Haldor Lillenas

Haldor Lillenas

Haldor Lillenas (1885-1959) = Pastor, Composer, Publishing. Best known for his (3000 +) hymns. Haldor Lillenas was born in the country of Norway on the island Stord, south of Bergen on November 19. His family immigrated to America when Haldor was two, eventually settling in Minnesota.

In 1906, Haldor experienced a conversion at the Peniel Mission in Astoria, OR. He joined the Nazarene church and moved to Deets Bible College (future Point Loma Nazarene University) in Los Angeles, CA where he met his future wife, Bertha Mae (1889-1945) through one of the college’s music groups. She was the second child of a Methodist pastor, W.C. Wilson. Her mother died in 1893 and her father remarried two years later. Then they moved from Kentucky to Pasadena, CA after her father joined the Church of the Nazarene in 1905. Haldor and Bertha married in 1910. They became proud parents of Evangeline and Wendell.

Haldor and Bertha, both ordained, shared the preaching and music ministries in each of their pastorates. They couldn't afford a piano, so bought a "wheezy little organ" for $5.00 from a neighbor and wrote several songs on that instrument. They served in California (1910-14, 1920-23); Illinois (1916-19); Texas (1919-20); and Indiana (1923-26). He founded his own music publishing company, which Nazarene Publishing house in Kansas City purchased as a subsidiary in 1930.

They moved to central Missouri near the Lake of the Ozarks and built a stone house which they called Melody Lane in the 1940s. Haldor would travel to Kansas City by train one day a week for meetings at the publishing house, but composed music in his home office.

After Bertha’s death, he married Lola Kellogg. He died in 1959 after a car accident and was buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Kansas City, MO.

More to Read:
1. Down Melody Lane: An Autobiography. by Haldor Lillenas. Beacon Hill Press, Kansas City, MO. 1953. Google Books.

2. Called Into Holiness. By W. T. Purkiser. Nazarene Publishing House, 1983. Vols. 1, 2

3. Hymns: Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs. By Wm. J. & Ardythe Peterson. Tyndale, 2006.

4. Nazarene Roots: Pastors, Prophets, Revivalists & Reformers. By Stan Ingersol. Beacon Hill Press, 2009.

5. The Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of Iberia Church of the Nazarene: 1908 - 1983, A History. Main & High Street, PO Box 152, Iberia, MO 65386. Rev. Aldean Wood, Pastor.

6. Awakening Messages and Stirring Experiences Including a Brief Sketch of His Sainted Wife, Evangeline. W.L.Surbrook, President of Kingwood Holiness College, Kingswood, KY, 1930. (contains a copy of one of Haldor's poems)

7. Kansas City Star-Times Obituary, August 18, 1959. 
8. "Our Nazarene Foremothers: The Clergy-Couple Who Birthed a Publishing Company."
By Stan Ingersol. New Horizons Magazine: Resources for Nazarene Clergywomen. 2004. p. 8-9.  USA Canada Region.org Newsletter 
9. "The Nazarene Connection with Indianapolis: Lillenas Publishing Company." Daily Summary. 26 Jun 2017. No.06 p. 3. www.nazarene.org
10. Nazarene Women and Religion: Sources on Clergy and Lay Women in the Church. By Stan Ingersol. Kansas City, MO.
11.  Great Gospel Songs: Designed for Use in All Services of the Church. By Haldor Lillenas. Nazarene Publishing House, Kansas City, MO. 1929. Internet Archive.
12. "The Carpenter of Nazareth (Poem)" by Haldor Lillenas. Herald of Holiness, Kansas City, MO. 20 April 1935. Vol. 24, No. 5. p. 12. Wesleyan-Holiness Digital Library
13. A Partial List of Haldor's many songs
14. Bertha's Death Certificate #17547
15. Findagrave # 6872074


An Audio Recording -- "It Is Glory Just to Walk With Him - A Hymn by Avis M. Burgeson & Haldor Lillenas, 1918.

Places to Visit in MO. & KS.

1. NOTE: Melody Lane Estates, in Miller County, MO. is a private residence.

2. Iberia Church of the Nazarene, Iberia, MO.

3. Nazarene Global Ministry Center & Archives, 17001 Prairie Star Parkway, Lenexa, KS. 66220, 913-577-2970 www.nazarene.org (guided tours by appointment)

4. Forest Hill Cemetery, 6901 Troost Ave., Kansas City

Citation: "Haldor Lillenas." Written by Dolores J. Rush, 27 June 2011. History Nut of Missouri, USA. 

Rev. James Clayton Dobson, Sr.

Rev. James Clayton Dobson, Sr. (1911 - 1977) = Artist, Pastor, Professor. Born on May 24, 1911, the youngest son of six to Robert Lee and Juanita Martin Dobson. Jimmie announced at the age of three years that he wanted to become an artist. At the age of sixteen, he heard God’s call to the ministry, but he wouldn’t give up his art. For several years, he rebelled, and left the church. During this time, however, his mother faithfully prayed for her son.

James entered the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in the fall of 1930 and graduated, rated “Number One” in talent by the Institute in his class. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find a job in the art field and took a job pumping gas at a Texaco service station.

He married a preacher’s pretty daughter named Myrtle Georgia Dillingham on June 13, 1934 and their only child was born on April 21, 1936 by C-section in Shreveport, Louisiana.

James yielded to God during a evangelistic service. He set aside art and prepared to enter the ministry. He obtained his local preacher’s license and his first pastorate began in Sulphur Springs, Texas.

He was known as a man of prayer, a prayer warrior. He prayed that his beloved son would grow to become a man who followed the Lord's lead in every area of his life. God honored his prayers. Many people came to know the Lord.

Rev. James C. Dobson Sr. officiated at his son, Dr. James C. Dobson, Jr’s, marriage to Shirley Deere on August 27, 1960 and prayed over them to consecrate their oneness.

God gave back Jim his art by sending him to teach art and history at Mid-America Nazarene College in 1971. His portrait was drawn by one of his most talented art students, Ray Craighead , a few months before his death on December 4, 1977.*

More to Read:

1. “Christian Fathering” film. 3rd film in series from Focus on the Family.

2. Dare to Discipline. By Dr. James C. Dobson, Jr. 1970

3. Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO. 80995

4. Focus on the Family: Celebrating Twenty-Five Years of God's Faithfulness. 2002.

5. Home With a Heart. Dr. James C. Dobson, Jr. 1996.

6. MidAmerica Nazarene College: The Pioneer Years, 1966-1991. Donald S. Metz. Nazarene Publishing House, KCMO, 1991.

7. Parenting Isn’t for Cowards. By Dr. James C. Dobson. 1987.

8. Ray Craighead

9. Straight Talk to Men and Their Wives. By Dr. James C. Dobson. 1980.

10. Turning Hearts Toward Home. By Rolf Zettersten. Dallas, Tx., Word Pub., 1989.
11. Findagrave #13988865

NOTE: Dr. James C. Dobson passed away at the age of 89 on 21 August 2025. He is survived by his wife, Shirley; 2 children, Danae and Ryan, daughter-in-law, Laura and 2 grandchildren.  

"James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, has died." By the Associated Press. 21 Aug, 2025. KCTV 5. 

Places to Visit in KS.:

1. Mid-America Nazarene University,  2030 E. College Way, Olathe, KS.,  Virtual Tour of Mid-America Nazarene University. Dobson Hall is one of the stops.

A Quote about Professor James Dobson:

"Studying under Professor James Dobson (from 1973-1977) made a profound impact on my life. His keen sense of observation and dedication to the creative process was inspiring not only to me, but to all the students he instructed." ~ Ray Craighead.

Citation: "Rev. James Clayton Dobson, Sr." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 18 January 2011. History Nut of Missouri, USA.