"A Long Obedience in The Same Direction"

DUANE CALVIN EASTMAN, 80, of Anacortes, WA passed away on January 8, 2021.  He was born in Twin Falls, Idaho, on February 1, 1940.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Roy and Alma (Hunter) Eastman; three brothers, Roy Earl (Doris), Darrell (Virginia), Steven (Juanita); and two sisters, Virginia Lee Ricketts (Claire), Noreen Kalbfleisch (Darrel).  He leaves behind one sister, Bertina Eastman; two grandsons, Pastor Jacob (Hannah) and Joshua; two sons, Timothy, and Pastor Trenton (Christie); and the woman he loved, Myrna (Reimer) Eastman.

In 1951, an 11-year-old farm boy found himself in a revival where Jesus grabbed hold of him.  The preacher at the revival announced: "This is no ordinary salvation." The rest of Duane's life, and his church and family legacy, have confirmed these words.  Though his call to ministry would be many years later, his pastoral legacy now stretches into the third generation.

After being a lumberjack, the Lord led him to Mountain View Bible College in Alberta, Canada, where he met his "beautiful and energetic" wife-to-be, Myrna Reimer. Duane and Myrna married on September 7th, 1963, and moved to Twin Falls, where their first son, Tim, was born. A few months later, Duane began his pastoral ministry in Portland, OR at an inner-city Reformed church while attending Cascade College. In the next few years, Duane pastored Bethel Evangelical Methodist Church near Ridgefield, WA (Trent was born during this time), taught high school in Milwaukee, OR, and served on staff at First Baptist Church of Portland.

In 1977, Duane and his family moved to Athena, Oregon, where Duane was called to pastor Athena Baptist Church. In 1985 Duane and Myrna moved to Salem, OR, where he pastored Judson Baptist Church and earned his Master of Divinity.  While pastoring in Oregon, he served multiple terms as the president of American Baptist Churches of Oregon. In 1992, they moved to Anacortes, WA, where he pastored the First Baptist Church of Anacortes for 14 years.  While pastoring in Anacortes, he earned his Doctor of Ministry. Duane officially retired in 2006 after 40 years of full-time ministry. That year, he and Myrna enjoyed a long road trip, traveling 30,000 miles and visiting 30 states and some of the time with a couple of grandkids in the back seat.  After retirement, to supplement his woodworking, Duane also served as interim pastor at churches in Lamar, CO, Ontario, OR, and Kent, WA.  From 2013 to 2015, Duane served at New Baptist Church in Huntington WV with his son Trent. In 2017, after more than 50 years of ministry, Duane authored his book, "Refining Fire" sharing the message of God's grace.

Duane lived a three-point sermon. Love the Word and grace of God, love your family, and love the church. Each one of those points he preached throughout his life and during his final days. A sub-point to this sermon would be to love your friends, of which he had many.  To the friends of Duane Eastman, THANK YOU for how you have loved and encouraged us.

Proverbs: 3:5-6 (NKJV)

Visitation will be at Evans Funeral Chapel on Wednesday, January 13th, from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm.  A private committal will be held at Fernhill cemetery the following day.  When Covid is over, we look to throw a party in honor of Duane and hope you can come.

To share memories of Duane, please sign the online guestbook at www.evanschapel.com