Wilson SHABAZ

25 SEP 1918 - 3 JAN 2017

• BIRTH: 25 SEP 1918, Hamadan, Iran
• DEATH: 3 JAN 2017, South Bend, IN

• MARRIAGE: 22 AUG 1942, Gary, Lake, Indiana

INDEX

[N15605] Shabaz Wilson
Sept. 25, 1918 - Jan. 03, 2017
SOUTH BEND - Rev. Wilson W. Shabaz, 98, died Tuesday, January 3, 2017. Born in Hamadan, Iran September 25, 1918, he came to the United States when he was four years old with his parents, Gabriel and Nanajan, as religious refugees of the Armenian/Assyrian holocaust of that time. His family settled in Gary, IN where Wilson attended and graduated from Emerson School and then worked in the steel mills as a machinist, first class. He was drafted into the Army during WWII and during his military time received direction from God into Christian ministry. Wilson passionately fulfilled this personalized calling to shape peoples' lives instead of steel until his dying day. After his discharge, he enrolled in Central Bible Institute in Springfield, MO and later was ordained as an Assemblies of God minister. For more than fifty years he pastored churches in Valparaiso, Terre Haute and from 1964-1986 Northside Assembly of God (currently, New Life Church) in South Bend. After “retiring” in 1986, he pastored Blissville Church of the Brethren in Plymouth, IN. During his years of ministry, he gave spiritual guidance by mentoring other pastors in his organization, participating in ministerial forums, and counselling at Hope Rescue Mission. He shaped a myriad of lives through his scripture-saturated sermons and counsel. No doubt there is a long line, longer than he could have imagined, of people greeting him who are in heaven because of his tenacious commitment to his calling, his dedication to God's Word, and his tireless pastoral care. While in the military, Wilson was strongly impacted by the Navigators and their emphasis on scripture memorization. He regularly quoted Psalm 34, 91, 100, 103 and others, a habit he continued through his last day. He was preceded in death by Frieda, his wife of 74 years, on November 3, 2016. He is survived by his daughter Sharon (Duane) Sautter of Granger, IN; his son, Wayne (Cynthia) Shabaz of Ft. Myers, FL; six grandchildren, Nathan, David and Alissa Shabaz of Holland, MI; Christopher (Tasha) Sautter of South Bend, IN; Matthew (Jennifer) Sautter of Mishawaka, IN; Danielle Sautter of Granger, IN; four great-grandchildren, Noah, Emma, Caroline and Liam Sautter; two sisters, Luci Kirk of Santa Ana, CA and Esther (Bill) Ilnisky of West Palm Beach, FL. Visitation will be Tuesday, January 10, 2017 from 4-8 p.m. at Palmer Funeral Home, 17131 Cleveland Road, South Bend. His coronation service will be held Wednesday, January 11, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at Southgate Church, 3717 S. Michigan Street, South Bend. In honor of Wilson's commitment to the shaping of lives after Christ's model, the family requests any contributions be made to: - Hope Ministries of South Bend: https://www.hopesb.org/hope-ministries-donate (Include “In Memory of Wilson Shabaz” in the Donation Description box) - Assemblies of God Foreign Missions. Contact New Life Church 574.272.0384 for specific details. Published in South Bend Tribune from Jan. 7 to Jan. 8, 2017

Couple celebrate 70 years of marriage that wasn't supposed to be
6:08 a.m. EST, August 26, 2012|By KIRBY SPROULS, South Bend Tribune

SOUTH BEND -- Wilson Shabaz’s father was only following an Assyrian custom when he selected a bride for his son. But Wilson, normally not one to challenge his father, had someone else in mind. He insisted that his father meet his choice, a young woman in South Bend.
So without warning her in advance, father and son, immigrants from Persia, drove from their home in Gary to meet Frieda Marialke at her family’s home on Prairie Avenue.“When they came to my door I was sweeping and had a babushka on my head,” Frieda says. “I was surprised. But I think his dad figured I was a worker.”

Frieda passed the audition - and this past week she and Wilson celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. “Wilson never crossed his father but he did then,” Frieda says. “He said, ‘No, Dad, I have someone else.’”Frieda, 90, and Wilson, 93, continue to live independently in the same bungalow they purchased here in 1964 when he became pastor of the Gospel Tabernacle, now the New Life Assembly of God on Cleveland Road.Their marriage is a merging of cultures. Wilson came from the country now called Iran when he was 3 years old. His family settled in Gary, where they had relatives. Frieda, the daughter of German immigrants, was born and raised on the west side of South Bend, attending Washington High School. She met Wilson as a teen at a gathering of church youth groups in Michigan City. “Everyone else was getting on a boat to go out on Lake Michigan and Wilson said to me, ‘Don’t go on the boat,’” Frieda says. “I got an idea maybe he was trying to look out for me.”“The water was too rough,” Wilson interjects.

They were married Aug. 22, 1942, in Gary, where Wilson worked as a mechanic in a steel mill. Soon after, he was in the Army, stationed in Panama. It was there that he decided to go into the ministry. Following his two years in the military, Wilson attended Central Bible College in Springfield, Mo., and then served as pastor for churches in Valparaiso, Terre Haute, Ind.,, South Bend and Plymouth. The couple have two children, Wayne, of Holland, Mich., and Sharon Sautter, of Granger. Wilson retired as a full-time minister in 1991. “That was the real test of our marriage,” Frieda says. “Before he retired we were always busy. But when he retired no one needed us, no one called. We were together all the time.” The two became closer during that period, Wilson says.

“Our faith in God has kept us closer together,” he says. “We recognize the love of our partner and God’s direction for us.” The couple remain active; Wilson even leads a worship service for seniors at 6 p.m. the second Sunday of the month at the Church at the Southgate in South Bend.
Frieda and Wilson both say they are in good health, although she battles arthritis. They have maintained their independence, taking care of themselves and their home and lawn. After 70 years of marriage, they still treasure every day.“We don’t take marriage lightly. It is very precious,” Frieda says.
Staff writer Kirby Sprouls:
ksprouls@sbtinfo.com