John Bolt (1918-1980)

John Boldt, missionary, musician, preacher of the Word, father and husband,passed away in Curitiba, Brazil on April lO- as a result of injuries received in an auto accident a few days earlier. He was born on May12,1918 in Grossfuerstental, in Suworowska, in the Caucasus region of southern Russia, the son of Bernhard and Margaret (nee Giesbrecht) Boldt. His father was a teacher and as was often the case in Russia, also an ordained minister in the local Mennonite Brethren congregation. In 1924, the family emigrated to Canada and took up residence in Manitoba, where John's father once again took up teaching. All of John's education up to the age of 16, when the family moved to Ontario, was taken in his father's schools. During these years, when John was eight, he accepted Christ as his Saviour. That was the beginning of a life from which he never wavered. The family arrived in Kitchener, Ontario in 1934 and John went to work, as eldest son, to help support his family, which included eight brothers and sisters. When World War 2 began, John joined the services as a non-combatant medical orderly, but when orders were received in 1940 to begin training with arms, he withdrew and spent the balance of the war as a CO in various camps in British Columbia. After the war, he resumed his education in Vancouver, in two years completing five years of high school with highest honours (while working almost full-time) and then went on to complete his BA at Tabor College in 1950. Wherever he could he served the church, especially with his gift of music. Upon graduation, he followed a call to Winkler bible Institute, where he served as instructor in music as well as dean of men until 1959. He left an inspirational and exemplary witness with colleagues and students. In addition to a heavy teaching load, he led many choral and music workshops and acted as camp director at Winkler Bible Camp during the summer months.,

After leaving Winkler, he took a short rest from teaching, completed a BA at North-western Baptist Seminary in Vancouver and also taught at the Sharon Mennonite Collegiate in Yarrow. In 1961 he was ordained as a minister of the gospel by the East Chilliwack MB Church. That fall he accepted acall to the Ontario Bible Institute in Kitchener, where he remained until it closed in 1964. During that time he also served as provincial VBS director and was active in many areas of Christian education and the ministry of the Word. When the school closed he returned to B.C. to continue graduate studies in music education at the University of Washington and to serve wherever he could with his gift of music. The call to serve in Brazil came in 1966 There he joined the faculty of the German Bible Institute in Curitiba, giving himself enthusiastically to building the music department. He accepted the challenge of switching first to instruction in German and then as the school came under the Board of Missions/Services, to Portuguese. On furloughs, he gave much of his time to collecting new music, translating music to either German or Portuguese, and collecting materials for other needs, such as VBS and choral workshops.

In 1969, while serving in South America, he met Lydia Martens from Sst. catharines, Ontario, who was serving there on a short term assignment under the same board. Shortly thereafter, in January 1970, they were married in the Scott St. MB Churchc. Even though their marriage took place relatively late in life, they were blessed with three healthy children, and he now spent a great deal of his time assisting his wife in training their children.

His service in South American was broad. At the Bible Institute, now a Seminary, he initiated new programs in music, especially an instrumental program. Choir tours, choral workshops, preaching and conference assignments took him to Paraguay, Uruguay and various parts of Brazil. He was honoured to act as music director for the 1972 Mennonite World Conference in Curitiba. In all that he did, he sought to place Christ first. He will be remembers as a true soldier of Christ. He is lovingly remembered by his wife, Lydia; children, John 9, David 7, and Maria 6; his mother, (Mrs) Margaret Boldt of Abbotsford, B.C.; and eight brothers and sisters, Peggy of Port Alberni, B.C., Ted of Edmonton, Agnes of Brampton, Ont., Walter of Vancouver, Edward of Kitchener, Agatha of Nanaimo, B.C., Helen of Nelson, B.C. and Anna of Cornwall, P.E.I.

Memorial services were held in three churches in Canada, after John's death. At the East Chilliwack Church, George Thielmann, who ordained John to the ministry and Dr. Frank C. Peters, the chairman of the Board of Missions/Services, participated. His life story was shared by his brother Walter. Dr. Peters, who had visited the Bolts in February and was a friend of forty years, preached the message and shared many warm memories.