Daniel T. Gehman

             The Apostle Paul tells the Corinthian believers that “we are confident…to be absent from the body …[is] to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). On August 14, 2021, Daniel T. Gehman left this body “to be present” with his Lord and Savior. Born November 6, 1925, in Denver, Pennsylvania, Daniel was the sixth of seven children born to Mamie Trupe Gehman and Wayne H. Gehman. Dan’s father died at age 39 (when Daniel was only two), so his mother raised the family on a tight budget during the Depression. Daniel was inducted into the Army out of high school in February of 1944. He served as a cryptographer (code clerk) in China (in Kunming, in the interior, and Shanghai, on the coast) from 1945 until the spring of 1946. Taking advantage of the G.I. bill, Daniel attended several colleges before graduating in 1950 from Bob Jones University with a major in Bible and English. He then earned a Masters of Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary (1950-1954).

                Dan Gehman began his teaching career as Dean of Men and an instructor at Midwest Bible and Missionary Institute (MBMI) in St. Louis, Missouri. He married Mary Garber, a former student of his, in 1961 and that same year MBMI merged with Kansas City Bible College to become Calvary Bible College (CBC) in Kansas City, Missouri. He taught at CBC, and served as Dean of Students, from 1961-1967. He returned to teaching at Montana Institute of the Bible (MIB) in 1973, when it relocated from Billings, Montana, to an old Air Force base in the Judith Mountains near Lewistown, Montana. Daniel taught Bible, theology, church history, and world history at MIB, which later became Big Sky Bible College, until the school closed in 1983. He had a number of other side jobs before becoming employed by the state as a janitor for 10 years at the Montana Mental Health and Nursing Care Center. He enjoyed the climate and community of Lewistown, Montana, and the deep friendships he made there. He moved to Elyria, Ohio, in June of 2016. Daniel’s favorite passage from Scripture—Ephesians 2:8-10—explains the eternal hope he had in Christ: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

                Daniel Gehman is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary Gehman (nee Garber); his two daughters, Renee Olson (Charlie) of Southwick, ID and Judy Wilcox (Kris) of Elyria; 10 grandchildren, Timothy (Molly), Caleb, Elizabeth, Rachel, Derek (Emmie), Westley, Bethany, Jennifer, Jedidiah and Benjamin; three great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.  In addition, “Grandpa Gehman” is survived by his adopted family, Dan and Joan Bradley and their children: Aaron (Lori), Andrew (Megan), Jeremy (Allison), Bethany (Luke), and Brandon, along with 16 adopted great-grandchildren. He prayed daily for all of these loved ones.

                The family will receive friends on Saturday August 21, 2021 from 10 to 11am at the Liston Funeral Home, 36403 Center Ridge Rd., North Ridgeville.  The funeral service will be at 11am on Saturday at the funeral home.  Pastor Charlie Olson, Dan’s son-in-law, will officiate the service.  The interment, with full military honors, will be Monday August 23, 2021 at 11am at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Seville.  The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to Baptist Mid Missions in Cleveland.   

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