WORLD REPORT
F
rancis Wernick, a former vice president of the General Conference, spent much of his life proclaiming the Advent message of Jesus’ soon coming. These days Wernick, who is seriously ill, is encouraging his wife of 72 years, Mary Sue, to keep her eyes fixed on that hope as he prepares her for his death. Wernick, 95, has lung disease, likely brought on by old age, and has had several close calls, said the couple’s eldest child, Brenda Flemmer, 64. Wernick himself is ready to go, his children said. But he also wants to make sure that his college sweetheart, who turned 95 on February 3, 2015, and is 10 days younger than he is, is ready to say goodbye. “My dad is ready to meet Jesus. He wants to go to sleep and rest,” said his son, Robert Wernick, 57. “When he talks to my mom about this, he reminds her that Jesus is coming soon and they will not be apart very long, to stay faithful, and there is a better life ahead,” he said. “My mom believes this, but after 72 years of marriage it is hard to say goodbye, even for a little while.” Francis Wernick, a lifelong Seventh-day Adventist born in Lake City, Iowa, met Mary Sue at the library where she worked at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. Within months the two final-year students were engaged, and they married on May 24, 1942, just hours after attending their graduation ceremony in the morning. The wedding, held at the Union College church, was inexpensive, and the decorations were homemade. The officiating pastor was Jerry Pettis, who went on to serve as a California lawmaker in the United States House of Representatives.
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Adventist World - nad | May 2015
Above: Francis and Mary Sue Wernick getting married on May 24, 1942, hours after their graduation from Union College. Right: The Wernicks in an undated photo taken for a church directory. P HOTOS
C o u r t e s y
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W e r n ic k
f ami l y
Church Leader
Prepares Wife for
His Death
By Andrew Mc Chesney, news editor, Adventist World Married, With Orange Crates
Two days after the wedding the couple headed to North Dakota so Francis Wernick could begin his ministry. “I never got the feeling they spent a lot of time analyzing whether or not they were right for each other, but both were praying that they would find the right person and trusted God
to lead,” said Robert Wernick, who retired in 2012 after 32 years in the energy industry and began caring for his parents at his home in Ooltewah, Tennessee, near Southern Adventist University. Everything the Wernicks owned was packed into their car for the move to North Dakota, and they started life together with orange