Robert “Bob” Ashley, 88, passed away June 3.  Bob and his late wife, Ina, served as missionaries in Belize and St. Lucia for 28 years and were directors at Casa Robles Nazarene Missionary Retirement Center in California for many years.

At age 17, Bob left high school and enlisted in U.S. Maritime Service to flee God's call to be a missionary. Bob served in the Merchant Marines from 1944 to 1946, at the end and after World War II. One of his assignments was aboard the U.S. Lane Victory as a cook and baker. He served in the Pacific war near the Philippines as the ship delivered munitions to the area. For his service, he received the Atlantic War Zone Ribbon, the Pacific War Ribbon, and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon. Duty on the Merchant Marine ships was extremely dangerous. According to records, the Merchant Marines suffered the highest casualty rate of any of the services. A total of 1,554 ships were sunk and more than 9,500 men were lost during combat. 

During one of his post-war voyages, Bob met Paul Haines, a Pilgrim Holiness preacher returning to China as a missionary after the war ended. Bob recalls that during this trip, Haines became aware of Bob's calling to be a missionary. They would have long talks on the deck and Bob explained he had been called to be a missionary himself, but did not feel equipped for this task. Haines countered all his excuses and reminded him of Jonah fleeing from Nineveh. The last thing Haines said to Bob as he climbed down a rope ladder in the port of Shanghai, China, was: "Mind the Lord."

After the war, Bob returned home to marry Ina Lou Mielke. Prior to his wartime service, Ina had been called to be a missionary and had turned Bob down for marriage because he was not. Now with God's plan compete, they were married in 1947 and prepared to follow the Lord's call to the foreign mission field.

Bob and Ina both attended Pasadena Nazarene College (now Point Loma Nazarene University) and were eventually commissioned to foreign mission service from June 1954 through June 1982 (28 years). Bob kept meticulous records of his time in the field and listed the following "tangible results" of following God's leading:

Teacher/director, Fitkin Memorial Bible College

Acting principal, Nazarene High School

Mission treasurer, Belize District

District superintendent, Belize District

Mission director, Belize District

District superintendent, Windward Islands Pioneer Area/District

Mission director, Windward Island-Trinidad-Barbados Districts

Pastor, San Ignacio-Roaring Creek-Esperanza Mission, Belize

Pastor, Castries, St. Lucia

Started 11 churches in Belize, St. Vincent, St, Lucia, Grenada

Organized nine churches in Belize, St. Vincent, St, Lucia, Grenada

Constructed 13 churches in Belize, St. Vincent, St. Lucia

Constructed six schools and building in Belize

Constructed the Holland Memorial Clinic in Belize

Constructed seven homes, parsonages, and mission houses

Remodeled five buildings, including a mission house, Bible college classroom/chapel, high school, church, and offices

After returning to the U.S., Bob and Ina were appointed by World Mission Division Director L. Guy Nees to direct Casa Robles Nazarene Missionary Retirement Center in Temple City, California, in 1984. Bob was re-appointed to this position by the General Board in 1990 and served in this capacity until his retirement in 1992 after 38 years of faithful missionary service.

--Global Mission