TURLOCK, CA (November 11, 2011) – A memorial service for retired missionary Norman Dwight, 86, will be conducted at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, November 15 at Hilmar Covenant Church.
Dwight was born January 9, 1925, in Siangyang, China. He was the son of Covenant missionaries, Albert and Elna Dwight, and spent most of his early years in China. In 1936 the family returned to the United States, and the following year war in China prevented their return to the mission field. The family settled in Hilmar, California.
Dwight married Martha Eastman on August 24, 1947. She survives.
He served in the Air Force, and after being discharged in 1945, he enrolled in Modesto Junior College in California. The next year he transferred to North Park Junior College in Chicago. He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree from Sacramento State College and earned a master of divinity degree from North Park Theological Seminary.
He and Martha were commissioned in 1954. The couple served in Taiwan throughout their missionary careers.
In 1990, Dwight said, “I grew up in a missionary home and from an early age, associated with Chinese people. It was then that I first sensed a call of God to be a missionary. During World War II, the experience of being in a bomber that was shot down over enemy territory had a profound impact on my life.”
In addition to Martha, survivors include six sons, David, Steven, Philip, Donald, Paul, and Timothy. Memorials have been designated for Covenant World Mission in Chicago, and Benevolent Care Fund for Covenant Village of Turlock in Turlock, California.
