Remarks at Forrest's Funeral: Larry Houchen

After singing (led by Don Mullins) of the hymn, “Heaven Holds All to Me.”

May 3, 1997

Larry Houchen:

After the song that we just sung, can’t you hear Forrest, just about now, bellowing out, “A-men.”  Forrest Darrel Moyer, was born on December 16, 1929, in Carey, Texas.  He passed from this life on April 30, in Fontana, California.  He is survived by: his wife Lorrain.  By four children:  David Moyer of Junction City, Oregon, Rita Roush of Folsom, Peter Moyer of Campbell, and Doy Moyer of Fairfield, Ohio.  By two step children, Linda Houchen of Clovis, and Barry Buck of Los Angeles.  One Brother, Otis of Anaheim.  And it is so good to see Otis here, he’s been in very poor health for a number of years, and it’s just great seeing Otis here today.  Two sisters: Shirley Graham of New Mexico, Joanne Moyer of Texas.  Eleven grandchildren and one great grandchild. I thought that I would, in some personal remarks, name the places that Forrest has labored so that many of you may be able to reminisce about when your life touched his life, and when his life touched yours.

Forrest began his preaching work in somewhere, Idaho, not too far from where his brother Lloyd was preaching in Twin Falls.  He then moved to Post, Texas.  It was there that he and Pat were united in marriage in 1949.  Forrest and Pat then moved to Tucumcari,  New Mexico, where their two oldest children were born to them, David and Rita.  From there he moved to San Rafel, California, which but for just a few years, would begin a very long service for the Lord in the state of California.  Napa was the next move.  Forrest then returned to Tucumcari to again work with the brethren there.  Then it was back to California to stay.  While at Sunnyvale, Forrest and Pat’s third child, Peter, was born to them. The capital was the next stop.  While preaching at U Street, which later became Mack Road, Forrest and Pat had another child that lived but for a very short time.  Also, the youngest child, Doy, was born in Sacramento. Forrest then preached at Rose Avenue (Bellflower, California), Miller Avenue, White Road (San Jose).  He moved to Morro Bay, following Maury Estes, and it was while he was in Morro Bay that he and Lorrain were united in marriage in May 31, 1985. David and I both had the privilege of united both of them in marriage.  Then they moved to here, Sierra Vista, and this is where Forrest completed his local work on earth.

My first introduction to Forrest, as I can recall was when I was twelve years old, my dad and I traveled by train from southern California to San Jose where my dad conducted a gospel meeting at East Foothills, where Otis preached.  Forrest attended the meeting, and one night he took me home, he and Pat, and I spent the night in their home in 1960. I want to tell you a little bit about the romance that began with Forrest and Lorrain, I think it was a little interesting.  Shortly after Lorrain’s first husband, Merlin, passed away, Lorain began receiving letters and poems from a man named Forrest.  Now, you have to understand that my mother-in-law is extremely naive.  And for the longest time, she perceived these letters and these poems to be just merely words of comfort, that’s all.  After a number of letters that she received, she finally began getting just a little bit suspicious.  And what would have been to the chagrin of Forrest, she allowed Linda to read one of those letters.  Linda responded, “Mom, this isn’t just a letter of comfort.” And I did mention, of course, that they were united in marriage in 1985.  And where do you think that Forrest, then 56 years old, and Lorain in her fifties, went on their very first date?  Why, Disneyland, of course! Each of them filled a void in each other’s life that was very much needed at the time.  And I want to say to you,  on behalf of our family, when Forrest married Lorain, he accepted our family as his own. Daughter-in-law wasn’t daughter-in-law; daughter-in-law was daughter. Son-in-law was son.  Step-grandchildren were grandchildren.  So on and so forth.  And Forrest had a very special knack; when talking to someone who was faced with a personal problem, instead of them going away feeling that they had been talked down to, he made them feel that they had solved the problem themselves.  He might say something like “Well, have you considered it from this point of view?” Forrest was a competent student of God’s word.  Anybody who knew Forrest can attest to that.  He was, to me, my mentor, and I will deeply miss his counsel and his knowledge. Forrest had such a deep, reverent, devout love for God’s word, that it was the ruling force in his life.  Well did he understand such passages as Matthew 10:34 where our Lord said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the Earth.  I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.  For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.  And a man’s enemies will be the enemies of his household.  He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.  And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” When decisions had to be made regarding his personal and spiritual life, God was first. Consequently, some of the terribly painful decisions that he had to make caused him deep personal sorrow.  His relationship with his God in this life will not go unrewarded.

Followed by remarks by Ken Sterling