Darwin O'Neil Van Dyne

DARWIN O'NEIL VAN DYNE (1929 – 2025)

D.O. Van Dyne never had a lot, never needed a lot and never wanted a lot. He was, by all accounts, a poor country boy. And yet, over a lifetime of 96 years, he found everything.

Darwin O'Neil was born on July 24, 1929, to Marion Sylvester and Mary Olive (Arnaman) Van Dyne on a rustic farm in Unionville, Missouri. Those early years proved difficult. It was the 1930s, and the tattered place where the family lived didn't have indoor toilets or electricity. But it was home … until one day it wasn't.

That day, the house burned to the ground, and most of what the family owned with it. Faced with no other option, they moved into a structure built to raise chickens.

Life no doubt looked bleak inside that chicken house. But when you have so little, you grow to appreciate so much. Like that little bowtie he wore fondly as a kid. Like the broken guitar he got from an uncle and somehow learned to play. Like the garden seeds he sold in school to fund a replacement.

Over the years, the Van Dynes moved often from community to community in search of the next job that would pay the bills. That meant Darwin, an only child, bounced from school to school. A bashful boy, he grew to love food, farming and music.

The love of music led Darwin to join a quartet. One summer, during a revival meeting held at a neighboring town's Methodist church, the quartet was invited to sing. That evening, a Baptist preacher named Hugh Sawyer presented the Gospel, and Darwin accepted Jesus as his Saviour.

The love of farming led Darwin to become president of the 4-H Club. That's where he locked eyes with a pretty girl named Marilyn Grace. He was smitten. And fortunately for Darwin, so was she.

He would send a birthday card when she turned 12. She would keep it for the rest of her life. He would win the bid for a box of her homemade candy. She would win the key to his heart.

"I'm going to marry him someday," she proclaimed to a friend.

On October 29, 1950, the couple exchanged vows at First Baptist Church in Unionville. On the night of their wedding, they attended Grace Tabernacle Baptist Church in Centerville, Iowa, where Darwin publicly surrendered to the Lord's call to preach.

Those early years again proved difficult. They arrived in Springfield, Missouri, in 1951 with two suitcases and $45. But Darwin had his girl, his guitar and, most importantly, his God.

The couple found a place to rent for $35 a month. Darwin enrolled at Baptist Bible College. Those four years brought countless meals of greens and hominy. They also brought a son and then a daughter.

Upon graduating in 1955, Darwin drove his family of four to Fairfield, Iowa, where a faithful group of eight people wanted to organize an independent Baptist church.

Calvary Baptist Church would call D.O. Van Dyne, then 26 years old, as its pastor. Soon the congregation would grow to 40. Soon the Van Dyne family would grow to six.

Two more girls meant two more mouths to feed. D.O. worked a full-time job to get it done. He produced a radio broadcast titled "Echoes From Calvary." And he continued to pastor.

Then came another boy. Then came another building for services.

A thriving family. A thriving church. It was home … until one day it wasn't.

During the church's spring missions conference in 1971, D.O. answered the Lord's call to go to Australia. Months of deputation followed and eventually a move Down Under, where D.O. took over a struggling church in Adelaide; that work continues a half century later.

The Van Dynes would return to Fairfield in 1975. D.O. would become pastor of Suburban Heights Baptist Church. And, surprise, the couple would add a sixth child – another son – the next year. By that time, grandkids also were joining the family tree.

The story, of course, doesn't end there. D.O. would go on, after a legal fight that generated national media coverage, to open a Christian school in Fairfield. He would pastor for more than two decades at First Baptist Church in Walkerton, Indiana. He and Marilyn would again become missionaries, this time for seven years in a relief role to the U.S. military overseas. Finally, now in their 80s, the couple settled down on the West Coast. But D.O. continued to preach occasionally at churches across the country and to teach a weekly Sunday School class at Victory Baptist Church in Fresno, California.

On his 95th birthday, D.O. preached at Bible Baptist Church in Stillwater, Oklahoma. That sermon, like so many he preached over the years, touched on the guiding hand in his life.

"God has been so good to me," he would say.

Indeed, that poor country boy was blessed. He'd visit 47 states in his lifetime. He'd preach in 10 different countries. He'd walk hand in hand with his wife for nearly 70 years along the way. He'd see his kids marry missionaries and pastors. He'd become a beloved Grandpa, serving up bowls and bowls of popcorn and offering unlimited trips on the riding mower. And he'd credit God for everything.

"I like the fellow who says when he dies that he doesn't want to leave his possessions, he wants to go to his possessions," he said recently while preaching in Colorado.

D.O. Van Dyne did just that on the morning of August 25, 2025.

From a chicken house to a mansion in glory – yes, he found everything.

D.O. was preceded in death by his wife, Marilyn. He is survived by their six children, Kevin (Luann) Van Dyne of Colorado City, Colorado, Karen (Gary) Craft of Perkins, Oklahoma, Kristen (Jerry) Hickey of Clermont, Florida, Kathy (Phil) Laughlin of Clovis, California, Kent (Susan) Van Dyne of Firestone, Colorado, and Kolin (Jill) Van Dyne of Milton, Georgia; their 17 grandchildren, Jason (Tammy) Van Dyne of Springfield, Missouri, Nathan (Jessica) Van Dyne of Woodland Park, Colorado, Jeremy (Emily) Hickey of Windermere, Florida, Charity (Matt) Johnson of Gastonia, North Carolina, Karissa Hickey of South Bend, Indiana, Amy (Dennis) Uyechi of Owens Cross Roads, Alabama, Crystal (Jonathan) Glisson of Shelby, North Carolina, Justin (Millie) Hickey of Monterrey, Mexico, Clint (Amanda) Van Dyne of Anderson, Indiana, Kara Kincaid of Bend, Oregon, Chad (Cori) Laughlin of Clovis, California, Katie Hickey of Greenville, South Carolina, Cayla (Kevin) Stimmel of Clovis, California, Colleen (Micah) McMasters of Shelby, North Carolina, Asa (Haylee) Van Dyne of Chesapeake, Virginia, Hayley Van Dyne of Milton, Georgia, Sattler (Hannah) Van Dyne of Greenville, South Carolina; their 27 great grandchildren; nieces and nephews; and a host of friends around the world.

The family requests that memorial tributes be made in the form of contributions to Suburban Heights Baptist Church in Darwin O. Van Dyne's name. Donations can be sent to 401 S. 32nd St., Fairfield, Iowa 52556.

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