Lynford Becker, 94, Mennonite Brethren pastor and church planter who served as the first president of MB Foundation and was the U.S. Conference lead staff member, died Jan. 9 in Hillsboro, Kan.
“Lynford was a leader who never sought center stage but helped us young leaders find our way,” said Dennis Fast in Christian Leader, the U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches magazine. “He loved the Mennonite Brethren and poured all of his gifts into keeping us together and also shaping a vision for growth. He was deeply committed to church planting.”
Born July 6, 1930, near Fairview, Okla., Becker graduated from Grace Bible Institute in 1954.
He and Ruby, who were married in 1951, served as the pastoral couple from 1954 to 1958 at Ingalls, Kan., and were the founding pastoral couple of Koerner Heights MB Church in Newton, Kan., from 1958 to 1964.
They moved in 1965 to Adams, Okla., to serve as the pastoral couple of the MB church there before relocating in 1968 to Enid, where Becker was lead pastor at Enid MB Church for nearly 12 years. While there, Becker was chair of the Southern District Conference, served on the board of Tabor College and chaired the Oklahoma Mennonite Relief Sale for its first five years.
“Ruby and I have always been a team. Serving in the churches was always as a pastoral couple,” he wrote in a reflection on his life. “. . . While some of my activity may seem to be the more noticeable, it is certainly not the most important. Ruby’s role as wife, mother, housekeeper, etc., has been just as important and from my perspective more important than any of my activities.”
The Beckers moved to Hillsboro in the early 1980s for Becker to work in Tabor’s Advancement Office. He became U.S. Conference secretary from 1983 to 1986, conference minister from 1986 to 1988 and administrative secretary from 1988 to 2000.
At the same time, MB Foundation was established, with Becker its first president in 1991. He transitioned to the role of vice president in 1998, retiring to Enid as he continued working with constituents through planned giving until 2003.
He is survived by his wife, Ruby; son Marlin; daughters Debra, Marla and Rhonda; 10 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by a son, Gary.
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