via cenlanews.com
Reverend Gerald Archie Mangun
Born: March 11, 1919
Died: June 17, 2010
Services: A graveside service will be held Wednesday, June 23rd at 10:00 a.m., with final comments and prayer by Reverends Jim Shoemake, Randy Keyes, and Jeff Hennigan. Following a brief gathering in the POA Sanctuary, a procession will depart from The Pentecostals of Alexandria at 9:30 a.m... Interment will be at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Ball, Louisiana.
Visitation: Visitation will be Tuesday, June 22nd from Noon-6:00 p.m. in the Main Sanctuary of The Pentecostals of Alexandria. The memorial service will begin at 6:00 p.m. that evening. Among the officiants will be the following ministers: John Alley, David Bernard (UPCI General Superintendent), Bruce Howell (UPCI Foreign Missions Director), Kevin Cox (UPCI District Superintendent of Louisiana), Kenneth Phillips (Austin, Texas), Terry Shock, and T. F. Tenney.
Reverend Gerald Archie Mangun passed from this life on Thursday, June 17, 2010, in Alexandria, Louisiana. Born on March 11, 1919 in LaPaz, Indiana, he was 91 years of age.
He is preceded in death by his parents (Walter Mangun and Bertha Birk Mangun) and four of his six siblings: (Woodrow Riddle, Mildred (Mangun) Shock, Gladys (Mangun) Starkweather, Grace (Mangun) Coleman).
He is survived by his wife, Vesta Layne (Gibson) Mangun and only son, G. Anthony Mangun (wife, Mickey Mangun). He will be missed by his two grandchildren, Miquell (Mangun) Hennigan (husband, Jeffrey Hennigan) and Gentry Mangun, as well as two great grandchildren: Eva Mykayle Hennigan and Gibson David Hennigan. His two remaining sisters, Dr. Ruth Holland (Columbus, Indiana) and Martha Spencer (Plainwell, Michigan) also mourn his passing.
After graduating from Lincoln High School in Plymouth, Indiana, in 1938, G. A. Mangun attended Apostolic Bible Institute in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was ordained as a minister in 1942. (He received an Honorary Doctorate from A.B.I. in 1986.) On September 10, 1943 he married Vesta Layne Gibson. For just a little over seven years, this couple traveled extensively across the United States sharing the Gospel message. Their only son, Anthony, was born in January of 1950.
In June of 1950, G. A. Mangun was elected Pastor of the First United Pentecostal Church in Alexandria, Louisiana (now known as The Pentecostals of Alexandria). At the time, the small church building at 16th and Day Streets was the church home to a congregation of 38 adult members. Today, the church campus on Rapides Avenue includes a Family Life Center, the G. A. Mangun Center auditorium and education building, and a main sanctuary seating 3,000.
From July 25, 1950, the day the Mangun’s moved to Alexandria, until the day of his passing, G. A. Mangun was a man committed to prayer and the furtherance of the Gospel - in Alexandria, in Louisiana, in the United States, in the world. His love and commitment had no bounds. A few years ago, teaching a class of young men aspiring to ministry, he said, “At 85 years of age I still spend no less than two to four hours a day in prayer - still pursuing a greater degree of intimacy with Jesus Christ. Everything about me springs from a single source, from one aim: ‘to preach Jesus Christ and His gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth and to influence yet another generation for Jesus Christ.’”
Over the course of his lifetime in Alexandria, he served as Chaplain for the Louisiana State Police (Troop E), the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Department, and the Civil Air Patrol. He is a long-standing member of the Rapides Parish Airport Authority and the Alexandria Port Authority. He also served as a member of the St. Francis Cabrini Hospital’s Advisory Board. He was a respected member of the clergy in Central Louisiana and was frequently called upon to participate in building dedications and other official city and community events. He officiated at the first burial in Alexandria Memorial Gardens.
From 1951-2007, he served as the Presbyter over United Pentecostal Churches in the Louisiana District’s Section 7, comprised of approximately 35 churches in the Central Louisiana parishes. As Presbyter, he served as a member of the District Board of the Louisiana District United Pentecostal Church. He became the longest tenured District Board member in any District in United Pentecostal Church history, a record still unbroken. Following his retirement, he was named as an Honorary Member of that Board.
While leading his local church, and serving on various committees and on the Board of the Louisiana District, Bishop Mangun also served the United Pentecostal Church International as a member of the Foreign Missions Board from 1982 until the present. In 1986-87, he served a single term as an Executive Presbyter of the UPCI General Board.
Commemorating Bishop Mangun’s 70th birthday, then City of Alexandria Mayor Ned Randolph declared March 11, 1989 “G. A. Mangun Day” in Central Louisiana. In 2002, the Louisiana National Guard presented G. A. Mangun with a Civilian Service Medal for his service to our community and nation. In September 2004, he was inducted into the United Pentecostal Church International’s “Order of the Faith,” – a prestigious award of the UPCI honoring Bishop Mangun “for outstanding achievement and exemplary service.” Through the years he received other awards, honors, commendations and citations too numerous to name here.
During the brief time of his illness, the church’s website and the Gerald Archie Mangun FaceBook page, have been inundated with expressions of love and care, and testimonies from countless individuals whose lives were touched by G. A. Mangun. He was greatly loved and will be greatly missed by his church family and anyone who was privileged to know him.
Visitation will be Tuesday, June 22nd from Noon-6:00 p.m. in the Main Sanctuary of The Pentecostals of Alexandria. The memorial service will begin at 6:00 p.m. that evening. Among the officiants will be the following ministers: John Alley, David Bernard (UPCI General Superintendent), Bruce Howell (UPCI Foreign Missions Director), Kevin Cox (UPCI District Superintendent of Louisiana), Kenneth Phillips (Austin, Texas), Terry Shock, and T. F. Tenney.
Pallbearers will be: Larry Clark, Wesley Garrett, Jeffrey Hennigan, Bruce LeBlanc, Anthony Mangun, Gentry Mangun, Gary Maxwell, Donald McKellar, Paul Nordstrom, and Terry Shock. Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Louisiana District Board and the Foreign Missions Board of the United Pentecostal Church International.
A graveside service will be held Wednesday, June 23rd at 10:00 a.m., with final comments and prayer by Reverends Jim Shoemake, Randy Keyes, and Jeffrey Hennigan. Following a brief gathering in the POA Sanctuary, a procession will depart from The Pentecostals of Alexandria at 9:30 a.m.. Interment will be at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Pineville, Louisiana.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to The Pentecostals of Alexandria (PO Box 8838 - Alexandria, LA 71306) and will be designated for the Cuba Mission/G. A. Mangun Memorial Bible School. On-line condolences can be expressed at www.thepentecostals.org or www.hixsonbrothers.com.
