Earl Lovett Futch, age 85, of Warsaw, peacefully entered the presence of the Lord at 10:25 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2023, in his home.

Born to William Roy and Toy May McRae Futch on June 10, 1937, in Jacksonville, Fla., he was the oldest of seven children.

Earl met and married his wife, Lita Acevedo, in Denver, Colo., on March 5, 1958, while serving in the United States Air Force. Having accepted Christ as Savior at the age 32, Earl was led by the Lord to serve God full time. To prepare for his call to minister, he moved to Winona Lake to attend Grace College and Seminary.

In 1979, Earl graduated from Grace Theological Seminary. After graduation, Earl and Lita served as missionaries in Argentina for the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Foreign Missions Society. In 1987, they returned to the United States and Earl continued to minister as the pastor of the following churches: Orlando, FL GBC, Sidney, IN GBC, Lakeland GBC in Warsaw and at the time of his death he had been serving as the pastor of Cook’s Chapel Church for ten years. Earl was also employed by Brethren Missionary Herald Book Store in Winona Lake and was a Spanish interpreter for the Northern Indiana medical community.  

Earl worked hard to live by the purpose he wrote for himself in his Bible:

“To lead the unbeliever to Christ! To strengthen the Christian in his walk with Christ. To equip believers to impact our society for Christ!!” One of his favorite Bible verses was Ephesians 4:12. He was greatly loved by all who knew him and will be greatly missed.

Earl was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Roy Gordon, William Edgar; and granddaughter, Brandy Nichole Futch.

He is survived by his wife, Lita Futch; siblings: “Suzy” Toy May Calloway, N. Philip, Loretta Smith, Sara Ridgeway; his three children; 11 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.

Services will be held Saturday, Jan. 28 at Lakeland Grace Brethren Church, 2538 South County Farm Road, Warsaw. Visitation will be held at 1 p.m. followed by a memorial service with military honors at 2 p.m.

Memorial donations may be sent to Cook’s Chapel Church, 4567 West 100 South, Warsaw, IN 46580.