July 5 Today in OPC History

Ada Galbraith (Adrianna Mae Galbraith née Kievitt), 82, entered her eternal rest on this day in 1994. From an early age, Ada was uniquely qualified to be the wife of Orthodox Presbyterian Church minister John Galbraith. Raised in a Christian Reformed church, she was a Christian when they met at age 29. Living with her parents in New Jersey, she traveled daily by ferry to work as a secretary on Wall Street. An attractive woman, she had been courted by many. When she met John, her brother laughingly teased her that “finally she was caught!”

A pastor in 1940 at Grace OPC in Westfield, New Jersey, John saw her total commitment to God, intelligence, competence, a good nature, perseverance, and a can-do attitude. Not long after they were married on October 17, 1941, Ada made the difficult transition. She went from a well-dressed NYC career woman, “pampered” by her parents, to being a pastor's wife in the small farming community of Kirkwood, Pennsylvania. She tried to live on a pastor's salary and “gifts from the Lord,” such as half of a butchered cow just when they were out of money and food, and on small checks from her parents. She learned to cook, sew their clothes, can foods, launder with a ringer washer, iron, care for John and their daughters, Priscilla and Suzanne, and become a country minister's wife. Although there were some overwhelming times, she eventually thrived in her role as wife, a minister's support system, and leader of the Women's Missionary Society.

When John was General Secretary of the Committees on Foreign Missions and Home Missions, she often had eight Westminster Seminary students for Sunday lunch or for Hoagie and Shuffleboard Suppers on Saturdays. Seminary students from foreign countries learned to make hoagies and play shuffleboard in their living room. She rarely complained when John was away for months visiting the mission fields by freighter.

John supported her effort to raise money for their children's education at Christian school and college by a career in real estate. He accompanied her to meet with clients in the evenings, hammered realty signs into the ground, and washed the kitchen floor on Saturday nights when she was baking for Sunday guests. Their bond was so special John never wanted to re-marry because she was all he ever wanted. Ada’s commitment to the Lord lasted even while afflicted with dementia. John marveled at her clear prayers to God uttered nightly during her decline until she was received into Heaven on July 5, 1994.

Picture: Ada and John Galbraith in 1962

Editor's note: Today's entry was written by Ada's daughter Priscilla.