Walter Hull Memorial Service

Saturday, November 27
9:30 am Visitation
10:30 am Memorial Service
at Bethel
 
Please join us for a Memorial Service celebrating the life and ministry of Dr. Walter B. Hull. Both the Visitation and the Memorial Service will be held at the church. For those who are unable to attend, please use the link below to watch the service from home.
 

Obituary

Walter Baird Hull, M.D. age 84, passed away at home surrounded by his family on Wednesday evening, November 17, 2021. As a man of faith, he met his Savior Jesus Christ face to face and is now alive in the peace, love, joy and glory of God Almighty.
 
Walter was born in Salem, Ohio on March 23, 1937, the son of Jerome and Doris (Humes) Hull. He grew up as one of nine children on the White House Fruit Farm in Canfield, Ohio, a home and family that always remained close to his heart. From there he attended Wheaton College, graduating in 1959. It was at Wheaton that he personally met Jesus Christ and accepted Him as his Lord and Savior, committing his life to Him. It was also where he met his wife, Nancy (Rutherford). They were married on August 6, 1960, in Mt. Gilead, Ohio. Walter would say that those were the two most important and best decisions he ever made.
 
Walter completed his medical degree at Baylor College of Medicine in 1963, followed by a year of internship at Hennepin County Hospital in Minneapolis and two years of military service at the Choctaw Nation Indian Hospital in Talihina, Oklahoma. He completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology back at Baylor University Hospital in 1969.
 
After completing his medical training, Walter and Nancy, along with their two young daughters, Leanne and Maria, followed the Lord’s call to the mission field in the Congo where they lived and served for 25 years. Walter served as a physician first at Bibanga Hospital and then at the Christian Medical Institute of the Kasai (IMCK). While at IMCK, he also taught at the nursing school and trained medical residents, passing on his knowledge and shaping students’ lives. Walter and Nancy returned to Columbus, Ohio in 1994 when he was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. With good medical care and the Lord’s healing touch, the melanoma was eradicated, and he went on to work for 17 years at the Ohio State University Hospital in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, caring for patients and training medical residents. He continued to offer his medical services to the underserved in various Columbus city clinics. Walter and his wife Nancy also made multiple short-term trips back to Africa to serve in hospitals in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Central African Republic, and Rwanda, often taking medical residents with them to be introduced to medical care and missions in that part of the world. Walter loved his profession and had a passion for teaching. Wherever he served, he was well-respected as a physician, honored by the students and residents he mentored, and appreciated by his colleagues and patients alike.
 
Walter was first and foremost a man of faith in Jesus Christ. He was always an active member of the Church, thrived on studying God’s Word, was a man of prayer, and loved to worship God with fellow believers. His character was marked by gratitude, kindness, joy, and hope. His life and service were simply an outpouring of his life in Christ.
 
Walter was a very committed and loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather as well as son, brother, and uncle. He was intentional about making time for family, leading in faith, laughing with fun, and loving unconditionally. He was deeply loved, enjoyed, and respected by each additional generation that came along, and he is dearly missed.
 
Walter lived life to the fullest! As a lifelong learner, he was an avid reader and loved to engage in meaningful discussions. He had an infectious sense of humor with a hearty laugh and was always up for a good game. He and Nancy warmly welcomed friend and stranger alike into their home. He sought to build community and quickly turned acquaintances into lasting friendships. Truly their family extended beyond immediate relatives and stretched around the globe.
 
Walter lived an incredible life of service to God and neighbor. He touched many lives around the world, loved people well, and left a legacy of faith. Jesus was the source of that love, and Walter lived for Christ’s glory.
Walter was preceded in death by his parents Jerome and Doris Humes Hull, brothers Woodrow (Jane), Herbert, and Edward and sisters Donna (Spencer) Balcomb and Mary Ellen (Jack) Russell and sister-in-law Suzanne Hull.
 
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Nancy, his daughters Leanne (Luke) Turk and Maria (Brad) Festen, his grandchildren Benjamin Turk, Christina (Matthew) Prechter, Kylie Festen, Robert Turk, and Timothy Turk, and his great-grandson Immanuel Prechter. He is also survived by his brothers Jerome, Franklin (Kathy), and David (Phyllis), his sister-in-law Ruth Hull, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
 
Visitation will be at Bethel Presbyterian Church, 1735 Bethel Rd, Columbus, Ohio on November 27, 2021 from 9:30-10:30 a.m. followed by a memorial service at 10:30 a.m.
 
The graveside service will be at Canfield Cemetery, 315 East Main St. Canfield, Ohio on Monday, November 29, 2021 at 11:00 am.
 
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to:
Medical Benevolence Foundation
PO Box 96877
Washington D.C., 20090
Memo: IMCK Endowment Fund https://imck.org
 

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