Viewing: 4:00-6:00 PM
Funeral: 6:00 PM
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Slide Show of Marvin’s life
OBITUARY
Marvin Leech, Missionary Who Inspired Us All to ‘Tell the Story!”
The passionate storyteller spent over a quarter century developing discipleship materials for followers of Jesus in Indonesia.
Marvin Leech, also known as Pak Sumarli by many of the Indonesian leaders he discipled, passed away on Thursday evening at 10:43 PM surrounded by his wife Linda, his three children Kyle, Kim and Keith, their spouses Jill, Trey and Katy and many of his grandchildren. But the news of his death was felt in communities on the other side of the world.
A missionary and theologian known for his bold faith and passion for sharing the gospel, Marvin spent 35 years with his wife Linda living among the Indonesian people of Southeast Asia.
Marvin Leech was born to Marvin Burton and Helen Elizabeth Leech on October 7, 1939, in Hendricks Hospital, Abilene, Texas. Marvin received Jesus as his Savior and Lord in 1944 prior to his Father’s departure for military service in Hawaii. Marvin recalls the moment his dad sat him up on the stove and shared the gospel with him. His Father baptized Marvin two years later upon his return from Hawaii where he served as a military chaplain.
The Leech family served as missionaries among the Sacaton, Pawnee and Quapaw Indians in Arizona and Oklahoma from 1947 until 1950. Marvin remembers the adobe houses on the Indian reservations being their home. Most memorable were the Pawnee Indians who were fierce warriors and blanket makers. While living among the Pawnee, Marvin surrendered his life for full time Christian service.
Marvin studied at Hardin-Simmons University and worked as a court reporter. After his sophomore year, he pastored North Roby Baptist Church at Rotan, Texas where his Father grew up. The summer of 1960, Marvin served as a summer missionary in Hawaii. He graduated in June, 1961 from Hardin-Simmons University as summa cum laude.
In 1963 Marvin began studies at Southwestern Theological Seminary earning the Bachelor of Divinity degree, working as a secretary for several professors, pastoring Indian Creek Baptist Church, and selling Bible Libraries for Southwestern Company. Marvin met Linda when she enrolled at Southwestern in the fall of 1965. They married on December, 1966, and pastored the Elbert Baptist Church for 3 ½ years.
Their son Kyle was born on March 26, 1968, just one year prior to their being appointed at Glorieta, New Mexico by the Foreign Mission Board to serve in theological education in Indonesia. Kimberly was born January 2, 1970 and two weeks later joined her daddy and brother Kyle in Missionary orientation at Calaway Gardens in Georgia.
The Leech family arrived in Bandung, Indonesia in early June of 1970 to begin language school. Following language school, Marvin taught the fall semester in the Indonesian Baptist Theological Seminary in Semarang and was assigned to open an extension of the seminary in Purwokerto alongside Von and Marge Worten.
In 1974 the Leech family returned to the States for a one-year furlough during which time Marvin completed his requirements for the Doctor of Theology at Southwestern Theological Seminary. Keith was born on November 1, 1974 while the Leech family was living on the seminary campus.
From 1975 until 1991, the Leech family lived in the city of Semarang, Indonesia where Marvin worked alongside Avery Willis and Catherine Walker developing leadership training materials. It was during these years that he developed what would one day become Masterlife, a comprehensive discipleship program for Christian leaders.
Between 1991 and 2010 Marvin and Linda helped start a Baptist Bible School in Bengkulu, Sumatra, built a team of nationals to reach the 18 million North Coast Javanese, and carried out research on many unreached people groups across the Indonesian archipelago, producing extensive profiles for church and mission agencies.
Marvin and Linda returned to the United States in 2010 due to Marvin’s declining health. They surrounded themselves with family and faithfully served the local community through their local church. Marvin and Linda developed a personal prayer ministry which they practiced faithfully.
Marvin wanted everyone to know the saving grace and love of the Lord Jesus Christ. He modeled that love to everyone. He was faithfully married to his wife Linda for 55 years. He was blessed with a sister and 4 brothers, 3 children and 10 grandchildren. His brother Owen passed away from cancer in 2001 and his sister in 2021. He is survived by his wife Linda, his brothers Tim, Carey and Jimmy, his children Kyle, Kim and Keith, their spouses Jill, Trey and Katy and his grandchildren Amanda, Joseph, Jacqueline, Lyndon, Lauren, Grace, Isaac, Jordon, Eden and Joy.
Marvin’s final request to his family was, “tell the story, tell the story, tell the story….please.”
His memorial service will take place June 25, 2022, at 6 p.m. central, at the Church of God in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and will be recorded and available at http://www.kimmartindale.com/marvin.
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RECOGNITION AND THANKS
We’d like to say a special thanks to our Indonesian friends, Bambang, Sahat and Ryna for sharing video messages with our family during the service. Those videos will be included in the recording of the service.
Thank you Kent Parks for officiating the funeral service and the graveside ceremony.
Also, a special thanks to missionary families and MKs who traveled a distance to celebrate dad’s life with us: Ken and Judy Milam, Kent, Erika and Lindsay Parks, Andy and Ruth Anne Ruble, Jennifer Almond, Mike and Patty Hampton, Charles and Barbara Cole, Peter and Jenny Stillman, Jerry and Bobbye Rankin, Craig and Charlotte Bonelli, Mark Jones, Eddy Griffin and Matt Beck.
And a special thanks to our family members who came from Texas, Florida and South Carolina to be with us: Carey and Ronda Leech, Tim and June Leech, Rhonda Thornton, Jan McCrary and Shawna McCabe.
We are also very grateful to the members of our church, Calvary Baptist Murfreesboro, who provided the fabulous food for the viewing and homes for our guests to stay in. A special thanks to those who coordinated and provided the food: Cammie Faye, Alison Lynch and Rhonda Lacky. And to those who opened their homes: Pastor Steve & Dee Willis, Sherrie Feathers, Brent and Beth Salvig and Earle and Trudy Megathlin. You have all blessed our family beyond words. Thank you!!
Check back here soon for more pictures and video.
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Pictures from Dad’s last week with us:
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