Elisabeth Elliot Gren Elisabeth Elliot Gren, 88, of Magnolia, Massachusetts died on Monday morning, June 15, 2015 at her home. She was the wife of Lars Gren. She had lived a life of full surrender to her Lord, continually trusting that she was indeed loved by God with an everlasting love, and that underneath her were His everlasting arms. Born in Brussels, Belgium on December 21, 1926 to Philip and Katherine (Gillingham) Howard, missionaries in Belgium. Upon their return to the United States, they settled in Philadelphia where her father was editor of the Sunday School Times. After attending Hampden DuBose Academy in Zellwood, Florida, Elisabeth went on to attend Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, graduating with a degree in classical Greek as a basis for developing an alphabet for unwritten languages. She went on to Ecuador in 1952 to begin her missionary work, learning 3 different languages(Spanish, Quichua, and Auca-now called Waorani) over the period of her missionary service. In 1953 she married Jim Elliot, also a Wheaton graduate, and together they worked with the Quichua Indians to reduce their language to writing. When a tribe heretofore untouched by civilization was discovered by Nate Saint, Jim and four others tried to reach them. A friendly contact was made, but three days later the five missionaries were killed by the Aucas. Through a remarkable meeting two years later, Elisabeth and her 2-year-old daughter Valerie were able to live among the Aucas where she took up the work of language translation. After two years with them, she returned to Quichua work until 1963 when she and Valerie returned to the United States. Upon her return, Elisabeth began writing and became a sought-after speaker. In 1969 she married Addison H. Leitch, a professor at Gordon-Conwell Seminary in Massachusetts. She was widowed again in 1973. In 1977, she married Lars Gren and together they traveled widely to numerous speaking engagements, focusing much on the themes about which she wrote, including suffering, trusting God, obedience, and the shaping of a Christian family. In addition to her husband Lars, she is survived by her daughter, Valerie Shepard and son-in-law, Walter of North Carolina; eight grandchildren, four great-grandchildren; her siblings, Philip Howard, David Howard, Virginia Howard Sohn, Thomas Howard and James Howard. A visitation will be held on Monday, June 22, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Greely Funeral Home, 212 Washington Street, Gloucester, Massachusetts. Family and friends are cordially invited to attend. Her funeral service will be held on Tuesday, June 23, at 10:30 a.m. at the A. J. Gordon Memorial Chapel at Gordon College, 255 Grapevine Road, Wenham, Massachusetts. A visitation will be held prior to the service at the A. J. Gordon Memorial Chapel from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. with the burial at Hamilton Cemetery following the funeral service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be sent to Christian Worker's Fellowship Fund, P.O. Box 12347, Kansas City KS 66112. For online condolences, please visit www.greelyfuneralhome.com
