Scheidel, Julius Eugene
The Rev. Julius Eugene Scheidel, Jr., a resident of Heron Point, Chestertown, MD, died on Monday, July 27, 2020, at his home. He was 101.
Born on May 9, 1919 into a strong Christian family and supported by a strong Presbyterian Church, the most significant event in his life occurred when he became a Christian by conviction and convinced that God was calling him to serve as a missionary in Africa. In preparation for that work, he first graduated from Grove City College, PA, in May of 1941. In September of that same year, he began his preparation for ministry by entering Princeton Theological Seminary, in NJ, graduating in May of 1944. During his senior (3rd year) at the seminary, he married Mary Margaret Black of Canonsburg, PA, whom he met while both were students at Grove City College.
Upon graduation from the seminary, he was appointed by the Presbyterian Board of Missions to the denomination’s mission in the French Cameroun. After several delays caused by WWII, the newlyweds arrived at the assigned station in Cameroun on April 1, 1945. A first term of 3 years was taken up by itineration, visiting villages and established churches along the Cameroun/Gabon border. During that first term, a daughter, Susan S. (Woodcock) was born to the Scheidels in the mission hospital.
Because of his fluency in the native language (Bulu) and his recent (1948) studies in theology, Rev. Scheidel was appointed by the mission as director of the pastoral training school, Dager Biblical Seminary in 1949, an assignment that continued through 1959. While on furlough in 1960 and having lived through the 15-year transition period which culminated in the establishment of Republique du Cameroun, Rev. Scheidel became convinced that ecclesiastic control as well as political should be in the hands of the people of Cameroun. Consequently, he resigned from the service in Cameroun to take up ministry in the United States.
He is survived by a daughter, Susan Woodcock and her husband Ray of Waynesville, NC; two sisters, June Fitton of Travers City, MI, and Ruth Sabo of Dennisville, NJ; three grandchildren, Edith W. Brady of High Point, NC, The Rev. Joy W. Laughridge of Jacksonville, FL; and Sharon W. Robinson of Locust, NC; as well as three great grandchildren.
Services will be held on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, at 11 am at the Presbyterian Church of Chestertown. Interment will be in Hillside Cemetery in Roslyn, PA, following the service.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Presbyterian Church of Chestertown, 905 Gateway Drive, Chestertown, MD 21620. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.fhnfuneralhome.com.
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