Louis Vannatter funeral is set for this TUESDAY at 7 PM at First Baptist Church in Borne. The graveside will be on WEDNESDAY at 10 AM at Oak Rest Cemetery in Medina.
When I think of Louis I think of Paul’s Words in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” I thank God for all the lives he touched in the name of His Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let’s continue to pray for Sandy and the rest of the family as they go through this difficult time.
June 8, 2008 at 10:28 pm
I will be attending the funeral and the graveside. I have know Brother Luis since I can remeber. He baptized me, he prayed with my husband when he accepted the Lord, he officiated over my wedding, he burried my Grandfather. I loved him and Sandi as I still do very much. He will be greatly missed among many.
I am not familiar with the cemetary or where it is. Can anyone help me with this? Thank you. My e-mail is clbush@gvtc.com.
June 9, 2008 at 2:31 am
Oak Rest Cemetery is off HWY 16 just a mile or so past Medina on the right. There is a green road sign off the Highway that points it out. If you can’t find it, anyone in Medina can point it out.
Here’s a link with a small map on it.
http://www.txgenweb2.org/txbandera/ceme-oakrest.html
June 10, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Every time we would participate in one of the BCCF’s services, Brother Louis would tell me he was so thankful for my Baptist background. I always enjoyed working with him and was blessed to have known him. He will be missed.
June 20, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Obituary:
Louis Edward Vannatter, retired pastor of First Baptist Church Bandera, died June 7, 2008, at the age of 71.
Louis was born May 11, 1937 to Wilburn Morris Vannatter and Wilmeta Vannatter. He was reared in the Logan, West Virginia area. Much of his childhood was spent in the coalmining camp, “Holden 22”. This small community housed and made available the necessities for daily living for the employees and their families. Many folk there could relate to the song, “I Owe My Soul to the Company Store”.
At age 17, Vannatter joined the US Air Force following a cave-in at a site being mined by his father’s employees. This small operation was in the process of extracting some shallow seams of coal, and Wilburn had employed his son Louis to drive the coal truck. This dramatic event in which he helped to carry injured men from the mine, prompted his dad to recommend he join the military and get a job skill.
The coalmining town experiences and his twenty years in the USAF provided a multitude of illustrations, that he would later use in his 40 (plus) years of delivering sermons at Southern Baptist Churches. When a surprise party was being planned for his 50th birthday, one of his church deacons inquired if he was really going to be age 50,…because he thought Louis must surly be a hundred years old, to acquire that many stories.
Louis “Eddie” Vannatter dropped out of school in the ninth grade so he could drive a wrecker and bring home $35 a week. When he entered the Air Force, they encouraged education and continued to train him in various fields. He worked as a machine gunner, then an aircraft electrician, a training instructor for advance electrons, a position to bring various shops up to standards, training instructor for new recruits, classroom instruction, curriculum writer, and his last job before retirement from the USAF was that of VIP Briefing. Vannatter was called on to directly brief dignataries visiting Lackland AFB—these included the vice president of the United States and many generals.
One of his most exciting jobs was to work on the crew of a C-130 that penetrated typhoons for weather readings in the Pacific. During the Viet Nam era, Vannatter sustained injuries after parachuting from an aircraft that was on mission.
He received bachelor degrees from University of Texas at San Antonio and International Bible Institute. He received an Honorary Doctorate from International Bible Institute.
Louis and his wife Sandra Stokes Vannatter were married 35 years. They were privileged to maintain their homeplace in Medina through the years, even when living in other communities where he ministered. She has fond memories of their time spent in Bulverde, Fredericksburg, Valley-Hi in San Antonio, and at Chacon Lake near Lytle.
Louis’s seven adult children who were often mentioned by name in his illustrations were able to be at his bedside, and to comfort one another. These include daughters Deena and husband Charlie Pate, Panama City Beach, FL; Rhonda and husband Scott Patchett of Kingsport, TN; Shannon and husband Kenneth Carbery of Holly Springs, MS; Augusta “Alex” and husband Dan Wooldridge of Floresville; sons Grant and wife Shannon Taylor Vannatter of Heber Springs, AR; Nathan and wife Dusty Reed Vannatter of Abilene, TX; and Jordan and wife Patricia Steinkamp Vannatter of Corpus Christi, TX. At this time he had ten grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren and was looking forward to more.
The Vannatter family members who still live in the West Virginia and Ohio area include his brothers Bill and wife Clara Vannatter, Wilburn Junior and wife Sherry, and sisters Jeane Bannister and Patricia Ross.
July 7, 2009 at 10:01 am
I Have been looking for a Van Natter reunion held in Big ugly, WA when and where it is held, my husband and I would love to attend and do some genealogy research. I know I come thru a Van Natter line some where. If you have any information please reply. Thank you, Dianna
November 26, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I have doing research on our family for over 60 years and had accumulated lots of material, I would like to share it with you, in the 80’s I attended a VanNatter reunion in Big Ugly, we were treated like family…………sincerely, Don VanNatter