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Laura and Fred Schlehuber

Photo courtesy of Godfrey K. Sang.

Schlehuber, Fred Edwin (1920–1991)

By Godfrey K. Sang

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Godfrey K. Sang is a historical researcher and writer with an interest in Adventist history. He holds a B.A. in History from the University of Eastern Africa Baraton and a number of qualifications from other universities. He is a published author. He is the co-author of the book On the Wings of a Sparrow: How the Seventh-day Adventist Church Came to Western Kenya. 

First Published: April 8, 2024

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Fred E. Schlehuber was a missionary to Kenya, Tanganyika, and the Far East.

Early Years

Fred E. Schlehuber was born on June 6, 1920, in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, in the United States, to John Hans Schlehuber (1885-1933) and Elenora Marie Weppler (1895-1970).1 His parents were German nationals who emigrated to the United States soon after their marriage in July 1919. Fred was their eldest child and only son, born the following year. He was followed by Margaret and Charlotte. Their father died of a fall from a scaffolding while painting a house.2

On August 2, 1942, he married Laura Marie Mead. Laura was born on July 18, 1921, in Athens, Alabama. Her father, Jay Preston Mead, died when she was 9.3

In 1945, F. E. Schlehuber joined denominational employment when he was appointed the preceptor for the Columbia Academy in Battle Ground, Washington. He served under Principal B. M. Kurtz.4 Laura served as the registrar.

Moving to Africa

In 1947, he moved to Tanganyika to become a missionary. He arrived on February 21, 1947, to take up the position of principal for the Ikizu Training School, taking over from D. K. Short.5 He was also appointed the Departmental secretary for Education in the Tanganyika Mission Field. He worked under F. H. Thomas.6 He remained in the position until 1952 when he handed over leadership to J. G. E. Coetzee.7 Their only child, LaVerne Alden Schlehuber, was born in Kisii, Kenya, on August 12, 1948.8

In 1953, shortly after returning from furlough in the United States, the Schlehubers moved to Kenya to work in the Ranen Mission Station under the Kenya Lake Mission Field.9 Two years later, he became the president of the Kenya Lake Mission, taking over from K. G. Webster.10 He also served as the head of the Gendia Mission Station.

In 1957, he was appointed the principal of the Kamagambo Training School, taking over from R. G. Pearson. Laura Schlehuber taught Secretarial Studies at Kamagambo, a new training course that she introduced. F. E. Schlehuber also sat on the board at Bugema Missionary College in Uganda. Schlehuber was a keen member of the youth ministry and attended the inaugural East Africa Youth Congress held at the Royal Technical College Nairobi (now the University of Nairobi) in September 1958.11 The Schlehubers remained at Kamagambo until 1958 when they returned to the United States.12 In 1959, he joined Auburn Academy in Washington, where he taught Bible.13

In 1960, Schlehuber was appointed principal of the Upper Columbia Academy in Sprangle, Washington. He held the position until 1966, the year he was appointed the principal of Lakpahana Adventist College and Seminary (Light of Ceylon Training Institute), in Mailapitiya, Ceylon (later Sri Lanka). He also doubled up as the departmental secretary for Education in the Ceylon Union. He held the position until 1968 when he handed over leadership to T. B. Sadler.14

In 1969, the Schlehuber family moved to Pakistan to work for the Pakistan Union. Schlehuber became the Business Manager of the Karachi Adventist Hospital.15 He worked under Dr. W. R. Chapman, the hospital medical director. In the wake of the war between India and Pakistan, which broke out in 1971, the Adventist church’s immediate concern was ensuring the well-being and safety of the foreign staff serving in both nations. On December 10, 1971, evacuation procedures were initiated and several missionaries, including Laura Schlehuber, were flown to Tehran in Iran. Fred Schlehuber chose to remain in Karachi despite the prevailing circumstances.16

After two years, the Schlehubers moved to Guam when Fred was appointed the Business Manager of the Guam Seventh-day Adventist Clinic in Tamuning, Guam, in Micronesia in the Western Pacific. He worked under Dr. A. W. Olson.17 In 1978, he moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, to serve as the treasurer of the West Indonesia Union Mission, which was led by President A. Simorangkir.18 In 1981, he moved to Singapore to serve at the headquarters of the Far Eastern Division. He was made the departmental director for Retirement and Trust Services.19 He was later put in charge of Stewardship in the same division in addition to his other duties.

In 1984, Schlehuber conducted an evangelistic crusade in association with Pastors Gindok Laung and Wung Wei Kong at Kotah Kinabalu, in Sabah, Malaysia.20 In 1985, the Schlehubers returned to the United States, retiring from the missionary work. They settled in Harrison, Arkansas. By this time, their only child, LaVerne, had already joined the ministry and moved to Canada where he worked under the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Conference in Saskatoon.21

Death of LaVerne Schlehuber

In January 1989, Fred and Laura’s only son, LaVerne Schlehuber, died at Lacombe, Alberta, Canada. He was 40 years old. He had only been recently elected president of the Canadian Maritime Conference before he was diagnosed with cancer. Prior to that, he had served as pastor of the College Heights church on the campus of Canadian Union College, then accepted the presidency in November, but later resigned because of his illness. LaVerne served 12 years in denominational work in the United States and Canada.22

Death and Legacy

In retirement, Fred E. Schlehuber remained active in ministry in the local area and wrote articles for various church magazines. He served the church in many capacities for a total of 32 years in Africa, Asia, Micronesia, and in North America. He was one of the few missionaries who worked in such a diverse field. Fred passed away on September 24, 1991. He was 71. He was laid to rest at Harrison, Boone County, Arkansas. Laura Schlehuber passed away in 2007.

Sources

Emery, R. T. North Pacific Union Gleaner, December 5, 1933.

https://www.ancestry.com/

Hunter, D. W. ARH, December 23, 1971.

Johnson, William G. ARH, January 26, 1989.

Schlehuber, F. E. Southeast Asia Union Messenger, July 1, 1985.

Schlehuber, F. E. Southern Africa Division Outlook, November 15, 1958, 2.

Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia. Second revised edition. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 1996.

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

Visser, F. Southern Africa Division Outlook, March 5, 1947.

Notes

  1. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/165608877/person/212155004888/facts, accessed January 21, 2024.↩

  2. R. T. Emery, North Pacific Union Gleaner, December 5, 1933, 6.↩

  3. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/165608877/person/212155004945/facts, accessed January 21, 2024,↩

  4. “Columbia Academy,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1945), 225.↩

  5. F. Visser, Southern Africa Division Outlook, March 5, 1947, 8.↩

  6. Ibid.↩

  7. Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia (Review & Herald, 1996), s.v. “Ikizu Secondary School.”↩

  8. https://www.ancestry.com, accessed January 21, 2024.↩

  9. “Ranen Mission Station,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1954) 184.↩

  10. “Kenya Lake Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1955), 153.↩

  11. F. E. Schlehuber, Southern Africa Division Outlook, November 15, 1958, 2.↩

  12. Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia (Review & Herald, 1996), s.v. “Kamagambo High School and Teacher’s College.”↩

  13. “Auburn Academy,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1960), 219.↩

  14. Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia (Review & Herald, 1996), s.v. “Lakpahana Adventist College and Seminary.”↩

  15. “Pakistan Union,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1970), 237.↩

  16. D. W. Hunter, ARH, December 23, 1971.↩

  17. “Seventh-day Adventist Clinic – Guam,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1976), 439.↩

  18. “West Indonesia Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1979), 203.↩

  19. “Far East Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1982), 117.↩

  20. F. E. Schlehuber, Southeast Asia Union Messenger, July 1, 1985, 11.↩

  21. “Manitoba-Saskatchewan Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1984), 212.↩

  22. William G. Johnson, ARH, January 26, 1989, 7.↩

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Sang, Godfrey K. "Schlehuber, Fred Edwin (1920–1991)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. April 08, 2024. Accessed October 15, 2026. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=FJNN.

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Sang, Godfrey K. "Schlehuber, Fred Edwin (1920–1991)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. April 08, 2024. Date of access October 15, 2026, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=FJNN.

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Sang, Godfrey K. (2024, April 08). Schlehuber, Fred Edwin (1920–1991). Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved October 15, 2026, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=FJNN.

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