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Presbyterian Cross

Rev. William G. Gepford Memorial

January 12, 1927 – July 10, 2017

Rev. Gepford served as the Consultant for Interfaith Ministries for the Presbytery of Detroit and continued in retirement to give leadership to the American-Arab program as staff member of Littlefield Presbyterian Church in Dearborn, Michigan. Both he and his wife, Barbara, began their work as commissioned missionaries with the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Lebanon (1953-1963) as teachers and administrators. While in Lebanon, Bill also served on the staff of the American University of Beirut as Dean of Students (1961-1963). All four of their children were born in Lebanon

On assignment in what was then the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong (1966-1971) Bill and Barbara continued their work as commissioned missionaries with the Presbyterian Church (USA). He served as co-director of the Student Christian Center which provided programs for students of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the refugee colleges in the New Territories. At the same time, Bill was adjunct professor (George William College) on Ecumenical Relations at the Far East Training Institute for Southeast Asia YMCA directors. In this capacity he traveled to the Philippines to survey the needs of the YMCA there. While in Hong Kong his wife, Barbara, served voluntarily on the Hong Kong Council of Social Services in its nutrition outreach program. During this time, she joined an international women’s research team to India that studied the nutritional needs in some of the poorer areas.

Rev. Gepford returned to Berkeley, California in 1971 to complete the requirements for a doctorate degree at the San Francisco Theological Seminary. With the research and classwork completed in Berkeley, he accepted an invitation from Muskingum University, formerly known as Muskingum College, in New Concord, Ohio to be the Chaplain and eventually served on the administrative staff (1972-1979). In October of 1979 he was called to the staff of Littlefield Presbyterian Church, Dearborn, Michigan as Youth Director and Director of American-Arab Relations. During this time he also served as a member of several boards and agencies concerned with immigration matters, social services and interfaith activities in the Detroit area. In 1986 he organized the first all-Detroit, all-inclusive, Interfaith Thanksgiving Service which continued over 25 years. Other professional travels took him to Palestine, Israel, South Africa.

Before entering seminary in 1950, he worked as a circuit design engineer for a telephone company in Chicago. He received his BSEE degree from Colorado State University (formerly Colorado A. & M. College) a master’s degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, a master’s degree in Education Administration from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a doctorate of Science in Theology degree in ethics from the San Francisco Theological Seminary, San Anselmo, CA.