Loren Henry Dyke, 87, passed away Nov. 2, 2020, at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center, Hutchinson, Kan. He was born Oct. 30, 1933, in Malvern, Iowa, to Dale D. and Maxine (Boyer) Dyke. He married Marilyn Patricia Mueller May 27, 1956 at First United Methodist Church in Griswold, Iowa. She survives.
Loren was an active child and loved exploring the woods, fields, and streams that were all around the small farming community where he grew up. He suffered several life-threatening injuries and sicknesses in his youth, including a long siege with rheumatic fever, and possibly polio. At age six, he tripped right by the Methodist church and jammed the point of a wooden sword into his throat. Unbeknown to his parents, the tip had broken off inside the throat. Two weeks later, doctors in a Council Bluffs hospital removed that bloody piece of wood.
Along with his family, Loren was active in that same Methodist church during his early years. He enjoyed all sports and engaged vigorously in all of them. In conjunction with the WWII jobs program, his dad moved the family to Los Angeles in 1943 to work in the Howard Hughes shipyard and was assigned to work on the famous Spruce Goose. The family’s temporary housing was in a trailer park right across the street from MGM studios where Loren became acquainted and often played with members of the Our Gang, sometimes called The Little Rascals, including Froggie and Alfalfa. With Froggie and other boys, he climbed a high fence to sneak into those studios to watch the making of films.
The family returned to Iowa after the war and in 1947, Loren accompanied a Baptist preacher and his sons to Minneapolis to attend a Youth for Christ meeting in which a young evangelist named Billy Graham was the featured speaker. On one evening during that conference, Loren walked a long-tabernacle aisle to the front and committed his life to Jesus Christ.
Loren graduated from Chariton, Iowa High School in 1951 and enrolled in Peru State Teachers’ College in 1952, and in l953, while the Korean War was on, was inducted into the Army. The war ended, and Loren spent most of his service time in Fort Belvoir, Va. While there, he had a life-changing encounter with Jesus while serving as a Chaplain’s Assistant at the base chapel.
Following discharge, back in Iowa, he accepted a role as counselor at a Methodist youth camp at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. It was there he met Marilyn Mueller of Griswold, Iowa. They both loved music, worked together in the camp’s music program, and became best friends. They were married on May 27, 1956, and became the parents of three children, Lorene, Daniel, and Jerry.
Loren taught school in southwest Iowa for five years, and during that time, the most spiritually transforming event of his and Marilyn’s lives occurred when the two of them attended a Christian Ashram in Salina, Kan., a retreat movement founded by Dr. E. Stanley Jones. For Loren, a new intimacy with Jesus began. In 1962 he accepted a position as youth director at a Methodist church in Great Bend, Kan., and in 1963, he became director of the Kansas Ashram.
In 1964, Loren began a full-time faithbased, evangelistic ministry, largely connected with the Ashram movement, and for eight years, on several occasions had opportunity to work closely with Stanley Jones. Loren spoke at many retreats and meetings across the U.S., mostly around the eastern part of the country and during that time, established an organization named The King’s Team focused on revival in America and have been praying for revival in the U.S. since June 1, 1970.
Just before 1980, Loren and Marilyn became active in the Republican Party and in 1980, Loren became Barton county chairman for Ronald Reagan and was elected as an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention in Detroit. As Loren and Marilyn became more involved with politics, the Lord gave them many opportunities to witness for Him and engage with numerous persons involved in governmental leadership at the state and national levels. At one point, they were able to meet Ronald Reagan and Loren was able to hold hands with Nancy Reagan and have a brief prayer with her.
Loren and Marilyn were scheduled to sing at the Kansas Day Banquet in Topeka in January of 1989, but on the way there, Loren had a heart attack which prevented their doing that. But in 1994, the couple had another opportunity to sing America the Beautiful at that same banquet of one-thousand persons, including governors, U.S. senators and legislators, all to the honor and glory of their dear Lord and Savior Jesus, and received a standing ovation. Later, while speaking with Senator Nancy Kassebaum in her Washington office, she told them that she was the first one on her feet following that song.
More than all of the things that Loren has been able to do throughout his life, the most important thing to him in all the world is his personal relationship with Jesus Christ and a desire to tell everyone he meets about Jesus. In the end, his desire is that everyone who reads this obituary or hears about his life over the coming years is that they know Jesus (John 3:16).
Survivors include, his wife, Marilyn Dyke of the home; two sons, Daniel “Danny” L. Dyke of Boston, Mass., and Jerry S. Dyke and wife Kathy of Pflugerville, Texas; a daughter, Lorene “Lore” Meltzer and husband Paul of Kansas City, Mo.; a sister-in-law, Gayle Dyke; a brother-in-law, Elden Bickley; three grandchildren, Daniel Meyer and wife Rachel, Stephanie Meyer, and Jeffrey Dyke and wife Alyssa; and four great grandchildren, Isaiah Meyer, Luke Meyer, Selah Dyke, and Asher Dyke. He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, David Dyke; and a sister, Theresa Bickley.
Visitation will be held from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, at Bryant Funeral Home, with family to receive friends from 4 to 6 p.m. Funeral Service will be held at 10:30 a.m., Friday, Nov. 6, 2020, at Bryant Funeral Home. Interment will be in Golden Belt Memorial Park. Memorials have been designated to the King’s Team, in care of Bryant Funeral Home. Condolences may be sent and notice viewed at www.bryantfh.net.
Funeral arrangements provided by
Bryant Funeral Home
1425 Patton Road
Great Bend, KS 67530
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, Nov. 4, 2020
