Bietz, Emil Edward (1903–1999)

Emil Edward Bietz was an Adventist educator and administrator of denominational schools and hospitals for forty-four years in North America. He also served five years as a consultant to multiple Adventist hospitals in South America, Asia, and Africa.

Early Life

Emil Edward Bietz was born on November 24, 1903, in Heaton, North Dakota, United States, to Daniel and Christina (Unterseher) Bietz (1878-1935; 1881-1961). Of German heritage, his parents emigrated from Russia. Emil was the third of nine children in the family that included Eldina Christina, Albert D., Reinhold Reinhardt, Frieda E., Ottilia Bernice, Arthur L., Nathan B., and Viola. Arthur was a Seventh-day Adventist minister and psychologist for more than fifty years, and Reinhold was a pastor-evangelist and the general vice president of the General Conference from 1968 to 1974.¹

Education and Marriage

The Bietz children attended the church school in Bowdon, North Dakota, where both Eldina and Emil later served as teachers in succession.² Emil Bietz attended Sheyenne River Academy followed by two years at Hutchinson Theological Seminary in Minnesota. After he began teaching, he spent summers at Union College working toward the completion of a Bachelor of Art’s degree in literary studies. He graduated in August 1931.³ Bietz later earned a Master of Arts degree from the University of Nebraska in 1944.⁴

Bietz married Sarah I. Suckut (1908-2002) in the early 1920s.⁵ Together, they raised a daughter, Arlene JoAnn Bietz Hoover.⁶

Career and Ministry

Bietz’s work as a colporteur (literature evangelist) in North Dakota was first reported in 1922.⁷ He taught the Bowdon church school for one year in 1926-1927,⁸ followed by five years as dean of boys at Enterprise Academy in Enterprise, Kansas, from 1929 to 1934. He spent three years, from 1934 to 1937, as principal of Plainview Academy in Red Field, South Dakota; ⁹ four years as principal of Campion Academy in Loveland, Colorado, from 1937 to 1941. While principal of Campion Academy, Bietz was ordained in 1938.¹⁰ In 1941, he moved to Indiana Academy in Cicero, Indiana, where he served four years as principal until 1945. He then became president of Canadian Junior College in College Heights, Alberta, in 1945¹¹ before returning to secondary education in 1951 when he moved to Upper Columbia Academy in Spangle, Washington.¹²

In 1955 Bietz’s career turned to hospital administration. He served as the administrator of Portland Sanitarium and Hospital in Oregon until 1965.¹³ He then spent several years in the South American Division. Bietz and his family arrived in South America on May 21, 1965, where he served as the business manager of the River Plate Sanitarium in Pulgari, Argentina.¹⁴ He was among the medical staff and hospital administrators who attended the first Adventist medical council in South America in 1966.¹⁵ In 1968, he was made medical and temperance secretary of the South American Division, although he resigned the temperance position at the end of the year.¹⁶ While Emil Bietz was busy visiting medical institutions, launches, and air bases throughout South America, Sarah worked part time at the South American Division offices.¹⁷ She also taught in the Modern Languages department of River Plate College.¹⁸

Retirement and Later Life

The Bietz family returned to the United States for retirement in 1970.¹⁹ In 1973, Bietz responded to a call for special assistance as a volunteer in the business management of Taiwan Adventist Hospital.²⁰ Later, he became the manager of the Taiwan Adventist Hospital of Taipei,²¹ and in 1975, he became the administrative adviser for the Malamulo Hospital, Malawi, Africa.²² Bietz’s dedication to service was evident until his passing on July 17, 1999, in Sonora, California.²³

Contribution and Legacy

Bietz's significant contributions to Adventist education and healthcare are reflected in three major accomplishments. First, as president, Bietz oversaw substantial growth in student enrollment and academic offerings, bolstering the institution's financial stability and enhancing its status within the Adventist educational system. Next, in the River Plate Sanitarium, Argentina, Bietz modernized the sanitarium's operations, improved financial stability, and expanded medical services. His efforts were crucial in organizing the first medical councils in South America, significantly improving medical practices and patient care across the continent. Lastly, in the Taiwan Adventist Hospital, his management and administrative skills helped streamline operations and improve patient care services, establishing the hospital as a leading healthcare provider in Taiwan.

Bietz's legacy is one of dedication to enhancing education and healthcare, with lasting impacts on the institutions he led and the communities they served.

Sources

“At Rest.” ARH, October 28, 1999.

Bietz, E. E. “Chaplains Have a Dual Challenge.” ARH, November 6, 1975.

Bietz, E. E. “E. E. Bietz Writes from South America.” North Pacific Union Gleaner, January 13, 1969.

Bietz, E. E. “Hospital Installs Generator.” ARH, November 22, 1973.

Bietz, E. E. “Principal’s Message.” The Echo Log ’54. Spangle, WA.

Biggs, Lloyd E. “Portland (Oregon) Sanitarium and Hospital.” ARH, March 24, 1960.

“The Bowdon School.” Northern Union Reaper, July 26, 1927.

“Emil Bietz obituary,” ARH, October 28, 1999.

“From Home Mission to Mission Home.” South American Division Bulletin, January-June 1966.

General Conference Committee. Accessed August 8, 2024. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC.

Lakeside, O. “E. E. Bietz.” Calgary Herald, June 30, 1951.

“Longtime Minister Arthur Bietz Dies.” ARH, November 15, 2001.

Nigri, Moises S. “Echoes from the First Medical Missionary Councils.” South American Division Bulletin, October-December 1966, 2.

Oswald, Aaron. “North Dakota is Well Represented at Union College.” The Clock Tower, April 12, 1934.

Roth, D. A. “Far Eastern.” ARH, April 12, 1973.

“R. R. Bietz 1906-2005.” Southern Tidings, January 1, 2006.

Rudy, H. L. “Introducing Professor E. E. Bietz.” Canadian Union Messenger, July 11, 1945.

“Sarah L. Bietz.” Pacific Union Recorder, December, 2002.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1922-1969.

Turner, W. G. “Colorado Camp Meeting.” ARH, August 25, 1938.

“WWU Archives Digital Photo Collection.” Walla Walla University. Accessed February 18, 2024. https://library.wallawalla.edu/imlib/photos.php?RollID=Bk&FrameID=7031.  

Notes

1. “At Rest,” ARH, October 28, 1999, 26; “Longtime Minister Arthur Bietz Dies,” ARH, November 15, 2001, 21; and “R.R. Bietz 1906-2005,” Southern Tidings, January 1, 2006, 24.↩

2. “The Bowdon School,” Northern Union Reaper, July 26, 1927, 6.↩

3. Peggy Carlson, Union Adventist University alumni director, email to Sabrina Riley, August 5, 2024; H. L. Rudy, “Introducing Professor E. E. Bietz,” Canadian Union Messenger, July 11, 1945, 2; Aaron Oswald, “North Dakota is Well Represented at Union College,” The Clock Tower, April 12, 1934, 1.↩

4. H. L. Rudy, “Introducing Professor E. E. Bietz,” Canadian Union Messenger, July 11, 1945, 2.↩

5. “At Rest,” 26; “Sarah L. Bietz,” Pacific Union Recorder (December, 2002).↩

6. “At Rest,” ARH, October 28, 1999, 26.↩

7. “The Book Work,” Northern Union Reaper, August 15, 1922, 7.↩

8. “North Dakota Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1927), 59.↩

9. “Plainview Academy,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1935), 244.↩

10. W. G. Turner, “Colorado Camp Meeting,” ARH, August 25, 1938, 21.↩

11. H. L. Rudy, “Introducing Professor E. E. Bietz,” Canadian Union Messenger, July 11, 1945, 2.↩

12. O. Lakeside, “E. E. Bietz” Calgary Herald, June 30, 1951, 9; E. E. Bietz, “Principal’s Message,” The Echo Log ’54 (Upper Columbia Academy yearbook); “Upper Columbia Academy,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1952), 271.↩

13. Lloyd E. Biggs, “Portland (Oregon) Sanitarium and Hospital,” ARH, March 24, 1960, 21.↩

14. “From Home Mission to Mission Home,” South American Division Bulletin, 1966, 6.↩

15. Moises S. Nigri, “Echoes from the First Medical Missionary Councils,” South American Division Bulletin, October-December 1966, 2.↩

16. General Conference Committee, December 26, 1968, 1335, accessed August 8, 2024, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1968-12.pdf.↩

17. E. E. Bietz, “E. E. Bietz Writes from South America,” North Pacific Union Gleaner, January 13, 1969, 1.↩

18. “River Plate College,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1968), 338.↩

19. General Conference Committee, March 19, 1970, 1911, accessed August 8, 2024, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1970-03.pdf.↩

20. D. A. Roth, “Far Eastern,” ARH, April 12, 1973, 24.↩

21. E. E. Bietz, “Hospital Installs Generator,” ARH, November 22, 1973, 15.↩

22. E. E. Bietz, “Chaplains Have a Dual Challenge,” ARH, November 6, 1975, 17.↩

23. “Emil Bietz obituary,” ARH, October 28, 1999, 26.↩