Arthur Eikamp died last November after living a full and very rewarding life. His story as recounted in his memoir is remarkable. Please go to " local authors" section of this web site for details. He was a living legend in Langlois- noted for cutting down trees in his 90's and earlier would use a scooter to go the post office and so was familiar figure on Hyw 101. So in tribute: his obituary and a wonderful poem " Arthur" in a book of poetry: heart stuck open by LIlyMars, one of our own Langlois poets.
Sept. 23, 1918 – Nov. 5, 2016
A memorial service will be held for Arthur Raymond Eikamp, 98, of Bandon, at 2 p.m. Dec. 3, at the Langlois Community Church. Cremation rites have been held under the direction of Nelson's Bay Area Mortuary.
Arthur was born Sept. 23, 1918, in a newly built chicken coop on a farm in Gary, S.D., the son of John and Anna (Beving) Eikamp. He was the fifth and last surviving of six children: four sisters and one brother.
Growing up in the dust bowl years, Arthur learned frugality, ingenuity, and self-sacrificing (if you couldn’t make it, you did without it), and strong work and moral ethics from his devout Christian parents. After a life changing experience in his late teens he enrolled in Anderson College to study for the ministry. There he made life-lasting friendships, but it wasn’t until he was a student at Yale Divinity School that he met and married Norma Helen Blewitt from New York City.
The first two years of married life they lived out of a Jeep station wagon traveling from Minnesota to the Rio Grande Valley ministering to agricultural migrants and their families. In 1949 they received the call to go to Japan to help the Japanese church rebuild after the devastation of World War II and embark on a 35-year missionary career in that country. They had the privilege of seeing Japan rise from the ashes and rubble of defeat and U.S. military occupation to become the advanced nation that it is today. In 1984, before retiring from serving in Japan, Arthur was honored by Emperor Hirohito with a medal for extended service to the Japanese people. Read more about A tribute to Arthur Eikamp
