The life and legacy of Dr. Jane Gahs Wilson
Dr. Jane Gahs Wilson became affiliated with MMBB during her tenure at the Los Angeles Baptist City Mission Society.1 Recruited by then-executive minister Dr. Ralph Mayberry following her graduation from Eastern Baptist Theological School,2 Dr. Wilson began her ministry with the American Baptist Churches in 1952.
Dr. Wilson gave faithfully and generously to Heritage of Sharing from its inception in 2005. Along the way, she disclosed that she had a legacy gift in place for MMBB and so was a member of the President’s Legacy Circle. Following her death in January 2018 and the settlement of her estate, MMBB received a gift of $159,464, which was directed to the MMBB endowment.
Below is an excerpt from Jane’s “autobiography,” shared by her niece, Susan Logan.
My story began in the courts of heaven and trickled down to the hearts of Raymond Gahs and Verna Dale, my father and mother. The second of two girls, I and my sister were dearly loved and cared for all during our parents’ lives.
The fabric of my growing up years was closely woven with the threads of love, prayers, parental guidance, Christian friends, and the influence and caring of First Baptist Church of Bloomfield, New Jersey. Mother and father were devout Christians—their highest desire was that their two daughters become Christians and followers of Jesus.
I matriculated at the women’s college of Rutgers University, now called Douglass, and then transferred to a small school in Manhattan, Mills College of Education. This small specialized school, now known as the Bank Street School, prepared me for teaching children in the early childhood years. During the year I was teaching, I became sensitive to the fact that God was calling me into ministry. I enrolled as a graduate student at the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (EBTS) in the master’s program.
Through the years with the Los Angeles Baptist City Mission Society there were many challenges, opportunities, and privileges. As time progressed, more responsibility became my portion. At the time of my retirement, I was the senior associate executive minister. Some have asked if I were an ordained minister. I am not—by choice. I was always of the conviction that ordination was not necessary for the fulfillment of my calling.
So, what does the “Dr.” mean in the front of my name? In 1975, much to my surprise, a letter came from the then president of EBTS indicating that the board of trustees had voted to confer me with the honorary Doctor of Divinity—the first woman to be so honored by EBTS, a theological school of which I am very proud.