June Hamilton: Missionary, Minister’s wife, Mother
Fall 2023
At 22, shortly after graduating from Bob Jones University, as a shy Iowa farm girl, Mom set out for Scotland to be a children’s missionary. For almost ten years she conducted Bible Clubs, teaching hundreds of children in the Borders area of Scotland and in Edinburgh.
In 1981, she moved to Northern Ireland to marry an Ulsterman, studying for the Free Presbyterian ministry, whom she had met in Scotland. In her role as pastor’s wife in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and the U.S., she faithfully served as a Sunday School and Bible Club teacher, youth worker, musician, event organizer, and counselor.
My mother was usually quiet and reserved, but became uncharacteristically animated when she taught Bible stories! She was a gifted actress, holding children in rapt attention right up to teenage level, as she vividly acted out Bible narratives.
Mum was also an accomplished pianist and accordionist, often playing her accordion for open air services. She was the pianist in Dr. Paisley’s church, Martyrs Memorial, for several years and then in each church where Dad pastored. Passionate about missions, she served on the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster Missionary Council for a number of years.
Her first ministry was to Dad and her daughters. We were the main recipients of her wise, steady, biblical counsel. We saw firsthand her meek and quiet spirit (1 Peter 3), her selflessness, her diligence, and her strength of character. She was the epitome of a Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 woman.
She didn’t like being in the public eye, but preferred to serve unnoticed in the background. A few weeks before she went to Glory, I told her she was the humblest, godliest woman I had ever known. She couldn’t speak, but she shook her head, “no.” Humble to the end.
Mom’s life verse was “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:7). God certainly began a good work in her. We were privileged to watch how He performed it right to the end.
Mrs. Rachel Huffman | Daughter