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Murcia, Saúl (1955-2005)
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2005 Jun 20 p. 7
Birth date: 1955 Apr 28
text of obituary:
By MCC News Service
AKRON, Pa. — Saúl Murcia, 50, who helped thousands of people during his career as an administrator with two Mennonite agencies, died June 9 at his home due to chondrosarcoma, a rare bone cancer.
Murcia was co-director of Mennonite Central Committee's Latin America department, supervising staff and programs in his native Colombia, Bolivia, Paraguay, Jamaica, Haiti and other countries. He was admired for his dedication and willingness to visit and encourage volunteers, associates and partners.
Saúl Murcia Manzanares Pulido Rodríguez was born April 28, 1955, the son of Florinda and Saul Murcia, at Facatativá, near Bogotá, Colombia.
Murcia first attended school when he was 8 — as a boarding student at Colegio Menonita de Cachipay, a school whose main purpose was serving the children of a nearby leper colony.
Murcia studied cooking and hotel management in Bogotá and then worked on cruise ships for seven years.
He graduated from Goshen (Ind.) College with a degree in business management in 1988 and joined Mennonite Voluntary Service as a home repair volunteer in Brownsville, Texas.
Soon he was asked to be a local coordinator for the program and in 1997 became national co-director for MVS.
In that post, he traveled widely, helping volunteers serve in nonprofit centers, schools, hospitals and other locations.
Murcia loved to cook and was an enthusiastic "soccer dad." He also enjoyed listening to his large music collection, especially Colombian vallenato recordings.
He was a member of pilgrims Mennonite Curch and previously of Austin (Texas) Mennonite Church, La Iglesia Menonita del Cordero of Brownsville, Texas, and La Iglesia Menonita de Teusaquillo in Bogotá.
In addition to his parents, he is survived by his wife, Rebecca Thatcher Murcia of Akron; two sons, Gabriel and Mario, both of Akron; a brother, Edilberto Murcia of Bogotá; and five sisters, Yury Bernal of Facatativá, Colombia, Zoraida Moore of Richmond, Canada, Flor Trujillo of Bogotá, Colombia, and Eligia Murcia of Washington, D.C.
A memorial service was held June 13 at Akron Mennonite Church, with burial in the church cemetery.