Elvis Cayford

Elvis Clarence Cayford passed into the care of the Lord on March 16, 2026, in hospice care in Wichita Falls, Texas. His loving wife, Eddie, children Cheryl and Steve, daughter-in-law Lisa, and niece Linda helped accompany him during his three days in the hospice. For the preceding four months he had been in nursing care in Wichita Falls.

Elvis lived a long and remarkable life over 93 years. He passed two months to the day before his 94th birthday.

He was born in Glendale, California, on May 16, 1932, the second child of Frank and Ruth Cayford. He has two siblings, older brother Afton and younger sister Lucile. He graduated from Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale and from La Verne College (now the University of La Verne) in La Verne, California.

He lived and worked in Nigeria for a total of some 30 years, serving with the Church of the Brethren Mission. He first went to Nigeria in November 1954 as a 22-year-old conscientious objector in the aftermath of the Korean War, doing his alternative service through Brethren Volunteer Service.

After his 1-W service in Nigeria, Elvis returned to the United States where he met Betty Lou Hershberger when they both volunteered with youth ministry in the Church of the Brethren’s Pacific Southwest District. They married and attended Bethany Theological Seminary in Chicago. They were commissioned to return to the mission on July 29, 1961.

Back in Nigeria, Elvis worked in the village of Garkida for three years, helping to oversee the mission mechanic’s shop. Daughter Cheryl was born in Garkida. After moving to the city of Jos in 1964, they worked as houseparents for Boulder Hill Hostel, a dormitory for high school students attending Hillcrest School. Son Steve was born in Jos. After completing their term as houseparents, Elvis worked for Hillcrest School doing maintenance and teaching shop classes. During his time in Nigeria, he spent two furlough years filling interim pastor positions in Ohio and California.

Betty Lou died of a heart attack in Nigeria on December 6, 1986, at age 57, and was buried at Miango cemetery near Jos. In the summer of 1987, Elvis moved back to Glendale. He worked as a teacher and as a job training coach for young people living with disabilities. He completed his Master of Divinity degree at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena. He also lived with and helped care for his father, Frank Cayford, in his last years of life.

At Glendale Church of the Brethren he met Eddie Pulley when they both sang in the church choir. He and Eddie were married in February 1995. They moved to Pahrump, Nevada, in the late 1990s and lived there for some 13 years. They then moved to Seymour, Texas, where they have lived for about 14 years.

Together, Elvis and Eddie enjoyed traveling around the southwest, making frequent visits to family and friends including Eddie’s brother Gerald Edwards and his family in New Mexico. They made close friends in both Pahrump and Seymour, laughing and making memories over games of cards, dominos, or dice, and going out for meals. In Pahrump they hosted elaborate parties in their yard complete with home-made décor mimicking an old west ghost town, and Las Vegas was one of their favorite destinations. In Seymour, they enjoyed participating in several different churches and Elvis, who was an ordained minister in the Church of the Brethren, often did pulpit supply and preached for various congregations. They made friends in the Meals on Wheels community and kept up those connections in recent years despite many hospital stays.

In the last couple of years, they enjoyed the company of son Steve and daughter-in-law Lisa—who moved to Seymour recently—and their cats. The kittens especially gave Elvis hours of amusement.

Elvis is survived by his wife, Eddie Pulley Cayford; daughter Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford and her husband, Joel; son Steve Cayford and his wife, Lisa Nelson; grandson Christopher Brumbaugh-Cayford; sister Lucile Leard and brother Afton Cayford; nephews and nieces and their children and grandchildren.

A memorial service was held March 19 at First Christian Church of Seymour. The family thanks the congregation and Pastor Conchita Torrez and her husband, Robert, for their loving support and for hosting the service and meal.

A gathering for family and friends is planned for April 2 in Glendale.

Memorial gifts are received to the Elvis Cayford Memorial Fund for P.A.W.S. of Seymour (https://seymourtxpaws.org/elvis-cayford) to build up sustainable resources for cats and dogs in rural Texas. P.A.W.S. works to save and improve the lives of animals and foster compassionate community that values and protects all creatures.