Martha King Deibler, 90, died Feb. 5, 2025, at Go Ye Village in Tahlequah, Okla. She was born June 10, 1934, in Crawford County, Pa., to Nelson and Anna (Roth) King.
After high school, she worked for a number of years in a small church in eastern Ohio. After graduating from Ontario Mennonite Bible Institute in 1964 and Malone College in 1967, she served in Guatemala for 25 years with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Known for her energy and kindness, she was quick to share Jesus or pray with anyone in need. Her first assignment was the revision of the New Testament that Wycliffe founder William Cameron Townsend had done in a dialect of Cakchiquel. Then she served as translation supervisor in two other dialects and as a translation consultant.
In 1992 she came to Ohio to care for her widowed mother. After her mother’s death in 1997, she felt led of God to remain in Ohio, which she did until she married Ellis Deibler in 2004. Together they worked in Bible translation at the mission agency JAARS in North Carolina and traveled to various countries checking translation of books of the Bible in a number of languages, including trips to India and Papua New Guinea. On the JAARS campus, they loved meeting younger workers and sharing their home for friendship and mentoring. In 2015 they moved to Go Ye Village, where they continued working in Bible translation.
Martha was a member of Hillside Church in Tahlequah. She had a big heart for her Lord and Savior, his Word and those around her.
She is survived by Ellis’ five children, 18 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband in 2020, a brother who died in infancy, six half-brothers and sisters and several nieces and nephews.
