Word of the death of Richard Placeway, longtime Charis Fellowship pastor, has been received. He died February 23, 2020, in Manheim, Pa. Below is a tribute his daughter-in-law, Jill Placeway, posted on Facebook. It is shared here with her permission. A complete obituary will be posted here when it is available.
Friends, early Sunday morning Feb. 23, 2020, at the age of 89, the patriarch of our family, Richard Placeway, went home to be with his Savior and Lord. He faithfully served the Lord in full-time pastoral ministry in Grace Brethren/Charis Fellowship churches for 44 years and continued to serve in interim and volunteer ministries during retirement for 15 additional years. Countless people were greatly impacted by his teaching of the Word of God and his shepherding ministry. I Peter 5:2 aptly describes his commitment to God’s call on his life. “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be.”
To Tim, his son, his role was not only as father, but pastor, mentor, counselor, friend and encourager in the ministry. He continued to daily study the Word and shared spiritual truths and prayers at Mt. Hope, the nursing home in Manheim PA, only 8 miles from our home, where he received such loving care. We were privileged to see and support him almost daily in his last 2 1/2 years, as he experienced the decline of Alzheimer’s disease. His beloved wife of 64 years, Nancy, also resided at Mt. Hope until her homegoing in early 2019. His wisdom and love will be greatly missed by his two sons: Tim and his wife Jill, and Steve and his wife Lyn, as well as his 5 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.
As in II Corinthians 5, “we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal home in heaven, not built by human hands.” We take great joy in knowing that his mind and body are now whole, that he is worshipping the Lord that he so faithfully served and enjoying his eternal home. His memorial service will be held at the Elizabethtown Grace Brethren Church, 305 Anchor Rd. in Elizabethtown PA on May 17 at 3 p.m. The family will be available after the service to greet friends who knew and loved Pastor Dick.
The pictures of Dad Placeway and Tim were taken recently at Mt. Hope.
Final arrangements were made with Porterfield/Scheid funeral home in Lebanon, PA.