Beynon, Erdmann D.

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Part of Beynon, Erdmann D.

Title: Beynon, Erdmann D.
extracted text: Erdmann Doane Bey,!lgn

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RDMANN DOANE
born at Thornton, Ontario, August
17, 1892, the only child of Rev. Robert B. and Alta Beynon. A son of the
parsonage, whose early training· was
tenderly fostered by his father, Erdmann Doane Beynon's preparation for
the Christian ministry was well begun.
He attended Victoria College, Toronto,
and was graduated in 1914. He received
his Master's Degree in 1915 and his
Ph.D . . Degree in Sociology from the
University of Michigan in 1933..
The first World War called Mr. Beynon to military service. He served overseas with the Canadian Army in 191718. In 1920 he was received on trial in
the Troy Conference of the Methodist
Episcopal Church and was appointed
at Richmondville, N. Y. He was received
into full membership in the Detroit Conference in 1921 and was appointed at
Deford on the Port Huron District.
While at Deford Mr. Beynon became
interested in the Hungarian beet ·workers there. He quickly learned the Hungarian language so that he could more
readily minister to the needs of these
workers. Because of his knowledge of
the Hungarian language, the people and
their customs, the Detroit Conference
appointed him to an important field in
the Delray area, Detroit, where there
lived 30,000 Hungarians. The center of
his religious and social work was at thl!
Centenary Church, Delray.
In 1925 Mr. Beynon visited Hungary
where he spent some time in further
equipping himself to serve the Hungarian people at home. His work at the
Centenary Church stands out as one of
the finest examples of home missionary
and social work among the foreign
groups of our great industrial centers.
From 1935 to 1937 Dr. Beynon served
the Wes t Side Methodist Church in Ann
Arbor. At the same time he was an
instructor in sociology at the Univet·sity of Michigan.
In 1937 he took the Supernumerary
Relation that he might devote his full
time to social service under the Flint
Community Association at Flint, Michigan.
For seven weeks Dr. Beynon was
confined to his bed with a h eart ailment.
He died December 24, 1943. Funeral
services were held in Flint on December
26, in which several ministers of Flint
took part, Rev. A. Stanley Stone paying fitting tribute to the life and work
of his friend and colleague.
Rev. F. Kent, of the United Church
of Canada, conducted services at the
family home in Thornton, Ontario, on
December 28. Interment was at the
Thornton United Cemetery.
Surviving are his mother, Mrs. Alta
B eynon; his widow, Mrs. Hester Beynon ; seven daughters, Marion, Helen,
Jos ephine, Marjorie, Jane, Kathleen and
Moyra; and two sons, Robert and Dennis.-A. Stanley Stone.