Charles Boyer Shenk

Charles Boyer Shenk, age 97, of Columbus, Ohio, died July 4, 2026, in his home. Fireworks accompanied his passing, since it was the 250th anniversary of the United States. He was born in Norfolk, Va., on Dec. 5, 1928, to Coffman and Retta (Boyer) Shenk. Charles was a missionary in Japan for 37 years with his wife Ruth, serving under Mennonite Board of Missions (now Mennonite Mission Network). They started three churches on the northern island of Hokkaido and helped train Japanese pastors. Their last 10 years were in Tokyo, where they worked with Japan Anabaptist Center and several Mennonite churches. Charles grew up in the Washington DC suburb of Takoma Park and then in Biglerville, Pa., his mother’s hometown. He attended Biglerville High School and finished at Eastern Mennonite High School in Harrisonburg, Va. There he met Ruth Frey of Archbold, Ohio, and they were married on June 19, 1949, two years after they graduated. Charles and Ruth attended Eastern Mennonite College in Harrisonburg, where Steven was born in 1950. Later they worked at Mennonite Publishing House in Scottdale, Pa., where Gloria was born in 1952. After that they moved to Charles’ hometown, where Barbara was born in 1953. Charles worked in his family’s chicken-processing business. His friends called him “chicken-chopping Charlie.” Feeling a call to be missionaries in another country, the family moved in 1955 to Goshen, Ind., where Charles earned an undergraduate degree at Goshen College and started graduate studies at Goshen Biblical Seminary. In 1957, Charles was ordained to the ministry at his home congregation, Bethel Mennonite Church. The family then drove cross-country to Seattle, where they boarded a ship for a two-week voyage to Japan. For two years, Charles and Ruth studied Japanese in Tokyo, where Ken was born in 1959. In Hokkaido, the Shenks served in four different towns and cities over the years. Their children attended local public schools before transferring to English-language boarding schools and then to colleges in the United States. Charles and Ruth’s decades of missionary service included several furloughs (later called North American assignments) to speak in churches, visit friends and family, and study at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, where Charles earned a master of divinity degree. The Shenks retired in 1994 and settled in Columbus, Ohio. They became active members of Columbus Mennonite Church and made connections with Japanese people who were working or studying in Columbus. Ten years later they moved to Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, Va., due to Ruth’s declining health. She died on Sept. 10, 2005. Charles and Ruth traveled extensively within Asia and to see their daughter Gloria and her family in Africa. Charles moved back to Columbus the following year. On Feb. 24, 2007, he married Elizabeth (Liz) Avendano, whom he and Ruth knew from their church. They enjoyed several international trips together, including twice to Japan. Liz, his wife of 19 years, was at Charlie’s bedside when he took his last breath. Charlie will be remembered for his easygoing interaction with a wide variety of people, his sense of humor, love of photography, eating sushi, participating in his church community, and progressive politics (including his hope to vote for a new president before he died). Charlie enjoyed the annual gathering of his family at Laurelville (Pa.) Retreat Center. He also liked nice cars, starting with a Studebaker in the late 1940s, and playing baseball as a pitcher. His childhood memories, when his family lived in the Washington DC area, included accompanying his school band to the White House lawn to play for President Franklin Roosevelt. Soon after the end of World War II, before his senior year of high school, he volunteered with other Mennonites and Brethren to take a ship load of horses to war-ravaged farms in Poland. Charles is survived by wife Liz and four children – Steven of Harrisonburg, Va., Gloria of Lititz, Pa., Barbara of Champaign/Urbana, Ill., and Ken of Findlay, Ohio – and their spouses: Karen Moshier-Shenk, Howard Good, Dannie Otto, and Natalie Johnson Shenk. Charles had 10 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. Charles was preceded in death by his parents, wife Ruth, and brothers Stanley and Martin. A memorial service will be held at Columbus Mennonite Church on September 20 at 3 pm, preceded by Visitation starting at 2 pm. There will be a reception after the service. Burial will be in Harrisonburg, Va., next to Ruth. Memorial contributions can be made to Ohio’s Hospice or to the charity of your choice.

Charles Boyer Shenk

December 5, 1928 - July 8, 2026