The entire Fresno Pacific University community, especially those connected to Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary, mourn the loss of John E. Toews, Ph.D., former seminary president, academic dean, professor and donor, who passed away September 29, 2024, in Newtown, MA, at age 87.
John E. Toews was born July 20, 1937, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. His father, “JB Toews,” a Russian Mennonite immigrant, was among the most influential men in the North American Mennonite Brethren community. His mother was Nettie Unruh Toews from Marion, South Dakota. John met Arlene Classen as a student at Tabor College and they married August 8, 1958.
John and Arlene’s life together was one of many moves and the joys and sorrows of raising a family. John’s tenure in the Mennonite Brethren Church and its institutions will be remembered for the impact he made in moving the church forward. Throughout his life John would proclaim that “Jesus holds all things together. Jesus is Lord,” and “the Church is Center.”
In 1963, John became a full member of the faculty at Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary (MBBS, now Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary) and then head of the Bible department, beginning a long and influential academic career that, at different times, would take him to Tabor College; Conrad Grebel College, part of the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario; and back to the seminary.
Seemingly everywhere he went, John’s abilities beyond the classroom led him to administrative duties. He spent 12 years as academic dean at MBBS and served several stints as interim president. He served as president at Conrad Grebel from 1996-2002. John completed his career at the seminary and in 2007 was named dean and professor emeritus.
As a leader, John was a visionary. He co-authored—with Dalton Reimer, Ph.D., emeritus communication professor at FPU—the original version of the Fresno Pacific Idea in 1966. The Idea still reflects the university's interpretation of what it means to be a community of learners committed to a distinctive vision of Christian higher education and serves as a center for reflection and action and as a guide for forming a vision of our future.
We reach out to John’s family. His brother, James Toews, and his wife, Susan Mentley-Toews, of Oregon; three children: Delora and her husband Tim of Newton, MA, and Dawn and Mark, both of California; and three cherished grandchildren, Taylor, Zachary and Tessa. Also many friends at College Community Church, where John and Arlene were charter members and he served as moderator. Arlene, John’s beloved wife of 61 years, passed July 17, 2019.
For more on John and his many, many contributions, see this article by former seminary president Valerie Rempel: https://directionjournal.org/38/2/holding-to-center-life-of-john-e-toews.html
More about John's role with the Fresno Pacific Idea at The Story of the FPU Idea - YouTube