Mary Evelyn "Mev" Fredenburg (January 12, 1923 – January 12, 2020) was an American nurse and a missionary in Eku, Nigeria for over forty years.
Mary Evelyn Fredenburg | |
|---|---|
 Mary Evelyn Fredenburg, from a 1963 newspaper | |
| Born | January 12, 1923 Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | January 12, 2020 (aged 97) Cadiz, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Other names | Mev Fredenburg, Mary E. Fredenburg |
| Occupation(s) | Nurse, missionary in Nigeria |
Early life
editMary Evelyn Fredenburg was born in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, the daughter of David Ralph Fredenburg and Mary Elizabeth Davies Fredenburg.[1] Her parents were both born in North Dakota; her father was an electrician. As a girl, she moved to Orlando, Florida with her parents and younger siblings; she graduated from Orlando High School in 1940.[2] She attended Mars Hill College, and trained as a nurse at Southern Baptist Hospital in New Orleans.[3] She later earned a master's degree in education from the University of Minnesota while on furlough in the 1960s.[4]
Career
editThe Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention appointed Fredenburg to a mission post in Nigeria in 1947.[5][6] She taught at a boys' school for two years,[7] then worked as a registered nurse at Eku Baptist Hospital, and was director of the hospital's nursing school.[8][9] She also co-founded a church, Eseroghene Baptist Church. During furloughs in the United States, she was a frequent speaker at Southern Baptist churches and events,[10][11][12] sometimes also preparing "an African style dinner" for her audiences.[13] She spoke at conferences on medical missions in Oklahoma in 1954,[14] and in St. Louis, Missouri in 1963.[4] She retired from her work in Nigeria in 1988,[3] and ran The Shepherd's Shop, a Christian bookstore in Cadiz, Kentucky, in her retirement.[15]
Personal life
editFredenburg died in January 2020, on her 97th birthday, in Cadiz, Kentucky.[3] The Little River Mission Board of Cadiz named a fund the "Mev Fredenburg Mission Fund" in her memory.[15]
References
edit- ^ "Deaths: Mary Elizabeth Davies Fredenburg". Orlando Evening Star. 1961-03-29. p. 31. Retrieved 2021-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Biographies F". Florida Baptist Historical Society. 2020-11-23. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
- ^ a b c "Mary Evelyn Fredenburg" The Cadiz Record (January 20, 2020).
- ^ a b Lee, Elgin (1963-02-28). "Student Medical Missions Conference, St. Louis, March 22–23". Word and Way. p. 12. Retrieved 2021-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Baptists Appoint 56 Foreign Missionaries". Sarasota Herald Tribune. April 9, 1947. p. 6. Retrieved January 6, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ "First Baptist". Tallahassee Democrat. 1947-05-18. p. 14. Retrieved 2021-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Staff (2020-01-30). "In memoriam: Emeritus missionary Mary Evelyn Fredenburg, 97". International Mission Board. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
- ^ "Eku Baptist Hospital Revamps". Word and Way. 1970-04-16. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Fredenburg, M. E. (July 1970). "EKU Baptist Hospital". The Nigerian Nurse. 2: 4–5. ISSN 0331-4448. PMID 5205622.
- ^ "College Park Baptist Church". The Orlando Sentinel. 1983-12-02. p. 177. Retrieved 2021-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "'You Are Witnesses' Is Theme of Girls Auxiliary Court Here". The Amarillo Globe-Times. 1963-04-19. p. 23. Retrieved 2021-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "GA Session". Brownwood Bulletin. April 14, 1963. Retrieved January 6, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ "Phi Sigmas Have Meeting". The Orlando Sentinel. 1951-07-05. p. 10. Retrieved 2021-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Baptists Slate Medical Talks". The Daily Oklahoman. 1955-04-01. p. 21. Retrieved 2021-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "In the Spotlight: Mary Evelyn Fredenburg" Little River Baptist Association (March 2020): 2.
