Three senior missionaries die
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Three full-time missionaries died during the month of December — two in a car accident in Florida and one from a heart attack in Ukraine.
Two sister missionaries were killed Thursday, Dec. 21, 2006, in an accident near Orlando, Fla. Sister Alice Ann Rust, 63, of Layton, Utah, and Sister Connie Linford Spackman, 66, of Thayne, Wyo., were driving to the Orlando Florida Temple when they were in a broadside crash with a pickup. Both sisters were serving in the Florida Orlando Mission with their husbands, Elder Ellis B. Rust and Elder Rex A. Spackman.
"Our hearts are deeply saddened at the deaths, and our sympathy and prayers go out to their husbands, families and friends at this difficult time," said Church spokesman Scott Trotter in a Church statement. "We pray that they will find peace and comfort in the promises of the Lord concerning those who give their lives in His service."
Elder and Sister Rust and Elder and Sister Spackman were on Church service missions at a Church-owned welfare ranch that has cattle and grows fruit. The two sisters were heading to the temple while their husbands finished some tasks at the ranch.
In Ukraine, Elder Jaren Soffe, 68, of Salt Lake City died unexpectedly on Dec. 17, 2006, in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, while bidding farewell to missionaries at a local train station. He was serving in the Ukraine Kiev Mission with his wife, Sister LaRose Soffe.
