John R. and Elizabeth M. Evans Strock

John Roy Strock knew as a young boy he wanted to become a missionary. He would eventually devote more than forty years of his life to working as a teacher and school administrator in India. He was born on a farm outside of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on June 8, 1882. In 1905 he enrolled at Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and three years later earned a bachelor of divinity degree.

After graduation from Lutheran Theological Seminary, he served as a temporary pastor until his departure for India. He was ordained into the ministry and commissioned as a missionary for the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States on September 3, 1908. He sailed for India on September 9, 1908, and arrived in Guntur, India, on November 1, 1908. He began work in 1909 as a lecturer in chemistry and physics at the American Evangelical Lutheran Mission College, also known as Guntur College, Guntur, India. In 1911 Pastor Strock became vice-principal of the college and also married Elizabeth M. Evans.

Elizabeth Evans was born in Brandtsville, Pennsylvania, on December 16, 1882. In 1907 she enrolled at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and graduated with a Ph.B. in 1909. Prior to marrying Pastor Strock, Elizabeth Evans not only worked as a teacher, but was also involved with the Y.M.C.A. and church-related activities, including a term as president of her congregation's mission board. After accepting Pastor Strock's marriage proposal, she left for India. They were married the day after she arrived.

Pastor Strock became principal of Guntur College in 1913 and served in that capacity until 1916 when he and Mrs. Strock left on furlough. He again served as principal of Guntur College from 1920-1922, this time under the United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA). From 1922-1924 he was the principal of Noble College. He was principal of Andhra Christian College from 1927-1932, and again from 1936-1938.

In addition to his educational work in India, Pastor Strock held several offices within the mission. He served as corresponding secretary of the American Evangelical Mission Conference in 1920, president of the mission council in 1924, president of the Guntur Synod from 1936-1937, and president of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church from 1937-1938. Pastor Strock also found time to be involved with various school athletic programs and to volunteer with the local Boy Scout organization. Pastor Strock received the highest civilian award bestowed by the British Empire, when in 1936 he was a recipient of the Kaiser-i-Hind Medal. This award was given in recognition of his public service in India.

In 1942 Pastor Strock left service in India and went to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, to serve with the ULCA Board of American Missions from April-August. After his service there, he returned to the United States and became a professor of missions at Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary, Maywood, Illinois, from 1942-1943. He then accepted an appointment as Secretary of the ULCA Board of Foreign Missions and served from 1943-1946. Pastor and Mrs. Strock returned to India in 1946, this time for Pastor Strock to serve as an advisor and representative to India for the National Lutheran Council's Commission on Younger Churches and Orphaned Missions. Pastor and Mrs. Strock retired from active missionary service in 1949.

Description:
The records are from 1910-1978, with the bulk of material from 1910-1953, and were generated through the course of Pastor and Mrs. Strock's service as missionaries in India and a portion of time after Pastor Strock's retirement. The papers consist of personal correspondence, personal diaries, travel diaries, essays regarding life in India, articles written about Pastor Strock, and material related to his death in 1978. The majority of the correspondence is written by Pastor Strock and is to either Mrs. Strock or other family members. The personal and travel diaries were kept by Elizabeth Strock and detail various tours of the mission field she and Pastor Strock took, their travels to and from furloughs and vacations, and day-to-day activities of the mission field. The records also include one cassette tape of a 1978 interview with Pastor Strock conducted by Rev. Vavrin, some photographs, and an oversized map of the United Lutheran Church Mission and Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church with the location of synod boundaries, mission field boundaries, missionaries' stations, and parish centers as of 1942. The collection is also available on microfilm.