INDIANAPOLIS
Philip L. Chandler, age 75, of Indianapolis, passed away at his home on Thursday, May 4, 2017.
Phil was born in Yeadon, Pennsylvania to Uri and Edna Chandler on May 29, 1941, just a week after they returned from China, having fled from the Japanese army advancing on Peking.
After the war they returned to China and were establishing another OMS seminary in Nanking when they suddenly had to flee the Communist army. Though very young, Phil, his sister Carolyn (Smith), and brother, Charles (deceased) took this as a great adventure.
After China closed, the family went to Taiwan to help establish the Central Taiwan Theological Seminary and Morrison Academy, an international school for missionary and other expatriate children. Phil graduated from there in 1960 and graduated from Letourneau College in 1964.
In 1966, Phil went to Haiti, where he served at Radio 4VEH as a technician, making radios for distribution in the villages, and erecting radio towers. In 1971, Lorna (Cain) arrived in Haiti, and they were married June 10, 1972. Their son Ted was born in 1973. In 1975 they returned to the States and returned to OMS in January of 1979.
The family left for Taiwan in March of 1980, where they adopted Andy. Phil served in maintenance and served the Taiwan Holiness Churches with an extensive film ministry.
One of his favorite times were the camps for Chinese youth. He loved the relationships he established among the campers. The last six years in Taiwan Phil also served in a variety of ways at Morrison Academy.
In the ensuing years, Ted married Angela, and the Lord has blessed Phil and Lorna with three precious granddaughters, Lydia, Trisha and Kylie.
In 1999 Phil and Lorna returned to the states and took up the challenge to serve at the OMS headquarters in the World Intercessors department, where they produced a variety of intercessory materials to inform the constituents, prayer groups, and supporting churches of the prayer needs on all levels of the OMS ministries, as well as the answers. Although in his mid-70s, Phil never retired.
Phil constantly looked for jobs or situations that needed attention that eventually led to taking up a regular responsibility of seeing that tables and chairs were set up for anyone or place needed or helping in a variety of ways in the OMS kitchen and cleaning up.
He also kept things moving at the warehouse for missionaries coming and going from the fields, from building crates to getting those crates to and from their destinations.
Service to the Lord and others was his joy. Only God knows of the many ways he served others, for he wasn’t one to advertise his work. Only God can richly reward His faithful servant for a task well done.
Funeral services for Phil will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Community Church of Greenwood, 1477 W. Main St., Greenwood. The family will receive guests at the church from 10 a.m. until the time of service. Burial will immediately follow at Forest Lawn Memory Gardens Cemetery in Greenwood.
Wilson St. Pierre Funeral Services and Crematory, Greenwood Chapel, has been entrusted with all final arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that all memorial contributions be made in Philip Chandler’s name to One Mission Society, Box A, Greenwood, IN 46142.
You are invited to visit our website at, www.wilsonstpierre.com, to share a memory or leave a condolence.
