Eugene Dennis Train

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Eugene Train (1920-2013) was a lifelong commended worker to Bolivia.

Early Life

Eugene Dennis Train was born November 15, 1920 in Clayton, New Mexico, the eldest of three children, to DeLaurence and Eva Gadella (Wood) Train. He spent part of his childhood in Lincoln, Russell, Kansas.

Parents' heritage

DeLaurence was born to George Wilhelm (1872-1943) and Mabel E. Nelson Train (1880-1966). George was born in Lindsborg, to parents with Swedish heritage. Mabel was born in Boone, Iowa, and they were married in 1900 in Diamond Valley (near Council Grove), Kansas, where they spent the first few years of married life before moving to McPherson by 1920 where they spent the rest of their lives. Ironically, there was a Brethren meeting (see Diamond Springs Gospel Hall) in the Jason Loomis farmhouse in Diamond Valley within the time period the Trains resided in that small community, no presently known connection.

Eva was born July 31, 1902 in West Virginia, where her father was also raised. Her mother was from New York. and died on February 29 (Leap Year), 1928.

Early Education

Eugene graduated from Salina High School in 1937, where he served on the yearbook committee, as an assistant in the features department, as well as serving on the weekly school newspaper staff.

A joke tributed to his senior year is in the form of an essay he was quote as written on different breeds of cats. "Cat's that's made for little boys to maul and tease is called Maltese cats. Some cats is known by their queer purrs, these are called Pursian cats. Cats with bad tempers is called Angorrie cats. Cats with deep feelins is called Feline cats."

Early Adult Years

Flour Milling and/or Ranching

In February of 1942 when Eugene registered for the draft, he was then living in Salina, Kansas, and employed by John Jacob Vanier (1897-1980), who was then living in Brookville, Kansas.

John Jacob Vanier

In the late 1910's and early 1920's, J.J. Vanier worked at the Abilene Flour Mill prior to and after serving in the Marine Corps during World War One. By the time he left in 1925, he had bought enough shares in the company's stock to sell for $21,000. He then relocated to nearby Salina where he made a downpayment on controlling interest in Western Star Milling Company, at the age of 28. He eventually sold his food processing, distribution facilities and milling interests to Archer Daniels Midland Company.

In 1934, Mr. Vanier purchased the 1,100 acre Root Ranch near Brookville, which served as the beginning of the CK Ranch, a 12,000-acre spread on which was developed the CK herd of purebred Hereford cattle. His ranching interests eventually expanded to a major commercial cattle operation in Wyoming, Colorado and Oklahoma, and Mr. Vanier was a past president of the American Hereford Association. He was a quiet donor to many community and education organizations, including Kansas State University.

College Years

Eugene aspired towards becoming a preacher, and attended Midwest Bible and Missionary Institute in Salina, in the early 1940's, and shared a house with fellow student, Richard Edwin Burson. Richard's son Daniel, recalled in May of 2019, that Richard and Eugene had a special heart for African-American and Hispanic outreach, and often participated in activities in this realm.

Eugene then went on to Dallas Theological Seminary where he was introduced to the Brethren, presumably via Polk Street Gospel Hall.

His colleague, Richard, became a Baptist preacher for a couple years until discovering a Brethren magazine (Help and Food) while cleaning out an elderly woman's attic, and mistook it for a cookbook, and became educated on the Brethren with the help of Leonard Lindsted, Tom McCullagh, and others. Richard converted a Baptist church in Hutchinson in the mid 1940's over to a Bible Hall, and also co-founded Kansas Bible Camp that same era. He also issued a regular devotional newsletter entitled "The Word" from the early 1940's thru the early 1950's, which eventually included many regionally known assembly authors.

Commendation

Eugene and Loraine were commended in 1968 by Northgate Gospel Chapel in Seattle, Washington, to Camiri, Bolivia. Including 1972, he had founded a Christian school, and during the holidays visiting isolated believers and Indian villages.

He reported in February of 1984 in the CMML magazine that in the past October, "quite a number of grade school pupils received the Lord" and a praise about graciousness from parents towards rising tuition costs with inflation tripling living costs. They gave report that the Guarani believers at Camatindi had erected an adobe hall with great personal sacrifice due to their extreme poverty. In Eugene's later years of service, thru 2000 at least, he continued to teach high school curriculum in the school building, which also served as facility for the local assembly.

Eugene continued to serve in this work thru the end of his life in 2013.

Family

In 1951, at the Elim Baptist Church, Eugene married Loraine Carlson, originally from Seattle, Washington. The wedding was officiated by Sumner Osborne, Sr., an elder at Northgate Gospel Chapel.

Loraine was born August 19, 1924, in Valley City, Barnes, North Dakota, to dairy farmers Alfred Enoch Gideon Carlson (1887-1969), known as Enoch, and Hanna Rassmuson Carlson, who were married in 1916 via Nebo Lutheran Church in Valley City, North Dakota. Enoch was born in Madesjö, Kalmar, Sweden, to Johan Alfred Karlsson (1852-1923) and Klara Mathilda Karlsson (1857-1940). Enoch emigrated to the U.S. in 1907.

Hanna was born in Håland (now Madla and Sola), Norway, the daughter of Rasmus Kristiansen (b. 1850) and Berthe Lisebeth Eriksdatter (b. 1849). Hanna emigrated to the U.S. in 1910.

Eugene and Loraine were both promoted to Glory within two months of one another in 2013.

They had two children, Philip and Carol Ann.

Philip

Eugene and Loraine's son Philip and his wife Janice have been commended to service in Sucre, Bolivia since 1979 from Fullerton, California. Philip and Janice have organized leadership conferences, marriage and family counseling, Bible studies, and women's activities.

Carol and Ken

His daughter Carol, and her husband, Dr. Kenneth A. Daughters, have served in the ministry educational sphere since the mid-1970's with a focus in North America. Dr. Daughters earned his B.A., M.Div, and Th.M. (in Sys. Theo.) at Biola University, the latter while balancing responsibilities as an adjunct professor all three years (1983-1986). He also earned his Ph.D. ABD in Sys. Theo. from Dallas Theological Seminary (1986-1990);

Dr. Daughters taught 1990-2013 at Emmaus Bible College including apologetics, applied theology, Christian Life and Bible Study Methods, Church History, Dispensationalism, Eschatology, Galatians, Johannine Literature, Prison Epistles, Thessalonians, Teaching Bible, and Theology 3 within those 23 years at Emmaus. He also served as associate academic dean (1999-2000), and as President (2000-2013), succeeding Dr. Daniel H. Smith.

Since 2013 (thru 2019+), he has been serving in the field of University Advancement at Biola University in the Los Angeles area.

Sources