Eugene Arthur Bjork

Born June 29, 1909; Married May 10, 1941 (Pauline Guild, d. Jan 5, 1997); Died July 23, 2001

Children: David Paul Bjork, June 13, 1944; Bradley Scott Bjork, June 30, 1948

I was born June 29, 1909 in Tukwila, Washington (17 miles south of Seattle).  A year later we moved to
Seattle, where my brother Gordon was born. 

I went to a Swedish Baptist church and schools in a section of Seattle called Ballard.  My father died
when I was 17, so I quit high school to work.  My uncle, Elam Anderson, convinced me to finish high
school in order to be able to go on to the university.

Finishing the University of Washington in the midst of the Depression was not the best time to look for work. 
After a few years of odd jobs, I decided to ride with my brother and his wife on their way to California
for a vacation.  Thinking about the possibility of going into the ministry, I talked with one of the Berkeley Baptist
Seminary professors who used to be my pastor in Seattle.  He convinced me to give the seminary a try for
a year.  After studying there for a year, I decided I liked it enough to pursue the program in order to become a pastor.

I married Paula Guild after my second year there.  Our first son, David, was born during the second pastorate.
 Then we answered a call to go to the Philippines as missionaries for the American Baptist Foreign Mission
Society, right after World War II was finished. Our second son, Bradley, was born there.  After serving five years,
we returned to the states on our furlough, and the doctor advised us not to return because of Paula's health.

This brings us up to 1951. Since then we served several pastorates on the West Coast.  In 1960 I changed my
standing from Baptist to Congregational, and have been serving in this denomination until retirement in 1979.

Our oldest son, David, is a veterinarian, married and has a boy and a girl.  Our younger son, Brad, is a printer
of etchings, married and has a boy and a girl, also.

Not being content with the rocking chair way of life, I have secured half-time work as chaplain in a local hospital. 
Jesus said, “My Father worketh until now and I work.”

- Eugene A. Bjork, 1984