Loretta Daniels Cutherell

Loretta Daniels was born on October 17, 1923, in Detroit, Michigan, the first child in a family of 4 children. Her parents became believers when she was a child and so she was raised in a Bible believing home. The family relocated to Portage, Michigan, when she was in grade school. Her mother was a devout Christian and was instrumental in starting a church in Portage. Her father, quieter in his faith, was steadfast and loyal.

After qualifying as a teacher and teaching for a year in Michigan, Loretta believed God was calling her to become a missionary to India. She was accepted into Moody Bible Institute and her brother, Jack, drove her to Chicago to be admitted. However, there was a problem! Although she held the acceptance letter in her hand, the registrar told her she had no record of her admission, and no room in the dorm. The registrar then called the admissions secretary at Columbia Bible College in South Carolina, who was a friend of hers. That dear woman declared-"If you're accepted at MBI we'll be happy to take you here. Come on down!" So, her dear patient brother, Jack, drove her to South Carolina to start in the graduate school for missions. In the providence of God, that was where she met Caleb Cutherell, her future husband. They both felt called to India, and after finishing at CBC and getting married, they applied to and were accepted by TEAM. After waiting for over a year for a visa to India, the mission asked if they would be willing to go to Pakistan, fairly newly carved out of India. It seemed like it was the Lord's leading, and for the next 38 years, they served in Pakistan as TEAM missionaries. They arrived in 1954 with their daughter, Robin, 1 ½ years old, and after 2 months Luke was born. Becky, Larry, and Esther followed, all born in Pakistan.

Loretta's primary focus was providing a loving home for her husband and children. Caleb was much in demand for his engineering training and built the hostel at MCS in the early 1960's, as well as the elementary building and staff housing. Later, settled in Mansehra, one-on-one personal evangelism and discipleship would become his focus, in addition to a 7-year stint as Administrator of Bach Christian Hospital. Loretta served on the ACS Board and always kept an open, welcoming home.

Upon retirement from TEAM and Pakistan in 1992 she and Caleb settled in Norfolk, Virginia, and had an active ministry to international students at the local university. In 2002, Caleb's Parkinson's Disease became severe enough to mandate a move to some kind of assisted living, and they moved in with their youngest daughter, Esther, and her family in North Carolina. In 2008 Caleb went to be with the Lord after a long fight with Parkinson's Disease. In 2009 Loretta returned to Pakistan for a year, living with Luke and Nancy at Bach and helping out in the Central Sterile Supply dept. She was 86 years old. After returning to the US, the Lord provided a lovely apartment close to where Larry and Mary were living.

She lived there until 2021, each year requiring more assistance with daily living from Larry and Mary. After a falling incident in her home, she needed to relocate to a nursing home. She celebrated her 102nd birthday last October. Although she was unable to walk on her own anymore and her eyesight was very poor due to macular degeneration, she remained cheerful and alert, daily praying for her 5 children, 17 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren, in addition to the various ministries in Pakistan in which she was always interested.

She passed peacefully into the Lord's presence on January 23, 2026, with family in attendance, having lived a long and full life of adventure. She is survived by her 5 children: Robin Cuthbert (Al), Luke (Nancy), Becky Nystrom (Dave), Larry (Mary) and Esther Maltby (Mark).

A service, commemorating her life and giving thanks to the One she so faithfully served, will be held at Centerpoint Community Church, 253 Saint Luke's Church Road, Chesapeake, Virginia 23320 on February 21st at 3 pm.