(April 4, 2015 - by Harold Goerzen)  Pris Wagoner’s decade-long service in Ecuador was relatively brief; but she and her husband, Dr. Gilbert “Gil” Wagoner, embarked on a medical missionary career at a stage in life when many would contemplate retirement. And they left a lasting impression among the missionaries and Latin Americans alike, making strides in education that influenced the lives of hundreds of medical professionals.

Pris died the afternoon of Sunday, March 22, at Mt. Pleasant Nursing Home in Monroe, Ohio, just five months and a day after her husband of 67 years went to be with the Lord. She was 88.

Priscilla Joseph Wagoner was born on April 5, 1926, in Harvey, Ill., the only child of Charles and Elizabeth Joseph. After graduating from Thornton Township High School in Harvey in 1943, she studied at Wesley Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago, graduating as a registered nurse in 1947. She then worked as a staff nurse in various hospitals as well as the Cadet Nurse Corps.

It was while living in Chicago that Pris met her future husband, Gilbert “Gil” Wagoner, at a youth fellowship in a local Methodist Church—the same church where they later married on June 28, 1947. While Pris was preparing to be a nurse, Gil was studying to be a medical doctor.

“When he proposed to Mom, he asked if she would consider being a missionary, and Mom of course said yes, not knowing he would take her up on this 30 years later,” said her daughter Rosemary.

The Wagoners first heard about Reach Beyond (formerly HCJB Global) in 1975 when Gil and Rosemary, then 14, joined a Christian & Missionary Alliance (C&MA) mission tour, visiting the denomination’s ministries in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. In Quito, Ecuador, Gil first learned about learned of the broadcasting ministry of Radio Station HCJB and its medical missions complement, Hospital Vozandes-Quito (HVQ).

For Gil, having been raised in Chile where his parents served as C&MA missionaries, language school presented little challenge. But for Pris, then in her early 50s, taking on a new language was a formidable task.

While in Costa Rica, the Wagoners worked with some other missionaries to expand El Templo Evangélico (Evangelical Temple). “Through their participation, the church built a huge sanctuary that was completed before we left for Quito [in August 1978],” Rosemary said.

On arriving in Quito, Gil began to pursue a medical license in Ecuador even though the government had an embargo on issuing medical diplomas to foreigners. Less than two years later, he became one of the first two American physicians in over 15 years to receive medical diplomas and licenses to practice medicine in the country.

“I remember that Gil and Pris had us over for a meal when we were visiting Quito in 1988, and praying about joining HCJB,” recalled Marian Douce who served in Ecuador with her physician husband, Dick. “She was fun and funny, but she was also realistic about what moving to Ecuador would mean for us. Our visit with them then encouraged us to join the mission and be part of the medical ministry…. When we finally got to Quito, they had left, so we didn’t have the privilege of working with them, but we saw their legacy in the hospital’s residency program.”

While in Quito, the Wagoners also helped establish El Batán church where Gil served as associate pastor. Today the church has more than 1,500 members and has given birth to four additional churches in Quito.

From 1978 to 1988, both she and Gil served at HVQ. Later on, Pris worked in the English Language Service at Radio Station HCJB, an outlet that broadcast the gospel worldwide via shortwave in more than a dozen languages.

An avid postage stamp collector, Pris would also glean stamps from correspondence sent from listeners around the world. For eight years she spent countless hours updating the mission’s official stamp collection and selling duplicate stamps to help finance the broadcasts.

Known as a hard-working woman, Pris faithfully supported her husband in everything he did. She was always ready to volunteer and help others, serving as a Girl Scout leader and volunteering at the local Red Cross and at a hospice. She was also active in church, singing in the choir and chipping in wherever needed.

Pris is missed by her three children, Jack, Jim and Rosemary, as well as five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A memorial service was held at Mt. Pleasant Chapel in Ohio on Saturday, March 28, with Dr. Eric Newell and Pastor Wes Duff officiating followed by burial at North Monroe Cemetery.

Sources: Reach Beyond, Breitenbach Funeral Home