico, Haiti and India.
Dorrell is survived by his father and mother; wife, Sarah; daughter, Finley; and siblings, Josh, Zach and Crystlania.
His funeral will be at 11 a.m., June 22 at Oakcrest Funeral Home in Waco. The family requested donations in his honor be made to Mission Waco/Mission World.
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.