OBITUARY William Stroup
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from May 1993.
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Brother Bill, as he was familiarly called, first worked as a teacher in Indiana. He later joined the U.S. Air Force and worked his way up to Lt. Colonel before retiring. He moved to Grand Cayman in 1974 where he was involved in business consulting and corporate management. It is here he met his wife Rita (Turen), to whom he was married for 17 years.
For many years Brother Bill was involved in the work of the Kiwanis Club of Grand Cayman and was awarded Layman of the Year as well as several other service awards. He was also involved in the prison ministry and was instrumental, along with other Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship members, in getting Christian businessmen and pastors (both local and overseas) to minister on Thursday evenings to the prisoners at Northward.
It was during the past nine years that Brother Bill's work with the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship impacted so many lives. a former secretary, then president of the local chapter, he spared no pains in getting some of the most renowned Christian speakers to Cayman for dinner meetings; Sir Lionel Luckhoo and General Ralph Haines to name a few. Himself a well known convention speaker, Brother Bill travelled extensively to promote the Fellowship.
About four years ago he was elected President of the Caribbean Area of F.G.B.M.F.I. and played a tremendous part in the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship revival in the Caribbean. International president and founder Demos Shakarian described him as a great prayer warrior, a dear friend and a great inspiration to everyone. This fact was well brought out in the tributes paid to him by F.G.B.M.F.I. representatives: John Carrette of Guatemala, Douglas Lyew Ayee of Jamaica, John Ellis of the Bahamas, Ralph Griffith of Trinidad, Dennis Covher of Florida, and Harold Paramllal of Grand Cayman.
Prior to the funeral service here in Cayman, a memorial service was held at the Upper Room Assembly of God Church in Miami, and this was largely attended attributing to the high Christian esteem in which Brother Bill was held. Brother Bill, who died on 13 April 1993,o is survived by his wife Rita, their daughter Christina, Rita's mother May Turen, son Bruce, daughter Julie, his brother Jack, two grandchildren, and a host of other relatives and friends. The funeral service was held at the Church of God on Walker's Road on 24 April and conducted by Rev. John Anderegg of the First Assembly of God, and Rev. Alson Ebanks of the Church of God. Interment was at the West Bay cemetery.
