Church Administration employees had a retirement party Aug. 22 for evangelists Dean Blackwell, 64, and Richard Rice, 60.
Mr. Blackwell will remain in Pasadena to complete a master's degree in religion at nearby Azusa Pacific University in May. Shortly after the retirement party Mr. Rice and his wife, Virginia, moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where their son Anthony serves as pastor.
In a presentation to the Rices, Pastor General Joseph Tkach said: "We will miss you, but we know that you will be serving well in Louisiana. I've enjoyed working with you, and our hearts will be with you."
Mr. Rice said: "My thoughts regarding retiring are mixed right now. On the one hand I'm happy for a new dimension in my life.
"On the other hand I'm going through a deep sense of sadness about not being here with my friends and enjoying the fellowship. We have built many hundreds of friendships. We love headquarters; we love the people.
"We thoroughly enjoy the way the church is going. We've begun to see new light and new understanding about Jesus Christ in particular."
Mr. Tkach said: "I've known the Blackwells for a long time. They will remain in our hearts forever."
Mr. Blackwell said: "There are so many things I've been wanting to do all my life, it's hard to get them done. I'm excited about going to college and getting a master's degree in religion and moving back to East Texas, where we started in the church back in 1952.
"I never thought I would retire, but I'm happy and looking forward to it."
Sept. 17, 1996, Worldwide News, page 4
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