Truth Magazine

Leslie Eugene Diestelkamp died Sept. 12, 1995, in Aurora, Illinois, having suffered a stroke December 19, 1994 from which he was unable to recover. He was born December 24, 1911, in Phelps County, Missouri, thus living 83 years, 8 months and 19 days. His mother died when he was three months old and from then on he was cared for by his grandparents and their daughter Amelia, not yet 16 years old. After his grandmother died and Amelia married Elmer Ferris, their home became his home and their children were like brother and sisters to him. He obeyed the gospel in August of 1925 after having walked with his grandfather the 20 miles to at-tend a meeting of the Oak Grove church near St. James, Missouri. He preached his first full sermon in August 1934 at Oak Grove, no doubt never realizing that that beginning effort would eventually take him to preaching on five continents and Canada, into most of the states and endear him to thousands as he preached the gospel of Christ whom he served so joyfully and hopefully.

Survivors include his wife of more than 19 years Myrtle, of Aurora, IL; two daughters and their husbands, Wanda (Mrs. James) Hodges, Temple Terrance, FL and Lavon (Mrs. Robert E.) Speer, Fox River Grove, IL, three sons and their wives, Karl (Delores Steen), Kenosha, WI, Al (Connie Hennecke), DeKalb, IL and Roy (Mary Sullivan), Thorold, Ontario, Canada; a sister, Nora Pruitt, St. Jamess MO; Ray (Charlene Raker) Ferris, Lockport, IL; Raymond and Velva (Ferris) Breuer, Hallsville, MO and Jack and Darlein (Ferris) Duncan, Dixon, MO; 20 grandchildren and their 17 spouses, 42 great grandchildren (if you include two in the womb – and we do). He was preceded in death by two grandchildren, Timothy and Violet Hodges and one great-grandchild, Ryan Diestelkamp.

On August 3, 1932, he married Sarah Alice Wright, his high school sweetheart. She was his faithful companion and co-laborer for 41 years when she died September 20, 1973. On May 1, 1976, he married Myrtle Benedict, a long-time family friend and sister in Christ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin who has been his faithful and loving companion. Al has written, “He was blessed to have known two wives whom he could `praise in the gates.’ Likewise, Dad’s children had both a loving birth-mother and a loving second-mother that we can “rise up and call blessed. I do not hesitate to speak for the rest of Dad’s family in expressing our appreciation and love to Myrtle. I am happy that even though none of his children were present when he died, that Myrtle was there, holding his hand, and that by God’s grace he was eased from the bosom of Myrtle to the bosom of Abraham.”

His widow will continue to live in their apartment just across the street from the Aurora meeting house and she may be written at: 1730 W. Galena Blvd., #102W, Aurora, IL 60506.

Guardian of Truth XXXIX: No. 23, p. 15
December 7, 1995

That which I will miss Dad most for, is his prayers. You did not spend time in his home without knowing that he prayed to God. When Dad prayed he did so often for others, specifically, by name and for their particular situations and needs. I know he did that for hundreds of brethren in Christ, and for his family too. I know he prayed for me, and I found great joy in that. I will miss his prayers, for: “.. . The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (Jas. 5:16).

We all have work to do in praying. The prayers of Leslie Diestelkamp, and others too, are stilled. We must be praying people too, and for others, specifically, by name, and for their particular situations and needs. We are urged to “come boldly unto the throne of grace to obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16), and to “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). Even so, let us pray. -Roy Diestelkamp

Guardian of Truth XXXIX: No. 23, p. 21
December 7, 1995

By Ray Ferris

Few people have had a longer relationship with Leslie Diestelkamp than I. When I was born, he was a lad of eleven and one-half years in my home, having been with my mother and father from the time of their marriage almost four years earlier. Even so, our association was limited as he was away in high school and working out of the home by the time I was able to be aware of what a “big brother” could mean in a family setting. He was, nevertheless, an impressive influence in my early years.

He married before I was ten years old, and I can well remember his effort to persuade me to trade my new rifle for his first daughter, Wanda, when she was born. Of course, I refused to think of sacrificing my treasured gun for a baby, and he was not required to reveal that he was only teasing. Many who knew him did not realize his love for humor and desire to tease. On numerous trips we made with others in later years to lectures, debates, etc. he would be involved in almost unbelievable pranks to help such long journeys to be times of enjoyment and fun. Participating in an effort to convince a waitress that one of his companions was being transferred to a mental institution, while enjoying the con-fusion of the waitress and his companion; calling a well-known preacher to try to convince him he ought to provide for an indigent who was begging help from the church, etc. are examples of his humor and fun. He was, nevertheless, one who was extremely driven to accomplish any work of which he was a part, in an expeditious manner, and that was especially true of any work that was spiritual in nature.

This was never more apparent than in the early days of the publication of Truth Magazine, later to become the Guardian of Truth. In the mid-fifties, when a group of us met in the home of Bryan Vinson, Jr. to talk of the possibilities of such an undertaking, Leslie was there and became an ardent proponent of such a task. He really desired the paper to be one that could be mailed free of charge, but was willing to be part of what was eventually begun in October 1956, as the first issue of the paper appeared. He was al-ways available to help in every way. Bryan Vinson, Jr. was editor until the magazine was taken over by Cecil Willis, and Leslie and Gordon Pennock served as Associate Editors during that period. Rarely did an issue of the paper appear without an article from his pen, and in addition he was editor of a section of “News Briefs” in the early years of the publication. Regularly he was present as we read galley proofs for correction, then assembled final printed pages, stapled them, addressed them, sorted them as required by the Post Office, and delivered the final product to the Post Office for mailing. He served with others of us on a “Board of Directors” responsible for those early years, and was a participant when we provided individual financial assistance to supplement money from subscriptions and advertising. At times the “Board of Directors” had to borrow funds for such help.

He was with us on several occasions as we went to lectures in Texas and Florida to make special efforts to sell subscriptions to the magazine. It was extremely urgent that we in-crease the number of subscriptions for financial reasons, and we wanted to establish a reading clientele in various parts of the nation, and ultimately, the world. It is my considered judgment that great good was accomplished by this paper in its early days, especially in the Chicagoland area, in the battle against institutions, sponsoring churches, general benevolence from church treasuries, secular use of church buildings, etc. There was a close-knit group who spent many hours together in that effort in a number of different print shops, offices, and homes. Leslie was always a significant part of such efforts.

After Cecil Willis assumed responsibility in every way for production of the paper, most of us who had been so involved through those first six years, breathed a sigh of relief, and did little to further the continued success of the paper, seldom writing material for publication in it. But such was not true of Leslie. Even though he did begin the free paper he had envisioned years earlier (Think on These Things) in 1969, and wrote most the material contained therein, he continued to be a frequent writer in the pages of Truth Magazine, and later in Guardian of Truth. When it was necessary for Cecil Willis to step aside in that effort, and at a time when the magazine was at a low ebb, a series of articles by Leslie in 1978 on the family was a “shot in the arm” that helped the paper. That series became the publication known as The Family Circle, and was later revised to be used as a text for class study on the family. Both were published by the Cogdill Foundation, and both are out of print at the present.

Although Leslie was not an aggressive proponent of his own views, he was al-ways ready to engage in discussion of all matters that involved what he conscientiously believed. This is evident by any search of recent pages of Guardian of Truth. His voice and pen were at the very heart of the controversy of recent years regarding the “Grace Fellowship” discussions. While it is true Leslie made statements with which many were not happy, and that includes some that I personally believe to be ill advised, anyone who really knew him knows he was not a Calvinist  neo, or otherwise, and to charge him as such is not responsible or charitable.

As I travel throughout this land and meet brethren, there is hardly a place one can go that his name is not known and respected. What man in this century has had greater influence in the promotion of evangelism in every part of the world? His family is a living monument to his dedication to the spirituality of the “family circle” about which he wrote and preached so often. The overflow crowds at the memorial services in Aurora, Illinois, where he lived at the time of his death, and at St. James, Missouri, in the area where he was raised and began his first work of preaching the word, were surely testimonials to the love and respect of a host of brethren for him.

Many pages of material could be writ-ten of the seventy-two plus years of my association with this man from my birth to his death September 12, 1995, but may it suffice to say that without question “there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel.”

Guardian of Truth XXXIX: No. 23, p. 14-15
December 7, 1995

By Foy Vinson

Karl, the eldest son of Leslie Diestelkamp, recently called and asked if I would write a few things about his father. Having known Leslie for almost forty years and being privileged to be very closely associated with him during the years I spent in the Chicago area in the late fifties and most of the sixties. I am happy and honored to be a part of this tribute to a great and good man.

I first met Leslie in the late summer of 1956 when I was in the Chicago area for meetings in Moms and Elgin. During that three-week stay the first issue of Truth Magazine was printed and prepared for mailing and this began a practice (i.e., the preparation, addressing and mailing of the magazine) of which I was a regular participant after my move to Elgin the following spring. That practice brought several of us together of-ten and it was during this period that I came to be very close to Leslie along with Gordon Pennock and Ray Ferris among others.

Obviously there are many things that could be said about Leslie in an article such as this, but I shall limit myself to three things that especially impressed me about him.

A Man of Conviction

When I first became acquainted with Leslie the brethren in Chicago land were just becoming aware of the issues being raised by institutionalism and the sponsoring church. This awareness was later coming to that area than was the case in most of the southern states. Leslie, having preached in such states as Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota for many years, was widely known, loved and respected by most of the brethren. However, as the aforementioned controversy became more pronounced and the men who stood opposed to institutionalism and its related errors be-came clearly identified, no man in the area suffered greater loss in terms of friends and approving brethren than did Leslie Diestelkamp because he had so many to lose! Yet in all of this he never wavered, even though he suffered a deep hurt as did all of us who similarly experienced such losses. Indeed, throughout his life he always exhibited a strong conviction for the truth of God. I believe his only thought in arriving at any conclusion relative to the word of God was simply this: “What does the Bible teach?” or “For what do we have authority in the New Testament?” And as a man of such deep conviction he has left an example worthy of imitation on the part of everyone who professes to be a follower of Christ, be he a preacher or not.

A Man of Zeal

Paul described Christians as the Lord’s “own special people, zealous for good works” (Tit.2:14). Leslie was certainly numbered among such because he always exuded an enthusiasm and zeal for the Lord’s cause that was a joy to be around. The first time I ever heard him speak was at the Abilene Lectures in the mid-fifties. This was before I actually met him, but I remember hearing him as he spoke on one of his favorite themes, evangelism. I have always remembered his closing remarks as he exhorted brethren to a greater effort. He said, “If you can push, push; if you can pull, pull; and if you can’t do either one, get out of the way!” Those words express graphically the zeal and positive attitude of the man I came to know and to appreciate. He not only preached zeal, but he lived it. He spent all of his years in the “mission field,” often in very difficult places and where the saints were few. He even spent some years in far away Nigeria and promoted the cause there until the end of his days. The church of which I am a member has supported a faithful Nigerian preacher for many years because he was known and recommended by Leslie. Truly he was “zealous in a good thing always” (Gal.4:18), and the apostle A Sad Thing, continued from front cover said that “is

A Man of Good Will

One other quality that stands out in my remembrance of Leslie was his good attitude in the midst of any kind of circumstance. As I mentioned earlier, during the controversy over institutionalism wherein he had many past friends to turn against him and often misrepresent him, and this during a time when I was very closely associated with him, he never succumbed to bitterness or rancor. In reading back over those early issues of Truth Magazine I noticed that well after many liberal brethren had cut him off, he was still mentioning many of them in his news briefs and keeping up with their activities.

I have observed in the past that “the issues” in the fifties and sixties never became as inflammatory or bitter as was true in the southern states. Having close family and close friends in the south, as well as reading the various papers written by brethren, I was well aware of the situation there. However, it is my view that attitudes never were as bad in the Chicago area and I attribute that in no small part to the good will and loving attitude of Leslie. I know that some brethren almost equate a “loving attitude” with softness or compromise, but we have already touched on the matter of conviction, and believe me Leslie was not lacking in that. However, he realized that there is no incompatibility between speaking the truth and at the same time being characterized by love and good will (Eph. 4:15). He truly loved even his enemies.

Outside of my own family, there is no man whom I have respected more or has had a greater influence on my life than Lesllie Diestelkamp. He was truly one of my heroes, and I shall miss him here, but I don’t expect to miss him over there! Thank You, Lord, for his good life.

Guardian of Truth XXXIX: No. 23, p. 20-21
December 7, 1995