In July, following church services in Anchorage, Alaska, he was honored for his love, service and dedication to God’s Church and brethren from around the world. David Dobson (on behalf of the home office) presented Mr. Roemer with an engraved crystal globe honoring this event. Previously, on Memorial Day weekend, long-time friends and brethren gathered together in Soldotna, Alaska, for a cookout and retirement celebration, where Earl was presented an engraved crystal drinking glass.

Mr. Roemer recalls many adventures over the years, including pastoring in the south and central-eastern U.S. during racially charged times of the mid-1960s, serving brethren of all races. He was involved with starting several congregations, including Paducah, Kentucky, and was active in starting the S.E.P. camps in Big Sandy, Texas.

Longtime Friends and Co-Workers Shared These Sentiments:

Bob Dick: “Earl and I have been friends since 1957 when both of our families arrived in Pasadena and we began attending Imperial Schools. Our friendship continued to grow, fed by annual trips to Alaska to stay with Earl and visit the churches.

“Earl has spent much of his ministerial career in remote areas—Hawaii and Alaska. Only since United began has he moved into leadership positions overseeing the Philippines and later Hong Kong, and in retirement, portions of Southeast Asia.

“Earl is a true renaissance man. He is a skilled mechanic, a craft learned from his father; a fixed wing and helicopter pilot, an excellent hunter and fisherman, author and chef and the list goes on from there. All these things are notable, but what stands above all of these is a very generous and giving heart and a love for the people he serves.”

John Elliott: “Our families have known each other for 60 years, since Earl’s family moved to Pasadena. When Merrie and I think of Earl we appreciate the grand scale in which he and his late wife Carol have aspired to serve and accomplish in their lives. Most of us live lives amid ‘normal’ endeavors, perhaps visiting faraway places and maybe seeing an extinct volcano. But Earl and Carol lived in remote places and Carol longed to participate in a volcanic eruption. Her chosen nickname was ‘Volcano Violet.’

“While I learned to drive cars, Earl learned to drive transcontinental diesel trucks. When I learned to fly airplanes, Earl was building helicopters. When I was calling ‘breaker, breaker’ over a CB radio, Earl was a shortwave radio Public Information officer for Civil Defense with a security clearance from the Pentagon. While I once watched a sitting U.S. President give a speech, Earl was driving the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to his conference. And during several landmark events that impacted Church leadership in the early years, Earl was often at or near their epicenter.

“So many of us love and appreciate the friendship we have with Earl and his family. That friendship is likewise reciprocated on an unprecedented scale. Whether sacrificing themselves to serve brethren in the largest region (Asia), the most complex nation (7,000 Philippine islands) the largest state (Alaska), the most remote state (Hawaii), managing an eight-church circuit with an airplane (Montana), and currently senior pastor of the most populous country (China), he and Carol appreciated all those opportunities.

“Like his father Charles, Earl deals with challenges and situations in a no-nonsense manner. I’ve learned that he doesn’t have much patience for stupidity, so I make it my aim to not seem daft when I’m around him. He has a lot of wisdom from experience, so when Earl speaks it’s usually a good time to listen. Another characteristic Earl has that I personally have come to deeply appreciate is his loyal faithfulness to God and to the members he serves. Coupled with his courage to take on challenges that most would avoid, he is also a generous man. He and Carol not only gave of their time and energies in doing God’s work and helping others, but also helped others using their personal resources when needed. 

“Merrie and I are honored to be considered friends of Earl Roemer and his family. May God give him many more good years in retirement and bless his ongoing efforts.”

Mr. Roemer Reflected On His Years of Ministry:

“Serving the great God in Heaven and His Son in shepherding thousands of called and chosen ones has been a rewarding experience beyond compare! It is an experience beyond the average human consideration and understanding. To have been allowed to share in the lives of many thousands of individuals—their hopes, their dreams, their struggles, their accomplishments—is a blessing beyond compare. (My dear wife has been deceased six years; she would have agreed to the above!)”

Earl Roemer and his late wife Carol had four children, three who are still living, and seven grandchildren. He will continue to serve as the senior pastor of UCG in China, Myanmar and Thailand.