John McCutcheon is Coming to Pepperdine

Many of you have asked about the song, "Welcome the Traveler Home." It is written and performed by John McCutcheon.

Little did I know when I chose this piece over a month ago that McCutcheon was scheduled to perform at Pepperdine's Smother's Theater. Here is the link:

JOHN McCUTCHEON at PEPPERDINE

Welcome the Traveler Home

Music written and performed by John McCutcheon.

A Full and Wonderful Life

—By Agnes Stallings Gibson

Kenneth Manuel Stallings was born in Bluff Creek, Tennessee on August 1, 1928.  When he was born at his grandparent’s home, his mother, Bessie Mae was 18 years old and his father, Ralph Dewitt Stallings was 24 years old. 

He was the oldest of five children. His three brothers, Charles Montgomery, Jere Dewitt and William Richard, all currently reside in Ojai, California.

In the late 1920’s Ken’s parents owned and operated a general store as a family business in Bluff Creek, Tennessee.  As the Great Depression hit, the Stallings family sold the general store to Ken’s Uncle Willy Stallings and moved out to Bakersfield, California looking for work. Ken’s dad worked in the local oil fields while his mother cleaned houses and occasionally picked cotton.  His only sister, Frances Mazelle Rowell, was born in Bakersfield in 1939 and predeceased Ken in 1988 at age 48.

Ken’s grandmother, Vinnie Lynch, affectionately known as “Big Mother,” lived with the family and took care of the kids.  Ken and his brothers found work doing paper routes and other odd jobs to help the family out.  There was no lying around or goofing off in the Stallings household no matter what the age.

After three years in Bakersfield the Stallings family moved south to settle in Ojai, California.

Ken was very intelligent and a hard worker as a student.  He skipped a couple of grades in elementary school and graduated from Nordhoff High School at age 16 in 1945.  Three days after his graduation he began fulltime work for Continental Oil Company also known as Conoco, as a “roustabout” doing all kinds of jobs including laying pipe, digging ditches and other oil field related tasks. 

He took a military leave from Conoco in 1950 and served the United States Air Force for three years. He was stationed at Shepherd Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas for basic training, then transferred to Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Florida, for air police training. He returned to Shepherd Air Force base where he served as a military policeman.  While in the Air Force, he was part of the Air Force bowling team.  He was a great bowler and boasted a high score of 242.

Ken was raised in the Church of Christ and was baptized on September 10, 1950, five days before he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.  Ken cherished his days as a new Christian.  He attended the 10^th and Broad Street Church of Christ in downtown Wichita Falls because it was easy to reach by bus.  This congregation had 1,000 members and was led by George M. Stevenson and later by Paul McClung.

Ken credited these preachers and their strong preaching and teaching as helping him begin his Christian walk on solid footing. The Stallings family in Ojai was one of the founding families of the Ojai Church of Christ.  Ken’s father and brothers literally helped construct the church building, the baptistery, as well as preaching on occasion and leading singing. In 1966, Ken baptized his brother Monte, his wife Estelle and “Big Mother”, his 81-year-old grandmother.  

Following his military service, Ken returned to Ventura and resumed his work with Conoco. One year later, he met and became smitten by Miss Orvella Marie Owen. Their first date was a blind date arranged by Bruce Vale and LaVone Boyer.  After a brief courtship of three months, Ken proposed marriage and they were married on the Sunday afternoon of August 21, 1955 in Ventura, California at the Anacapa Church of Christ.

Ken and Orvella had three children, Susan Marie Stallings born in 1956, Kenneth Ray Stallings in 1958, and Agnes Lynn Stallings in 1963.  In 1971 Ken was promoted to senior production foreman managing the Conoco oil lease in Seal Beach, California.  The family moved from Ventura to Huntington Beach, California that summer.  He worked in Seal Beach for the next 15 years.

While in Huntington Beach, the Stallings family attended the Newland Street Church of Christ in Garden Grove where Ken served as a deacon for 14 years.  The family was active in the church with Ken and Orvella both teaching bible classes and participating weekly in activities. 

  

Many Newland members who remember Ken and Orvella, probably associate them as the PEP coordinators. PEP was an acronym that stood for Personal Evangelism Program – also known as the Visitation Program.  Ken and Orvella spent every Sunday afternoon organizing the visitor cards and prayer requests, then distributing the cards to various members of the church with the agreement that a visit or a call would be made that week. 

Ken and Orvella would have their own visitation assignments plus any others that were not taken by other church members.  While at Newland Street, Ken had the privilege of baptizing Kenny and Agnes Lynn.  Susan was baptized in 1969 prior to the family move from Ventura.

Also during this time, Ken went to night school at Orange Coast College and graduated in 1980 with an Associate of Arts degree and a certificate in Petroleum Technology. He was also a member of Toast Masters for several years.

Ken was a fantastic personal worker. When he retired from Conoco after working for them for over 41 years, he became the full time minister for the Clearlake Church of Christ in Northern California. This was another dream of his – to be able to serve the Lord in full time ministry. 

He was always known to visit the elderly, serve communion to those who were housebound, visit new members, and visit members who were in the hospital.  He greeted everyone with kindness, empathy, and words of encouragement.  One of his favorite phrases taken from his days at Newland Street was “the best is yet to be.”  This was a foundational truth for Ken that he truly believed.

He was a soft-hearted, kind, gentle man.  He loved life and really enjoyed talking with people – wherever he was, to whomever he encountered in life.  He talked to people in stores, people as he was standing in line somewhere, people in the doctor’s office, and people in the cardiac rehabilitation clinic.  If you were in his vicinity, you were likely to meet him. He loved to talk and learn about people – frequently with a cup of coffee in hand whenever possible.

In 2002, Ken and Orvella left Clearlake and moved to Victorville, CA to be closer to Agnes B. Owen or Mrs. Owen as Ken called her, Orvella’s mom, who was living at Christian Heritage Care Center in Upland. Ken volunteered at Christian Heritage by teaching Bible class on Sunday mornings and Tuesday mornings. They attended church with Mrs. Owen every Sunday morning.  In the evenings they attended the Apple Valley Church of Christ for a while, then the Victor Valley Church of Christ.

Ken was a man of God who loved the Lord, but he was also a man who loved his family.  He was completely devoted to his wife, Orvella for 55 years. The two of them shared a bond that will last forever.  They were each individuals with their own ideas, opinions, and yes, even some stubborness, yet they shared a mutual love and respect for one another. They always showed a spirit of love and generosity with others.  When their own kids were mostly grown up, Ken and Orvella helped, fed, and housed several people in need. 

Ken was especially proud of his children – and made each one feel as though he or she shared their own place in his heart.  Susan was the oldest and first-born, Kenny was the boy and his namesake, and Agnes Lynn was the baby.  He was also extremely proud of all of his grandchildren: James and Heatherlyn, Kenny D. and Julie, and Emily and Abby and always looked forward to spending time together as a family.

The loss of Ken is difficult because he was loved so deeply by his family. He will be missed tremendously and life for the family will be forever changed without him. However, the family knows that this is not a tragedy; this is a victory.  God has provided that “peace that passes understanding.” Ken was a man who loved the Lord and whose faith sustained him in his darkest hours. 

In his final days, Ken listened to and was comforted by hymns.  His family watched and marveled at the faith that he demonstrated in his final hours.  They are forever grateful to a loving father in heaven for receiving and welcoming home a servant of the Lord who was also a husband, father, grandfather to his family here on earth.  Ken is home now and has received his reward for a faithful life well lived.