Lugenbeal, Edward Newton (1906–1949)

Edward Newton Lugenbeal was a missionary, administrator, and teacher.

Early Life

Edward Newton Lugenbeal was born on August 6, 1906, in Winamac, Indiana, to Elymus Newton Lugenbeal, an American from Ohio, and Mary Arnbrecht, a Russian national. Thus, his family heritage included Russian, German, and American ancestors. He spent his early years in his birth place. He attended Battle Creek Academy for elementary education and Indiana Academy for secondary.¹ Through the influence of godly parents, he was baptized into the church on July 6, 1918, by Elder Young at Winamac, Indiana.²

Education and Marriage

Lugenbeal pursued his tertiary education at Emmanuel Missionary College (now Andrews University) and graduated with his bachelor’s degree in theology in 1927.³ A few months after his graduation, Lugenbeal married to Cora Catherine Garber on September 28, 1927. Born September 15, 1904, in Greenville, Ohio,⁴ Cora Catherine Garber was the fourth child of Jesse P. Garber and Amanda Conning. Her six siblings included Clara May Marsh, Ivy Esther Wilson, Ruth Eliza Higgins, Charles William Garber, Robert Garber, and Vernon Edward Garber.⁵ Cora Lugenbeal finished a course in piano in 1924 and earned a BA in 1927, both from Emmanuel Missionary College.⁶ Edward and Cora Lugenbeal were blessed with two children named Donna Jean and Eddie.⁷ Both children were born in Manila, Philippines.⁸ From 1941 until 1942, Lugenbeal attended the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary which was then in Washington, District of Columbia to earn his master’s degree.⁹

Ministry

Prior to attending college, Lugenbeal worked as a literature evangelist in Tennessee in 1923 and 1924. He joined the literature ministry work at the age of sixteen¹⁰ where his name was consistently on the honor roll. For Lugenbeal, the life of a colporteur was a life of privilege and duty to serve.¹¹ After his graduation, he engaged in evangelistic work and teaching in Indiana from 1927 to 1929. From 1929 to 1931, he was called to serve as a Bible teacher at the Philippine Junior College¹² (now Adventist University of the Philippines). He was ordained to the ministry on March 28, 1931, in the Manila, Philippines with R. R. Figuhr, J. H. McEachern, and Frederick Griggs officiating. After he was ordained, Lugenbeal was called to serve as director of the Northern Luzon Mission from 1931 to 1939. He served for another two years as director of the East Visayan Mission from 1939 to 1941.¹³ He was able to preach in Spanish and Ilocano, and could converse in the Visayan¹⁴ dialect.

In 1942, he was called to serve in South America, particularly, serving as president of the Austral Union Conference for three years from 1942 to 1945. In 1946, he served the Mexican Union Mission as a superintendent for a year.¹⁵ In 1947, he returned to South America to become superintendent of the Inca Union Mission, a position he held until the time of his death in 1949.

Lugenbeal died tragically during a family trip to the beach for relaxation and swimming. Upon entering the water, a large wave struck and threw him to the bottom. The undercurrent carried him out a short distance, and when he arose, he started swimming toward the shore. After only a few strokes, he ceased swimming.¹⁶ He was immediately brought to shore and two doctors tried to resuscitate him for two hours, but to no avail.¹⁷

Legacy

Lugenbeal was a dedicated church worker, and a passionate literature evangelist and pastor. His effort to learn the local languages of the people whom he served, gained their affection wherever he labored. Although his ministry was cut short because of a tragic accident, his contribution to the Adventist work helped establish church in the Philippines during its fledgling years.

Sources

Brooks, R. R. “Sparks from the Colporteur’s Anvil.” Southern Union Worker, July 12, 1923.

Cora Catherine Garber Lugenbeal, IDE Appointee File, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A.

Edward Newton Lugenbeal, IDE Appointee File, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A.

“Edward Newton Lugenbeal obituary.” ARH, April 28, 1949.

Geni. 2018. Accessed March 27, 2018 https://www.geni.com/people/Cora-Lugenbeal/6000000001182316866.

Lugenbeal, Edward. “Sparks from the Colporteur’s Anvil.” Southern Union Worker, February 28, 1924.

Personal Service Record. Edward Newton Lugenbeal. Southern-Asia Pacific Division, Archives.

Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia. 2nd rev. ed. Hagerstown, MD: Review & Herald,

1996. S.v. “Lugenbeal, Edward Newton.”

Weaver, John E. “Mexican Teachers’ Institute.” ARH, December 5, 1946.

Notes

1. Personnel Service Record of Edward Newton Lugenbeal, Southern-Asia Pacific Division Archives.↩

2. See Edward Newton Lugenbeal, IDE Appointee File, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist Archives.↩

3. Ibid.↩

4. Cora Catherine Garber Lugenbeal, IDE Appointee File, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist Archives.↩

5. “Cora Catherine Lugenbeal,” Geni, 2018, accessed March 27, 2018, https://www.geni.com/people/Cora-Lugenbeal/6000000001182316866.↩

6. Cora Catherine Garber Lugenbeal, IDE Appointee File.↩

7. “Edward Newton Lugenbeal obituary,” ARH, April 28, 1949, 20.↩

8. Edward Newton Lugenbeal, IDE Appointee File.↩

9. Ibid.↩

10. R. R. Brooks, “Sparks from the Colporteur’s Anvil,” Southern Union Worker, July 12, 1923, 5.↩

11. Edward Lugenbeal, “Sparks from the Colporteur’s Anvil,” Southern Union Worker, February 28, 1924, 6.↩

12. Edward Newton Lugenbeal, IDE Appointee File.↩

13. Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, 2nd rev. ed. (1996), s.v. “Lugenbeal, Edward Newton.”↩

14. Edward Newton Lugenbeal, IDE Appointee File.↩

15. John E. Weaver, “Mexican Teachers’ Institute,” ARH, December 5, 1946, 18.↩

16. “Edward Newton Lugenbeal obituary,” ARH, April 28, 1949, 20.↩

17. Ibid.↩