REMEMBERED

Estella Boggs Horning, who was a member of York Center Church of the Brethren in Lombard, passed away the afternoon of Sunday, June 1, after she had joined the congregation's worship via Zoom that morning. She had gone to stay with family in Colorado at the time of her death. Estella was an ordained minister in the Church of the Brethren who served as professor of Biblical studies at Bethany Theological Seminary until her retirement. She was previously a mission worker in Ecuador and Nigeria for two decades with her husband, John, whom she married in Chicago in 1951; John passed away in late 2007. Estella had also served on the editorial council for the Believers Church Bible Commentary series for more than 20 years and co-wrote the "Hebrews" title of that series. She earned her doctorate from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary and Northwestern University. She continued to be an active member of the church in her retirement. Her daughter, Carolyn Neher, serves as associate director of Children's Disaster Services for the denomination. Arrangements are pending. Our prayers are with all of her family and friends in this time of loss.

Earle W. Fike Jr., 95, a former pastor of the Chicago First congregation (1957-1963), passed away May 30 in his native Virginia. A graduate of Bridgewater College and Bethany Theological Seminary, Earle served as moderator of Annual Conference in 1982 and in a variety of other denominational leadership roles, including on General Board staff and as a member of the General Board and as a professor at Bethany. He also pastored the Meyersdale (Pa.), Elizabethtown (Pa.), and Stone (Huntingdon, Pa.) congregations and was a prolific writer. He was married to his late wife, Jean, for 62 years. A celebration of life service for Earle will be held on July 19 at 2 p.m. Eastern at Bridgewater (Va.) Church of the Brethren. We are grateful for his long service and ministry to the church.

Michael (Mike) Brian Leiter died unexpectedly on May 13 at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Md., after a brief and sudden illness. At the time of his death, he was a client services manager at Eder Financial, a role he began in 2023. Previously he had served in Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) in Colorado and then was hired by the Church of the Brethren as co-staff sharing a position in international personnel and BVS recruitment at the General Offices in Elgin from 1988-1989. He later worked in several other church-related ministries in following years including the Brethren Retirement Community in Greenville, Ohio; Cross Keys Village in New Oxford, Pa.; Fahrney-Keedy Home and Village in Boonsboro, Md.; and briefly with On Earth Peace. He had served on the board of Brethren Benefit Trust, now Eder Financial. He was a resident of Frederick, Md., for almost 26 years, and a member of Living Stream Church of the Brethren, a virtual congregation. A memorial service was held on June 14 in Frederick, Md.