IL

News Release to Horizons

April 28,1997
. From Dr. Paul P. Clark, President
^ OsakaBible Seminary
,^97
/ . . GEORGE BECKMAN
Q/LLcJc
On April 22, 1997, veteran missionary to Japan, George Beckman, 79, completed his
passage into the Lord's presence after lying unconscious in the hospital for six weeks. Over
the last years he had also been a victim of both Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Diseases.
Bom July 28, 1917, in Charles Mix County, South Dakota, to Willie and Anna
Beckman, he graduated fromPlatte High School, Platte, SD, in 1937; Wayne State Teachers'
College, Wayne, NE, in 1941; and Manhattan Bible College, Manhattan, KS, in 1943. He
studied at Butler School of Religion, Indianapolis, IN, until June 1948 and later received his
M.A. degree from Lincoln Christian Seminary in June 1967. He held ministries in Lincoln,
NE, Jasonville, IN, and Seymour, IN.
George and Ethel (Brown) Beckman, who would have celebrated their 50^ wedding
anniversary in June 1997, were among the first of our missionaries to go to Osaka, Japan,
after World War II, arriving in December 1948. They would soon be joined by the Martin
Clarks and Ray Mingses; all three families worked with Osaka Bible Seminary. The Paul
Nielsens and the Harold Coles were already there.
Brother George was headof the NewTestament Department of Osaka BibleSeminary
for many years, teaching Greek and New Testament until his retirement in 1992, when he was
made Professor Emeritus. He taught Greek to Brother Akira Oda, OBS Professor of Greek
and New Testament, who went on to write and publish the first Japanese-Greek Lexicon after
the war. It is still used extensively in Bible colleges of all groups in Japan. Through his
students, George's influence has been multiplied and will continue imtil the Lord retums.
The Beckmans were also instrumental in starting and working with several churches in the
Osaka area during their 49 year ministry in Japan. Even at the age of 71, they helped start a
new congregation, Megumi (Grace) Church of Christ, in Takarazuka, Japan.
Their four children, John, Jenann, Mary, and Ruth, were bom and raised in Japan.
John is a medical doctor in Cheyenne, WY, specializing in gastro enterology. Jenann
Beckman is the financial secretary and librarian at OBS. Mary Beckman, a Ph.D., teaches in
linguistics at Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. Ruth and her husband Dave Hinson
have been missionaries in Japan since 1980. George's grandson Levi Hinson is a student at
OBS. His wife Ethel will remain in Japan and work with tlie Megumi church. Besides these
family members, he is also survived by a brother, Clyde, a sister, Alice Kubal, and three other
grandchildren, Miriam Hinson, Anna Beckman, and Jennifer Beckman.
A quiet, smiling gentleman with a dry sense of humor. Brother George will be
remembered fondly by former students and fellow missionaries alike. One missionary wrote,
"He modeled Christian commitment and academic excellence in a way that has been and will
continue to be a source of strength in our lives." An MK daughter wrote, "Another
missionary giving his life to another people and dying on the field^I don't think there will be
many more of those types of persons." He and Ethel are an example of faithfulness, loyalty,
and perseverance in their calling to serve in Japan. "Well done, thou good and faithful
servant!"