Clyde Wilton Tinsman, 1896-1994The Rev. C. Wilton Tinsman, a retired member of the Virginia Annual Conference, was born on August 7, 1896, and died after a long illness on December 10, 1994. He is survived by two daughters, Wilta and Lucy; six grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. His wife, Georgia Boone Tinsman, died in 1956. A native of Winchester, Virginia, the Rev. Tinsman worked as a brick and stone mason before responding to God's call to ordained ministry. He was a graduate of Shenandoah College and Lebanon Valley College. He served a number of Evangelical United Brethren churches, primarily in the Shenandoah Valley, including charges in Broadway, Verona, Churchville, Shenandoah, and Winchester, Virginia; Inwood, West Virginia; and Cumberland, Maryland. He was known for building churches, as he used his skills as a pastor in developing congregations and his skill as a mason in constructing brick and stone fireplaces, monuments, and other structures. In 1968, the Rev. Tinsman retired to "Wild Winds,"his home on the mountain, where he lived for many years at peace with God and God's creatures, including deer, squirrels, birds, and other wildlife who frequented his yard. He spent the past few years in a nursing home near his daughter, Wilta's, home in Pennsylvania. I have many memories of my uncle, but I want to share these two as parting messages to the Virginia conference. First, I pass on to you the good advice he gave me when I was a new pastor. "Above all, a pastor must love the people and receive their love." Second, here is the biblical reference with which he closed every letter he wrote to me, "Cant. 8:6-7": Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; - Memoir written by Rev. Tinsman's niece, |