Francis Wernick, 95, “Loved the Lord and His Work”

General Vice President from 1975-‘85

Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Andrew McChesney and ANN Staff

Francis Warren Wernick, former General Conference vice president, died peacefully after a lengthy illness at 2 a.m. Sabbath, April 11.

Wernick gained a reputation as a kind, gentle spiritual leader and good listener in 43 years of church service that began when he got married and graduated from Union College on the same day in 1942 and immediately moved to North Dakota to pastor a church.

After North Dakota, Wernick served as a pastor in churches in Pennsylvania and Ohio before accepting an invitation to become president of the Adventist Church’s East Pennsylvania Conference in 1958. He later served as president of the Ohio and Oregon conferences and president of the Lake Union Conference before being elected General Conference vice president, a position he held until his retirement in 1985.

In retirement, Wernick remained active in church work, serving as head elder, head deacon, and Sabbath school teacher at the Triadelphia Adventist Church in the Washington D.C. area, said William Fagal, associate director at the Ellen G. White Estate, where Wernick served as a life trustee. When Fagal moved to the area, he began attending the Triadelphia church after Wernick showed up at his front door with a basket of homegrown vegetables and an invitation.

A life-long Seventh-day Adventist, Wernick was born on Jan. 24, 1920, in Lake City, Iowa, to parents Irving and Olive Wernick. He is survived by his wife, Mary Sue, 95; three children, Brenda Flemmer of Burtonsville, Maryland; Robert Wernick of Ooltewah, Tennessee; and Carolyn Jimenez of Ooltewah, Tennessee; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

“Elder Francis Wernick was a wonderfully solid and reliable leader in God’s church,” said General Conference president Ted N.C. Wilson. “He took his role as a spiritual leader very seriously, and he loved the Lord and His work.”

“It was such a privilege to associate with him as a leader on whatever level he served because you knew he simply wanted the best for God’s remnant church,” Wilson said. “Soon we will see him when Jesus returns — something Elder Wernick lived for and looked forward to. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

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