Died November 19, 1939 – January 28, 2018,Columbia, TN
College: Silliman
Major: Philosophy
Graduate School: Yale University, M.A.T., English, 1962; Northwestern University, M.S.J., Journalism, 1968
Widow: Mrs. Joyce Wakefield
PO Box 1606
Rolla, MO 65402-1606
573-465-1682
agapefjw@fidnet.com
Children: Mary, 1971; Gregory, 1973
Capt. Wakefield passed away on Sunday, January 28, 2018.
Capt. Wakefield was a resident of Columbia, Tennessee at the time of passing.
He attended Yale University where he earned a B.A. in Philosophy and a M.A. in English.
Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service.
Memorial contributions may be made to The Salvation Army Central Territory Music Dept, Capt.
I retired as a Captain (minister) in The Salvation Army. I became a member of The Salvation Army as a church home first and then started working for them professionally. For the last 14 years of my active career, I was a Salvation Army officer (pastor). Prior to that I worked in various journalism fields in Illinois, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Texas.
My wife (also a retired Salvation Army officer, in fact, a Major!) and I live in Rolla, Missouri, her home town. My daughter, a singer/songwriter, lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and my son, a pipeline engineer, lives in Conroe, Texas. I have one grandchild and two step-grandchildren on my side of the family, and five grandchildren on my wife’s side. One grandson just returned from service in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division.
People have told me that, as a philosophy major with a special interest in Kierkegaard, I should have gone right on to Yale Divinity. Instead I went to the Yale Graduate School where I studied English. I fondly remember History of Architecture with Vincent Scully and Management with Chris Argyris. My excellent philosophy honors professor was George Schrader. My most memorable professor in graduate school was William Wimsatt.
I believe that we human beings cannot save ourselves, cannot bridge the gap of sin that separates us from God, so God became flesh to bridge the gap. As someone has said, “The Infinite condescended to the finite, the Holy to the sinner.” God came to us in Jesus Christ, and He came the full distance. He not only became flesh; He suffered and died, even the death of the cross.
Jesus Christ, true God and true man, the second Person of the Trinity, fully experienced the human condition and died on the cross in order to redeem us through His innocent blood. When He was crucified as the Lamb of God, our Substitute, He made a divine exchange. Although without sin Himself, He became sin for us, in our stead. On the cross, He paid the full penalty for our sin and gave us His righteousness (II Cor. 5:21). God came the whole distance for us because of love (John 3:16).
My prayer is that everyone reading this knows and accepts by faith what God has done for him or her personally through Jesus Christ. Do not refuse this divine gift of grace which is eternal life, for which God paid so high a price. A word of warning: there are consequences for refusing this gift. Don’t take the chance!
I invite anyone who might have questions about the above to contact me at my e-mail address: agapefjw@fidnet.com