Pastor Robert Zepik

Pastor Robert Zepik, 97, formerly of Bismarck, died November 8, 2006, in Yakima, WA. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM Friday at the Baptist Home Care Center Chapel with Rev. Clyde Leimberer officiating. Visitation will be held from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM Thursday at Eastgate Funeral Service, Bismarck and continue one hour prior to the service at the Baptist Home Care Center. Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery, Bismarck. R. Hugo Zepik was born to William H. and Ernstina Lempke Zepik at Nakomis, Saskatchewan, Canada, on September 29, 1909. He was the sixth in a family of twelve. He grew up in that diversified farming area and attended school in Nakomis. The Nakomis Baptist Church met the family's spiritual needs and that is where he made his decision to live for Jesus Christ. At the age of twenty-two he went to Vancouver, B.C. where he was employed. During these four years in Vancouver, Hugo was active in the Sunday school ministry of the church he attended and credits the senior pastor for his counsel that eventually lead him into the pastorate. A 'heart' decision was made when the employer offered to pay for him to return to the classroom to obtain an engineering degree but he declined this offer to train for the ministry. Hugo attended and graduated from German Baptist Seminary, Rochester, NY, in 1941 and accepted the pastorate of his first church in Startup, WA. This westward trip began with his marriage to Ella Rinas from Auburn, MI. Ella was a supportive helpmate in the ministry. She went to heaven in July 1996, 15 days shy of 55 years of marriage. The Zepik ministry took them to NAB churches in the rural farming areas of Canada and the US. Hugo and Ella retired from active ministry in 1974 and made Bismarck, ND their home for the next several years and continued providing interim and pulpit supply. Pastor Zepiks contributions to the NAB Conference were varied by he is most pleased about his membership on the Board of Directors at Haven of Rest Nursing Home, Medicine Hat, Alberta that helped to establish that care center so many years ago. Hugo was an excellent hospital chaplain and he was often appointed by the town Ministerial Association to serve as chaplain in the local community hospital. He had a love for good singing but by his own admission "not special in any way" but enjoyed singing in male quartets. As a young boy in school, rhyme and poetry came very easy and that ability followed him throughout his ministry, writing poems for special events, anniversaries, birthdays, but mostly he penned poems because of the pleasure it brought. A compilation of some of his work is published in AMONG PEOPLE POEMS. In 1999, Hugo relocated to Edmonds, WA, where he married Ellen Love. He enjoyed the mild winters and that he could continue his daily one/two mile walk outside. They eventually moved into a retirement community in Yakima, WA where they enjoyed the friendship of other retirees. They shared five years of togetherness when Ellen went to heaven in 2005. Hugo's worn out body quietly passed from life to life everlasting on November 8, 2006. He leaves behind his immediate family, Lois, Renee and Valerie; step-children, Jeff, Tim, Ed, Janet and Nancy Love and all respective spouses; his brother, Rueben; and his sister, Estella. Hugo's parents and nine siblings preceded him in death. In lieu of flowers, memorial can be given to the Baptist Care Center.

Pastor Robert Zepik

September 29, 1909 - November 8, 2006