Rev. Dr. Bill Read, former director of EPC World Outreach, died in March 2014 in Jacksonville, Fla. He was the Director of Outreach, leading both National and World Outreach, from 1989-1993, and succeeded the first director, Rev. Ed Randal.

He was born in Seattle, Wash., in 1923 and later served as a company clerk in the Army during WWII when he accepted Christ. Following the war, he enrolled at Rockmont Bible College where he met and married his wife, Lenore. After his graduation from Louisville (Ky.) Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1952, the Reads served as Presbyterian missionaries in Brazil for 20 years. He later earned a Doctor of Missiology degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. In addition to his mission service, he worked at World Vision International and served as a minister in Denver, Colo. He also wrote three books on Latin American church growth.

He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Lenore Ruth Read; four children, Richard, Ronald, Ruth, and Robert; nine grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. Memorial Contributions may be made in Bill’s name to Prison Fellowship.