Irma Pearl Church

Irma Pearl Church quietly fell into her last sleep early on Thanksgiving morning, November 24, 2022 at her home in Berrien Springs, Michigan. She was surrounded by family: her five remaining children, some of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. While she would tell you she was 100 years old, she fell short of that mark by five weeks.

A celebration of her life will be held at the Village Seventh-day Adventist Church in Berrien Springs on January 21 at 3:30 p.m. Messages and memories may be shared online at www.allredfuneralhome.com

Born on January 2, 1923 in Battle Creek, Michigan, to Joseph Levi and Onita Pearl (Palmiter) Wrate, Irma would go on to have a lifetime of adventure and hard work, joy and loss, and a deep and sincere faith in God. Irma graduated from Battle Creek Academy with a class of 17 students in 1941, and from Emmanuel Missionary College (now Andrews University) in 1948.

She married Max J. Church on August 6, 1950. They went on to missionary service in Africa for over 20 years, with three of their six children born there.

Survivors include her sister, JoAnne Snelling; sister-in-law, Phyllis Wrate; children: Jan Louise Church McAlpine, Lowell Grant Church (Valorie), Leona Pearl Stanton (David), Rodrick Allan Church (Nancy), René Alden Church (Licette), and Davona Thoresen Church (Max J.) ; and 31 grand- to great-great-grandchildren.

Memorial donations may be given to:

Cradle of Love ℅ GEM Resources International 11599 Jones Rd Berrien Springs, MI 49103 

E-mail: info@gemresources.org 

Web: www.gemresources.org Phone: (269) 845-5958