Mary Evelyn Fredenburg

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
A smiling white woman with short dark curly hair.
Mary Evelyn Fredenburg, from a 1963 newspaper
BornJanuary 12, 1923
DiedJanuary 12, 2020 (aged 97)
Other namesMev Fredenburg, Mary E. Fredenburg
Occupation(s)Nurse, missionary in Nigeria

Early life edit

Mary 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 edit

The 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 edit

Fredenburg 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

  1. ^ "Deaths: Mary Elizabeth Davies Fredenburg". Orlando Evening Star. 1961-03-29. p. 31. Retrieved 2021-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Biographies F". Florida Baptist Historical Society. 2020-11-23. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  3. ^ a b c "Mary Evelyn Fredenburg" The Cadiz Record (January 20, 2020).
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Baptists Appoint 56 Foreign Missionaries". Sarasota Herald Tribune. April 9, 1947. p. 6. Retrieved January 6, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  6. ^ "First Baptist". Tallahassee Democrat. 1947-05-18. p. 14. Retrieved 2021-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Staff (2020-01-30). "In memoriam: Emeritus missionary Mary Evelyn Fredenburg, 97". International Mission Board. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  8. ^ "Eku Baptist Hospital Revamps". Word and Way. 1970-04-16. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Fredenburg, M. E. (July 1970). "EKU Baptist Hospital". The Nigerian Nurse. 2: 4–5. ISSN 0331-4448. PMID 5205622.
  10. ^ "College Park Baptist Church". The Orlando Sentinel. 1983-12-02. p. 177. Retrieved 2021-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "'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.
  12. ^ "GA Session". Brownwood Bulletin. April 14, 1963. Retrieved January 6, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  13. ^ "Phi Sigmas Have Meeting". The Orlando Sentinel. 1951-07-05. p. 10. Retrieved 2021-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Baptists Slate Medical Talks". The Daily Oklahoman. 1955-04-01. p. 21. Retrieved 2021-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b "In the Spotlight: Mary Evelyn Fredenburg" Little River Baptist Association (March 2020): 2.