The Reverend Edward Tanis
By Jan Drolen
The Reverend Edward H. Tanis, Bethany's sixth pastor, was born on a farm near Zeeland, Michigan on August 1, 1900. He graduated from Zeeland High School in l9l7and then attended Hope College, graduating with a B.A. degree in 1922. He entered Western Theological Seminary and began studying for the ministry. While at Western, he had summer assignments in South Dakota, Alberta, Canada and VanRaalte Avenue Chapel in Holland. He earned his Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1925 and was ordained and installed as the pastor of Bethel Reformed Church of Holland. Also in 1925, he married Miss Agnes Peters. He served at Bethel from 1925 to 1930 and then accepted a call to the Immanuel Reformed Church of Grand Rapids and was pastor there until 1937. From 1937 to 1944, he was the pastor of the First Reformed Church of Waupun, Wisconsin.
In February of 1944, the Reverend Tanis received and then accepted a call to become Bethany's pastor, and he was installed in April. The Tanises now had four children: Paul, Marilyn, Elliot, and Wayne, ranging in age from sixteen to four. Bethany at this time had grown to 251 families and over 500 communicant members. When Reverend Tanis and his family arrived at Bethany, most of the 209 men and women who served our country during World War II were already overseas or at military bases in the United States. Thus, a large part of the Tanises' work during their first year here involved ministering to the families of these many servicemen and women. First Lieutenant Cleve R. Molloy was already considered missing in action when the Tanises arrived. It was later determined that he was killed in New Guinea on January 16, 1944. Also during the Reverend Tanis' first year at Bethany, two other young men were killed in action: Lieutenant Robert Pikkaart's plane was shot down on December 2, 1944, and Private Henry William Johnson was killed in Luxembourg on Christmas Day, 1944.
On Sunday evenings, the Tanises would regularly hold social get-togethers in their home for the servicemen's wives. They could talk, share feelings, and give each other moral support. The Reverend Tanis also began writing monthly newsletters to the servicemen and women, describing events at Bethany and giving them a touch of home as well as updates on other members who were serving their country. He would not meet most of them for over a year, but he wrote as if he already knew them well. And when the war was over, he performed their marriage ceremonies and baptized their children.
The Tanises were very supportive of both foreign and domestic missions. Bethany acquired two more units of mission support: one in China and one in Kentucky. We also acquired a unit of support for foreign broadcast mission work. The Tanises often had missionaries stay in their home when they visited Bethany.
The Tanises' service to Bethany ended in the summer of 1947 when he accepted a call to the Second Reformed Church of Pella, Iowa. The Reverend Tanis served there until 1955 when he accepted a call to the Faith Reformed Church of Zeeland, Michigan, where he was pastor until 1961. From 1961 to 1965, the Reverend Tanis was the Western Field Secretary for the Board of World Missions, the position he retired from. Earlier, he had served as a member of the Board of Trustees for both Central College of Iowa and Hope College and also on the Executive Committee for the Board of Domestic Missions.
The Reverend Tanis died on August 8, 1970, in Holland, Michigan, a week after his seventieth birthday. Agnes Tanis had died in November of 1965, age 65. Oldest son Paul earned his Bachelor of Divinity degree from Western Theological Seminary in 1953, and he and his wife Marjorie were then missionaries to Japan until 1958. They later served churches in Minnesota, Washington, and Iowa. They had four children - Paul, Jim, Cheryl, and Shirley - and nine grandchildren. Paul Tanis died on December 13, 1998. Marilyn Tanis, a registered nurse, worked in the 1950's as the supervising nurse in the Men's Hospital at Bahrain, Persian Gulf. She married Darrell Franken, and they have three children Kent, Julie, and Todd -and five grandchildren. Elliot Tanis earned a Ph.D. in mathematics and is a retired professor from Hope College and also the author of several textbooks. He and his wife Elaine have three children - Philip, Joel, and Ellen - and two grandchildren. Wayne Tanis recently retired as an English teacher from Hamilton High School and as the junior varsity basketball coach at Hope College. He and his wife Mary Jane have three sons - Wade, Mark, and Matt and six grandchildren.
Although the Tanis family was at Bethany for just over three years, they served a large congregation during a momentous time. (And the Reverend Tanis worked without a secretary; his daughter Marilyn helped him crank out all those bulletins!) The comments the Reverend Tanis wrote for our 50th Anniversary book reflect well what Bethany meant to the Tanis family:
"Bethany church has always impressed me as a church which made a profound impression on the life of the community in her ministry both to her membership and the non-churched families in the area. The church has always exhibited a fine spirit of cooperation local and denominational projects... We shall always be grateful for the opportunity of having served Bethany and pray that the church may go forward with ever-increasing Devotion in the service of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church."
© 2013 Bethany Reformed Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan. All rights reserved.
In February of 1944, the Reverend Tanis received and then accepted a call to become Bethany's pastor, and he was installed in April. The Tanises now had four children: Paul, Marilyn, Elliot, and Wayne, ranging in age from sixteen to four. Bethany at this time had grown to 251 families and over 500 communicant members. When Reverend Tanis and his family arrived at Bethany, most of the 209 men and women who served our country during World War II were already overseas or at military bases in the United States. Thus, a large part of the Tanises' work during their first year here involved ministering to the families of these many servicemen and women. First Lieutenant Cleve R. Molloy was already considered missing in action when the Tanises arrived. It was later determined that he was killed in New Guinea on January 16, 1944. Also during the Reverend Tanis' first year at Bethany, two other young men were killed in action: Lieutenant Robert Pikkaart's plane was shot down on December 2, 1944, and Private Henry William Johnson was killed in Luxembourg on Christmas Day, 1944.
On Sunday evenings, the Tanises would regularly hold social get-togethers in their home for the servicemen's wives. They could talk, share feelings, and give each other moral support. The Reverend Tanis also began writing monthly newsletters to the servicemen and women, describing events at Bethany and giving them a touch of home as well as updates on other members who were serving their country. He would not meet most of them for over a year, but he wrote as if he already knew them well. And when the war was over, he performed their marriage ceremonies and baptized their children.
The Tanises were very supportive of both foreign and domestic missions. Bethany acquired two more units of mission support: one in China and one in Kentucky. We also acquired a unit of support for foreign broadcast mission work. The Tanises often had missionaries stay in their home when they visited Bethany.
The Tanises' service to Bethany ended in the summer of 1947 when he accepted a call to the Second Reformed Church of Pella, Iowa. The Reverend Tanis served there until 1955 when he accepted a call to the Faith Reformed Church of Zeeland, Michigan, where he was pastor until 1961. From 1961 to 1965, the Reverend Tanis was the Western Field Secretary for the Board of World Missions, the position he retired from. Earlier, he had served as a member of the Board of Trustees for both Central College of Iowa and Hope College and also on the Executive Committee for the Board of Domestic Missions.
The Reverend Tanis died on August 8, 1970, in Holland, Michigan, a week after his seventieth birthday. Agnes Tanis had died in November of 1965, age 65. Oldest son Paul earned his Bachelor of Divinity degree from Western Theological Seminary in 1953, and he and his wife Marjorie were then missionaries to Japan until 1958. They later served churches in Minnesota, Washington, and Iowa. They had four children - Paul, Jim, Cheryl, and Shirley - and nine grandchildren. Paul Tanis died on December 13, 1998. Marilyn Tanis, a registered nurse, worked in the 1950's as the supervising nurse in the Men's Hospital at Bahrain, Persian Gulf. She married Darrell Franken, and they have three children Kent, Julie, and Todd -and five grandchildren. Elliot Tanis earned a Ph.D. in mathematics and is a retired professor from Hope College and also the author of several textbooks. He and his wife Elaine have three children - Philip, Joel, and Ellen - and two grandchildren. Wayne Tanis recently retired as an English teacher from Hamilton High School and as the junior varsity basketball coach at Hope College. He and his wife Mary Jane have three sons - Wade, Mark, and Matt and six grandchildren.
Although the Tanis family was at Bethany for just over three years, they served a large congregation during a momentous time. (And the Reverend Tanis worked without a secretary; his daughter Marilyn helped him crank out all those bulletins!) The comments the Reverend Tanis wrote for our 50th Anniversary book reflect well what Bethany meant to the Tanis family:
"Bethany church has always impressed me as a church which made a profound impression on the life of the community in her ministry both to her membership and the non-churched families in the area. The church has always exhibited a fine spirit of cooperation local and denominational projects... We shall always be grateful for the opportunity of having served Bethany and pray that the church may go forward with ever-increasing Devotion in the service of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church."
© 2013 Bethany Reformed Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan. All rights reserved.