Dr. Stephen W. Nease, President of Nazarene Theological Seminary 1976-1980, died Thursday, April 6 in Hillsboro, New Hampshire. He was 81.
Born January 15, 1925 to Floyd and Madeline Nease, Stephen Nease was educated at Eastern Nazarene College, Brown University, and Harvard Divinity School. He and his wife, Christine, served as pastors of the Newark (OH) Eastside Church of the Nazarene.
In 1966 he was elected founding president of Mount Vernon Nazarene College (now University). In 1972 he became president of Bethany Nazarene College (now Southern Nazarene University), and in 1976 was elected president of Nazarene Theological Seminary, where he served until his election as president of ENC in 1981. In 1989 he was elected by the International Church of the Nazarene’s General Board to serve as the first Commissioner of Education, a post he held until his retirement in 1994. ENC and MVNU later conferred upon him Emeritus status. In retirement, Nease served in the development office at MVNU, until moving to southern New Hampshire in 2000.
A popular speaker at gatherings throughout the Church of the Nazarene, Nease invested in teaching and working with young people preparing for Christian ministry. An avid boater and fisherman, he particularly enjoyed spending time with family at his summer cottage on Vermont’s Lake Champlain.
Nease is survived by his wife of 60 years, Christine (Hardy), his sister, Helen Bradley of Bethany, OK; two daughters, Linda Scott of Windham, NH and Melissa Wallace of Harrisburg, PA; three sons, Floyd of Johnson, VT, Stephen Jr., of Lovettsville, VA, and David of Montpelier, VT; and 13 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son, David Hardy, in 1970.
Calling hours are Sunday April 9 from 3:00pm – 7:00pm at the Wollaston Church of the Nazarene in Quincy, MA. A memorial service will be held Monday, April 10 at 10:00am at the Wollaston church. Subsequent interment is planned at the family lot in Mount Vernon, OH.
--Information provided by NCN News (http://ncnnews.com) and the Nease Family
Posted on
Fri, April 7, 2006
by NTS News