Pastor Colan T. Deatherage

1972 - 2014

Pastor Colan T. Deatherage
January 6, 1972 - February 21, 2014
Colan Thomas Deatherage, born January 6, 1972 in Portland, Oregon, was called to heaven to meet his Savior on Friday, February 21 near Pinedale, Wyoming. At the age of six, Colan moved with his family to Idaho Falls, Idaho where they operated a family dairy until he was a teen. He graduated from Gethsemane Christian School in Idaho Falls in 1990 and attended Pensacola Christian College in Florida, completing an undergraduate degree in 1994 and a master's degree in 1996.
On August 17, 1996 he married Leslie Murray in Raleigh, North Carolina. They returned to Idaho with a desire to minister to churches in the northwest. Colan and Leslie had six children born to them in Idaho.
In 2000, Colan was called by the people of Pocatello Baptist Church to become their pastor. It was a place and a vocation that he loved and he many times expressed his desire to pastor at PBC until the day God took him home.
While a teenager, Colan had attended Red Cliff Bible Camp near Pinedale, and it was there that he felt the call of God and surrendered his life to be a minister of the Word of God. It was a place he loved. And it was there, while attending a retreat with his son, that God took him to heaven.
Colan lived his life to be a servant of Christ and God allowed him to be a mighty man in His service. Above all else he believed the Bible and expended his life to preach it clearly and honestly. He accomplished so many amazing things and impacted so many people throughout his life that pages could be filled with all of the selfless and serving acts he accomplished; the places he visited, mission fields and camps where he served, churches where he ministered, hobbies he enjoyed, projects he completed, causes he supported- but those things only matter as far as the people who were touched in the process.
The most important thing Pastor Colan would want people to know about him is that he made a life changing decision while in the first grade when, with simple faith, he received Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. His eternal life in heaven with God could not have been gained by any good works that he had done- it could only be a free gift through faith by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8-9)
What his family would want people to know about Colan is that he was a faithful, loving husband and a patient, involved father. He feared the Lord and obeyed God's Word to love his wife, to train his children, and to honor his parents. He pastored PBC with love, on the firm foundation of the Bible. He, without apology, preached the truth found in Scripture, no matter how hard the truth was to hear. He stood boldly behind the convictions he established through the direction of God's Word. His sole desire in life was to glorify his Lord in everything he did.
His life exemplified the same desire as the Apostle Paul who wrote, "According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death." (Philippians 1:20)
Colan is survived by his wife Leslie and children Lydia, Evan, Raleigh, Eden, Robin and Donna Wren, all of Pocatello; his parents Jim and Janean Deatherage of Idaho Falls; his brother Don (Karla) Deatherage, niece Kailey and nephew Cameron all of Grain Valley, MO; his sister Sandra Deatherage of Idaho Falls; and his father-in-law Greg Murray of Pocatello. He was proceeded in death by his grandparents James and Leola Deatherage and James and Eunice Getz, and his mother-in-law Donna Murray.
Colan's family will receive friends on Friday, February 28th at 10:00 A.M. at Pocatello Baptist Church located at 190 West Chapel Rd. in Pocatello. Funeral services will follow at 11:00 at the church. Interment will be at Mountain View Cemetery. Arrangements are under the care and direction of Downard Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, those who desire may send donations in Colan's name to any branch of the WestMark Credit Union or the Pocatello Baptist Church to be used for family expenses.