Bökenkamp, Geraldo (1931–2009)

By The Brazilian White Center – UNASP

×

The Brazilian White Center – UNASP is a team of teachers and students at the Brazilian Ellen G. White Research Center – UNASP at the Brazilian Adventist University, Campus Engenheiro, Coelho, SP. The team was supervised by Drs. Adolfo Semo Suárez, Renato Stencel, and Carlos Flávio Teixeira. Bruno Sales Gomes Ferreira provided technical support. The following names are of team members: Adriane Ferrari Silva, Álan Gracioto Alexandre, Allen Jair Urcia Santa Cruz, Camila Chede Amaral Lucena, Camilla Rodrigues Seixas, Daniel Fernandes Teodoro, Danillo Alfredo Rios Junior, Danilo Fauster de Souza, Débora Arana Mayer, Elvis Eli Martins Filho, Felipe Cardoso do Nascimento, Fernanda Nascimento Oliveira, Gabriel Pilon Galvani, Giovana de Castro Vaz, Guilherme Cardoso Ricardo Martins, Gustavo Costa Vieira Novaes, Ingrid Sthéfane Santos Andrade, Isabela Pimenta Gravina, Ivo Ribeiro de Carvalho, Jhoseyr Davison Voos dos Santos, João Lucas Moraes Pereira, Kalline Meira Rocha Santos, Larissa Menegazzo Nunes, Letícia Miola Figueiredo, Luan Alves Cota Mól, Lucas Almeida dos Santos, Lucas Arteaga Aquino, Lucas Dias de Melo, Matheus Brabo Peres, Mayla Magaieski Graepp, Milena Guimarães Silva, Natália Padilha Corrêa, Rafaela Lima Gouvêa, Rogel Maio Nogueira Tavares Filho, Ryan Matheus do Ouro Medeiros, Samara Souza Santos, Sergio Henrique Micael Santos, Suelen Alves de Almeida, Talita Paim Veloso de Castro, Thais Cristina Benedetti, Thaís Caroline de Almeida Lima, Vanessa Stehling Belgd, Victor Alves Pereira, Vinicios Fernandes Alencar, Vinícius Pereira Nascimento, Vitória Regina Boita da Silva, William Edward Timm, Julio Cesar Ribeiro, Ellen Deó Bortolotte, Maria Júlia dos Santos Galvani, Giovana Souto Pereira, Victor Hugo Vaz Storch, and Dinely Luana Pereira.

 

 

First Published: January 29, 2020

Geraldo Bökenkamp, pastor, nurse, and administrator, was born in 1931, in the city of Ibirama, Santa Catarina, Brazil. 1 His parents, Ana Martha Bökenkamp (1895-1987) and Walter Bökenkamp (d. 1967), immigrated to Brazil in 1924 and also worked for the Seventh-day Adventist Church.2

During his childhood, Bökenkamp studied at the Adventist Educational Butiá (current Parana Adventist College)3 and then graduated with a degree in administration from the Getúlio Vargas Foundation.4 His first activity as an Adventist worker was as a nurse, working in this field from 1948 to 1950 in the Liberty Health House, currently São Paulo Adventist Hospital.5 Then he worked as a radiologist (1954-1956) alongside his wife Heloísa Waldvogel Bökenkamp6 (1925-2005),7 whom he married in 1954.8 Beginning in 1960, Bökenkamp started working as a licensed minister in the state of São Paulo.9 Later he was invited to work as treasurer and secretary of the Rio Grande do Sul Conference. He worked there until the beginning of 1967.10

In April 1967, Bökenkamp was transferred to the North Brazil Union Mission, where he was secretary, treasurer, and auditor. Also in 1967, he was ordained as a pastor.11 In 1968 Heloísa Bökenkamp worked as chief nurse in the Belém Adventist Hospital.12 At the end of 1969 they were transferred to the Inca Union Mission in Peru13 where Bökenkamp worked as auditor14 and also treasurer (1970-1975).15 In 1976 he returned to Brazil to manage the finances of the Brazil Food Factory (Superbom), which is operated by the Adventist Church in São Paulo.16 The following year he assumed the treasury function of two branches of the same company17 and also the management of Global Food Services.18

Under his management, Brazil Food Factory received the “International Food Trophy/America-1979,” surpassing competition with nine other companies. On that occasion, Bökenkamp “dedicated the prize to the effort and commitment of the employees.”19 He continued his management at the Global Food Services and Brazil Food Factory until 1981.20

In 1982 Bökenkamp was transferred to the East Brazil Union Mission treasury21 and, in 1983, started working as assistant treasurer at the South American Division, a position he stayed in until 1990.22 From 1991 to 1993 he was treasurer of the Central Brazil Union Conference23 and then he retired.24 However, he continued working for the church. From 1995 to 1999 Bökenkamp was associate director of the auditing department for the region of South America25 and, in 2000, he served as a special assistant to the president of the South American Division.26 In the following years he resumed his work as associate director of the auditing department of the South American Division. He continued working until 2005,27 the last of his 57 years of work for the Church and also the year in which his first wife died.28

Bökenkamp died in 2009, at 78 years of age, leaving behind his second wife, Ana Cecília.29 Geraldo Bökenkamp made an important contribution to the Seventh-day Adventist Church as an administrator of the Brazil Food Factory (Superbom), manager of the Global Food Services, and in the auditing department of the South American Division.

Sources

“Ana Bokenkamp.” Revista Adventista, year 84, no. 2, February, 1988. Accessed on March 4, 2018. http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/capas.cpb.

Beach, W. R. “From Home Base to Front Line in 1967.” ARH, April 1968. Accessed March 4, 2018. http://docs.adventistarchives.org/docs/RH/RH19680425-V145-17__B.pdf#view=fit.

“Biografia de Anna Bökenkamp. In: National Adventist Memory Center Archive/Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP. Stand 2. Shelf 13. Folder: “Bökenkamp, Anna.” Accessed March 5, 2018.

“Geraldo Bokenkamp.” Revista Adventista, year 104, no. 1218, November 2009. Accessed March 4, 2018. http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/capas.cpb.

Gross, Renato, Parana Adventist College. Ivatuba, PR: Parana Adventist College, 2009.

Isaías Andrade. “Uninorte Notícias.” Revista Adventista, year 64, November 1969. Accessed March 4, 2018. http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/capas.cpb.

Minutes of Meeting. In: National Adventist Memory Center Archive/Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP. Stand 2. Shelf 13. Folder “Bökenkamp, Geraldo.” Accessed on March 5, 2018.

Minutes of the meeting held February 10, 1983. In: National Adventist Memory Center Archive/Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP. Stand 2. Shelf 13. Folder “Bökenkamp, Anna.” Accessed March 5, 2018.

“No Rio, Superbom Ganha Troféu Internacional.” Revista Adventista, August 1979. Accessed March 5, 2018, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/capas.cpb.

Sarli, Tercio, Poetas Adventistas do Brasil. 1st edition, Campinas, SP: Certeza Editorial, 2008.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Washington D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association. Various years. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.

“Superbom Inaugura Restaurante na Capital Mineira.” Revista Adventista, February 1978. Accessed March 5, 2018. http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/capas.cpb.

Waldvogel, Luiz, Memórias de Tio Luiz. 2nd edition, Tatuí, SP: Casa Publicadora Brasileira, 1988.

Notes

  1. “Geraldo Bokenkamp,” Revista Adventista, year 104, no. 1218, November 2009, 37.

  2. “Ana N. Bokenkamp,” Revista Adventista, year 84, no. 2, February 1988, 26; and “São Paulo Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1947), 155; “São Paulo Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1954), 178; Anna Bökenkamp Biography (National Adventist Memory Center Archive/Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP).

  3. Renato Gross, Instituto Adventista Paranaense: uma história em três tempos 1939-2009 (Ivatuba, PR: Instituto Adventista Paranaense, 2009), 76.

  4. “Geraldo Bokenkamp,” Revista Adventista, year 104, no. 1218, November 2009, 37.

  5. “São Paulo Clinic,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1949), 309; “São Paulo Clinic and Hospital,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1951), 302.

  6. “São Paulo Clinic,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1955), 258; “São Paulo Clinic and Hospital,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1957), 270.

  7. Luiz Waldvogel, Memórias de Tio Luiz (Tatuí, SP: Casa Publicadora Brasileira, 1988), 38; Tercio Sarli, Poetas Adventistas do Brasil (Campinas, SP: Certeza Editorial, 2008), 156.

  8. Luiz Waldvogel, Memórias de Tio Luiz (Tatuí, SP: Casa Publicadora Brasileira, 1988), 38.

  9. “São Paulo Clinic,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1961), 171; “São Paulo Clinic and Hospital,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1957), 205.

  10. “Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1965/66), 208; “Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1967), 211.

  11. “North Brazil Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1968), 209; Beach, W. R., “From Home Base to Front Line in 1967,” ARH, April 25, 1968, 19.

  12. “Belem Hospital,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1969), 375.

  13. Andrade, Isaías, “Uninorte Notícias,” Revista Adventista, year 64, no. 7, November 1969, 28.

  14. “Inca Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1970), 217; “Inca Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1973/74), 231.

  15. “Inca Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1970), 217; “Inca Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1976), 252.

  16. “Division Health Food Company,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1977), 405.

  17. “Branches and Factories,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1978), 413.

  18. Minutes of Meeting (National Adventist Memory Center Archive/Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP).

  19. “No Rio, Superbom Ganha Troféu Internacional,” Revista Adventista, August 1979, 17.

  20. “Division Health Food Company,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1977), 405; “Division Health Food Company,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1982), 445.

  21. “East Brazil Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1983), 291; Minutes of the meeting held February 10, 1983, were approved (National Adventist Memory Center Archive/Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP).

  22. “South American Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1984), 287; “South American Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1991), 257.

  23. “Central Brazil Union Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1992), 266; “Central Brazil Union Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1994), 258.

  24. “Central Brazil Union Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1995), 261.

  25. “Auditing Service,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1996), 25; “Auditing Service,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2000), 24.

  26. “South American Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2001), 247.

  27. “Auditing Service,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2002), 25; “Auditing Service,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2006), 27.

  28. Tercio Sarli, Poetas Adventistas do Brasil (Campinas, SP: Certeza Editorial, 2008), 156.

  29. “Geraldo Bokenkamp,” Revista Adventista, year 104, no. 1218, November 2009, 37.

×

UNASP, The Brazilian White Center –. "Bökenkamp, Geraldo (1931–2009)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. January 29, 2020. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=FGG4.

UNASP, The Brazilian White Center –. "Bökenkamp, Geraldo (1931–2009)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. January 29, 2020. Date of access February 14, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=FGG4.

UNASP, The Brazilian White Center – (2020, January 29). Bökenkamp, Geraldo (1931–2009). Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved February 14, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=FGG4.