Larry Ewing, 1947-2020
Larry John Ewing, a retired International Mission Board missionary who shared the gospel among the European Affinity Peoples in Hungary, died May 17, 2020. He was 73.
Larry was born in Lubbock, Texas, on Jan. 13, 1947, to the late Ola Mae and Lattimore Ewing. He graduated from Monterey High School in Lubbock in 1965. Larry received the Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and the Master of Education from Texas Tech University, Lubbock.
In 1970, Ewing married Melinda Ann Austin, whom he met at Texas Tech. He was owner and operator of the Adams Ewing Insurance Agency for 35 years.
Ewing grew up in a Christian home. He wrote when seeking missionary appointment that a week after he prayed to receive Christ at age 8, he wanted to tell his cousin, who was his age, what had happened to him.
“My mother drove me to her house. She, too, received Jesus into the heart!”
Most of his spiritual growth, Ewing wrote, came from teaching Sunday School for 36 years, 32 years to university students.
“My call to missions has come in part as the result of a praying son and my desire to be in a position of total ministry,” he wrote. When he and Melinda learned about an International Mission Board program that would allow them to serve up to two years overseas, they applied and were sent to do student evangelism in Hungary. Although response was slow at first, they saw a house church start and grow while they were there.
IMB appointed them in 2007 to return to Hungary for student ministry, where they served until 2016. After retiring, they returned to Texas and Ewing worked with the Navigators ministry at West Texas A&M University, Canyon.
Ewing devoted his time to First Baptist Church in Lubbock; Hillside Christian Church in Canyon; and Paramount Baptist Church in Amarillo in university ministries.
Survivors include his wife, Melinda Ewing, of Canyon; daughters, Elisa Krolczyk (Scott) and Emily Arnett (Cee); son, Austin Ewing (Kim); sister, Larita Ewing; and seven grandchildren.
Services were held May 20, 2020, at Boxwell Brothers Ivy Chapel in Amarillo, with burial at Llano Cemetery, Amarillo.
Memorial donations may be made in Ewing’s name to the International Mission Board, 3806 Monument Avenue, Richmond, VA 23230, or online at www.imb.org/give.
Read an obituary here.