Donald E. Worch, 90, of Valparaiso, passed away peacefully Monday, October 7, 2019 in his home.
He was born on July 16, 1929 in Dayton, Ohio, the first born of Pauline (Frazee)Worch and Chalmer Worch.
At age nine, under the ministry of Dr. James A. DeWeerd, he received Christ as his personal Savior. Later he attended Bob Jones University preparing to go into full time Christian service. Here Don met and married Nan Clark on August 26, 1951.
Don continued his education at Grand Rapids Bible College and Seminary and later received his Doctor of Divinity from Baptist Bible College of Pennsylvania. Don served as pastor in three churches: Community Gospel Center in Butler, IN; Englishville Baptist Church in Sparta, MI; and Aetna Baptist Church in Gary, IN.
Don left the pastorate to become President of the Baptist Children’s Home in 1967 and remained there until his retirement in 1994, continuing to travel for BCH for several more years.
In his many years of traveling he preached Sunday through Wednesday Family Life Conferences and conducted individual counseling sessions. He touched thousands of lives through this and often returned years later to hear how the Lord had made great changes and restored families. Under Don’s leadership at BCH homes grew to include those in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and India. His love of children and the importance of the family as God instituted knew no bounds and he worked tirelessly to see children loved and cared for and families restored.
Don is preceded in death by his parents, Chalmer and Pauline (Frazee) Worch and his daughter, Deborah (Ron) Byster.
He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Nan (Clark) Worch and his daughter, Dawn (Michael) Cieply; siblings Carolyn (Dick) Davison and Gaylon (Jean) Worch; grandchildren David Cieply, Rachel (Tyrell) Peters, Elizabeth (Ethan) Dunn, Rebecca Cieply, Daniel Cieply and Abigail Cieply.
A funeral celebrating his life will be held at 12 p.m., Saturday, October 12, 2019 at Liberty Bible Church, 824 N. Calumet Ave., Chesterton, Indiana. Visitation and viewing will be from 10 a.m. until time of service at the church.
Please send condolences to the family at www.LakeviewFHC.com.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Baptist Children’s Home, 354 West Street, Valparaiso, IN 46385.