
Herbert Stickle
Photo courtesy of Brent Burdick.
Stickle, Berthold Herbert (1913–1982) and Alice Elizabeth (Hoen) (1917–1993)
By Cheryl Christo Howson
Cheryl Christo Howson earned a graduate diploma in computer aided interior designing at the Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Architecture for Women in Pune, India. She co-founded an interior design company in Sri Lanka and worked as a copywriter. She contributed to the morning devotional published by Women’s Ministries at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the Shepherdess International Journal magazine, and the Adventist Review. She has written several plays. Currently (2020), she lives in Hosur, India while preparing for a piano exam.
First Published: January 29, 2020
Berthold Herbert Stickle served the Seventh-day Adventist church as a teacher, treasurer, and auditor, along with his wife, Alice, who was a teacher, secretary, and editor, in Canada and India.
Early Life
Berthold Herbert Stickle was born in Armstrong, British Columbia, Canada, on January 11, 1913, to Barbara Margarete Frei (1868-1948) and John Adam Stickle (1860-1926). He was the fourth of five children. His siblings were Lydia Gertrude (1892-1980), John Delbert (1894-1951), Samuel Silas (1905-1952), and Adele Barbara (1915-1982).1 His parents, who were originally from Poland, brought their children up as Seventh-day Adventists, and when Bert was 15 he was baptized by Elder H. L. Wood at Okanagan Lake in 1928.
Missionary service seemed to run in the family: John D. served in Africa in 1920; Mrs. Lydia Davy served in Africa from 1926 to 1956; another sister Mrs. Marie Owens served in India and Africa for more than 25 years, and her son also served in Africa.2
As a boy Berthold attended Grandview School in British Colombia, Hughson Adventist School in California, and then Pacific Union College Academy in Angwin, California, from 1929 to 1931.3
Education and Marriage
Berthold attended Pacific Union College in 1932 and then returned in 1934 to complete a business major and a religion minor in 1938. Over the course of three summers he studied at the University of Alberta until 1941.4
On July 12, 1938, Berthold married Alice Elizabeth Hoen at Angwin, California.5 Alice was born on July 2, 1917 in Loma Linda, California, to Winiford Pauline Hunt (1884-1958) and Reu Everett Hoen (1888-1986).6
Since her parents were Seventh-day Adventists, she studied in several Adventist institutions: Emmanuel Missionary College Academy between 1930 and 1934; Emmanuel Missionary College (now Andrews University) in Michigan between 1934 and 1937; and Pacific Union College in California, where she completed her B.A. with a chemistry major and German minor in 1938. As a result of her upbringing and Adventist education, Alice was baptized in 1930 by C. M. Sorenson in Berrien Springs, Michigan.7
The couple moved to Lacombe, Canada, after their marriage, where they had four children: Berthold Herbert Jr., Barbara Doris, Elaine Marie, and Anita Louise.8
Career and Ministry
After graduating and getting married in 1938, both Berthold and Alice began work for the denomination at Canadian Junior College, Alberta, Canada. He first served as a treasurer, then a teacher, until 1947. Alice taught part time between 1938 and 1941. Next Berthold served both the Manitoba-Saskatchewan (1947-1954) and the Ontario-Quebec (1954-1959) Conferences as treasurer. Alice worked as a secretary in the Canadian Union Conference from 1954 to 1959, and as associate editor of the Canadian Union Messenger from 1954 to 1957.9
B. H. Stickle was ordained by Pastor A. V. Olson in 1954 at Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.10
In 1959 the Stickles accepted a call to serve as missionaries in the Southern Asia Division. They arrived in India on September 12 of that year and Pastor Stickle worked as the secretary-treasurer and auditor of the North East India Union. His sphere of service steadily widened as heavier responsibilities rested on him as division auditor in 1962, assistant division treasurer from 1964 to 1966, and finally as division treasurer in 1966, in which position he served until they left India in 1975.11
During the early months of 1976, the General Conference set up an executive committee for the Southern Asia Division, code named GENCOSUD (General Conference Southern Asia Division), in order to accommodate legal requirements of the Republic of India and to carry on as smoothly as possible the normal work of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination in Southern Asia. In March of that year, Elder Stickle was appointed the controller of accounts for the official office located at the General Conference headquarters, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.12
Later Life and Legacy
On January 1, 1978, Elder Stickle received a farewell gift from the Southern Asia Division in gratitude for his faithful service, and in anticipation of his retirement on July 1, 1978.13
Pastor and Mrs. Stickle retired on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, where they remained active in church and community work.14 Elder Stickle then underwent heart surgery, after which an infection set in from which he never recovered. He passed away at Errington, British Columbia, Canada, on December 14, 1982.15
Mrs. Stickle lived another decade before her death on February 16, 1993, at Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada. Pastor and Mrs. Stickle were both buried at Qualicum Beach Cemetery, B. C. Canada.16
Pastor and Mrs. Stickle served faithfully wherever they were called, whether in their own country, Canada, or as missionaries in India for 16 years. Pastor Stickle was responsible for making sure the financial transition during the time GENCOSUD was set up went smoothly.
Sources
“Alice Elizabeth Hoen Stickle.” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/180393842/alice-elizabeth-stickle
“Berthold Herbert ‘Bert’ Stickle.” Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/138335241/berthold-herbert-stickle
Davin, Terrence. “Obituaries: Stickle, Berthold Herbert.” Canadian Adventist Messenger, February 17, 1983.
Peterson, A. M. “Unique Administrative Features for Southern Asia.” Southern Asia Tidings, March 1976.
Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, 1975. http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Yearbooks/YB1975.pdf.
Singh, Juanita. “Until Tomorrow.” Southern Asia Tidings, February 2, 1983.
“Southern Asia Honors Stickle,” Southern Asia Tidings, January 1, 1978.
“Stickle, Berthold Herbert.” Service Records. General Conference Archives. General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
Notes
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“Berthold Herbert ‘Bert’ Stickle,” Find A Grave, accessed November 19, 2019, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/138335241/berthold-herbert-stickle↩
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Ibid.↩
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“Stickle, Berthold Herbert,” Service Records, General Conference Archives. General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
Terrence Davin, “Obituaries: Stickle, Berthold Herbert,” Canadian Adventist Messenger, February 17, 1983, 14.↩
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Stickle, Berthold Herbert,” Service Records.
Juanita Singh, “Until Tomorrow,” Southern Asia Tidings, February 2, 1983, 15.↩
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“Stickle, Berthold Herbert,” Service Records.↩
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“Alice Elizabeth Hoen Stickle,” Find a Grave, accessed November 19, 2019, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/180393842/alice-elizabeth-stickle↩
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“Stickle, Berthold Herbert,” Service Records.↩
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Ibid.↩
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“Stickle, Berthold Herbert,” Service Records.
Terrence Davin.↩
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“Stickle, Berthold Herbert,” Service Records.↩
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“Until Tomorrow.”
“Southern Asia Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook Revised Second Edition, 1975, 247.
“Stickle, Berthold Herbert,” Service Records.↩
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A. M. Peterson, “Unique Administrative Features for Southern Asia,” Southern Asia Tidings, March 1976, 4.↩
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“Southern Asia Honors Stickle,” Southern Asia Tidings, January 1, 1978, 11.↩
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Terrence Davin.↩
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“Until Tomorrow.”↩
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“Alice Elizabeth Hoen Stickle,” Find a Grave.
“Berthold Herbert ‘Bert’ Stickle,” Find A Grave.↩