Obituary of Nicholas Maurer

Nicholas “Nick” Maurer was born November 7, 1934 in Oakland, California, the only child of Claude and Melva Maurer. His parents were divorced when Nick was an infant, and he was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents. Following graduation from Fremont High School, he worked several different jobs, including at Montgomery Ward, a Chevrolet plant, and The Food Mill.

                Nick’s grandparents did not like guns, so when it came time for him to register for the draft, he decided to try to register as a conscientious objector (C.O.).  He had not been raised in any church, but someone told him that if he wanted to be a C.O., he should get the Quakers behind him.  He searched for a Quaker Meeting and ended up finding and attending Berkley Friends Church. God used that motivation to get him to a place where he would hear the Gospel. The church folk loved him, accepted him, and supported him, and through their witness, he came to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.

                While serving his 2 years of alternative service at Goodwill, Nick came in contact with a co-worker, Dan Alvies, who invited him to do a Navigator Bible study and scripture memorization program with him.  That began his lifelong love of God’s Word and his habit of scripture memorization. And as he grew in the Lord, he started to sense God’s call into some kind of full-time service.  One of the members of Berkley Friends was Arnold Owen, who was also on the Board of Trustees for George Fox College (now University).  Arnold encouraged Nick to go to college to better prepare himself for whatever ministry God might have for him. So in 1961, at the age of 27, he moved to Newberg to begin life as a student at George Fox.

                While in college, he became involved in music – singing in the choir and in a male quartet. (He had sung with the Oakland Orpheus, a male chorus, in his years after high school.) Nick started helping in the Sherwood Friends Church and spent 2 summers working in the Northwest Yearly Meeting Youth Ambassador (YA) program where he met Alice Hampton.  They became engaged February 7, 1964, and that summer while Nick was a YA in Meadows Valley Friends and Alice was a YA in Piedmont Friends, on the same weekend they both had a sense of God’s call to the Peruvian Mission work of Northwest Yearly Meeting.  Their letters sharing about their sense of call crossed in the mail.  They were put under appointment as missionaries in late May of 1965, and in that same year, they graduated from George Fox on June 6th and were married on June 8th.  After 6 months of work, deputation, and outfitting, they left for 9 months of Spanish language study in San José, Costa Rica. In July 1968, they were both recorded as ministers by Northwest Yearly Meeting.

                During their 2 terms of missionary service in Peru, Nick focused on training the Aymara church leaders in various classes, in Extension Bible School, and in one-on-one discipleship.  He traveled many miles transporting the mission tent and national believers to hold tent meetings in existing churches and in church plants. When it became apparent that the Lord was redirecting Nick and Alice’s ministry, they spent the next 10 years in pastoral ministry, first at the Klamath Falls (OR) Friends Church and then at the Ontario (OR) Friends Church.  Next came a season of helping at a new church plant at East Boise (ID) Friends.

                In September 1988, Nick and Alice moved back to Newberg, where Nick spent his remaining work years in the Physical Plant Department of George Fox, retiring in the late fall of 1999.  He also began a ministry of holding Sunday afternoon services at Chehalem Care Nursing Home, which he did for nearly 20 years. As Nick lost more and more of his eyesight due to glaucoma, his years of having memorized scripture enabled him to continue that ministry even when he couldn’t see to read scripture from the Bible. And he would continue to memorize and review using a cassette tape recorder that he could play and rewind over and over to commit the words to memory.  He also spent years volunteering with Bible Foundation, an organization that ships donated Bibles around the world.  Even when he could no longer see to read what translation or portion the scripture was, he was able to pack boxes by feel.  

                In March 2004, Nick and Alice moved again, this time into a Friendsview Spaulding Oaks condo.  From there Nick was able to continue his ministry at Chehalem Care and with Bible Foundation; plus, he volunteered at Newberg Friends with various cleaning jobs.  There began to be more and more signs of cognitive decline, until in February 2017, he was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.  And in November 2017, he moved into the Health Care units of Friendsview.  The compassionate, loving care of all the caregivers and staff in Gardenview has been so very outstanding during these final years.

                Nick was released from the chains of disease and blindness to his Heavenly Home on January 11, 2022.  He leaves behind his wife of 56 years, Alice, children Dave (Jen), Ruthanna (Roy Haines), and Jonathan (Andrea); grandchildren Kara Maurer, Zach Maurer, Katie Haines Werstler (Jared), Maryanna Haines, Kenny Haines, Jason Maurer, Hannah Maurer, Cindie Haines, April Haines Peña (Pat), Tim Haines, and 6 great-grandchildren.  He is remembered especially for his love of God’s Word, his love of the music of faith, and his rich deep bass singing voice. 

                A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, February 19, 2022, 10:00 a.m. at Newberg Friends Church, 307 S College St, Newberg, Oregon.  Attendance in person with masks, or live streamed at https://sites.google.com/newbergfriends.org/newbergfriendspodcasts/memorial-services?authuser=0

                In lieu of flowers Nick’s family suggests a donation to Twin Rocks Friends Conference (PO Box 6, Rockaway Beach, OR 97136) or Evangelical Friends Mission (PO Box 771139, Wichita, KS 67277)