Donald Ernest Mansell, 94, of Middleton passed away, Thursday, August 2, 2018. Don was born on Oct 7, 1923 of missionary parents in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the age of seven the family returned to the States on furlough for several months, where Don learned to speak English. The family then spent the next ten years in the Portuguese speaking islands of Madeira and the Azores. He had two sisters who died in childhood and a younger brother, Charles who lived past the age of 90. In 1941 the Mansell family left the West Coast on their way to a mission appointment in Mozambique (Portuguese East Africa) when they made a stopover in Manila. Arriving in the Philippines four days before Pearl Harbor was bombed, they were three weeks later caught by the invading forces and taken to Baguio as prisoners, spending the next 37 months in a Japanese concentration camp in various places on the island of Luzon. He graduated from high school while in camp. Following his liberation in February 1945, Don returned to the United States and enrolled at Pacific Union College, receiving his BA in Theology in 1949. While serving as an assistant pastor of in Lodi, CA. he first met the love of his life, Vesta Verdie West and they began dating a couple of years later and married the 9th of November 1952 at the Lodi Central Church. Don was ordained to the gospel ministry the next summer and in July of 1954 they were sent as missionaries to Brazil where he served as the Departmental Secretary of the Central Amazon Mission. Three of their four children were born in Brazil: Donald Everett, Stephen Allen and Marjorie Lynn. They returned to the United States in 1958 where he received his Masters degree in Applied Theology and History of Antiquity at Potomac (now Andrews) University in Washington D.C. They moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts to pastor the Portuguese, New Bedford English and Cape Cod churches. While in New Bedford, their family was completed with the birth of their daughter Edith Emily (Dede). In 1962, the family moved to Downey, California where Don taught Bible and History at Lynwood Adventist Academy. In 1964, Don was asked to serve as Assistant Editor of the Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, so they returned to the Washington D. C. area. When the encyclopedia project was completed in 1966, Don stayed on with the Review and Herald Publishing Association as an Associate Book Editor. In 1974 he became Chief Revising Editor of the SDA Encyclopedia. In 1975 Don transferred from the Review and Herald to the General Conference and was asked to serve as Curator and Assistant Secretary of the writings of Ellen G. White at the White Estate in Washington D.C. He spent many years studying and compiling Spirit of Prophecy counsel for the last days and was considered by many to be an invaluable resource of her writings, touring the camp meeting circuits and various churches with last day events seminars. He was gifted to be able to recall specific details, site information from memory and direct one to not only the book, page but even the paragraph where information or a particular quotation might be found, and frequently to directly quote the entire paragraph as well. In 1982 he and Vesta moved to Cupertino, California where he served as an associate book editor at the Pacific Press Publishing Association which was in Mountain View, later relocating to Nampa, Idaho with the move of the Press in 1984. After retirement in 1988, he remained active authoring thirteen books (with the help of Vesta who assisted in the preparation of several manuscripts), including New Every Morning, Sure as the Dawn, The Mystery of Consciousness, Adventists and Armageddon, The Shape of the Coming Conflict, Angels and the Unseen Conflict, Open Secrets of the Antichrist, and Under the Shadow of the Rising Sun. Many of these books were translated and published into Spanish and Portuguese. In 1990 after Vesta retired from her position as secretary to the advertising director at the Press, they returned to their love of mission service accepting a call from Adventist Volunteer Services where he shared his expertise as an Editorial Consultant and travelled extensively assisting in writer's workshops in a number of south-east Asia Countries and Australia. He served for a number of years as an elder and Sabbath School teacher in the Nampa SDA church where he and Vesta attended after the Press relocated, until Vesta's death in 2008. They enjoyed over 55 years of loving devotion together. After Vesta passed, Don's health declined, necessitating a move to live with his eldest daughter, Margie and her husband, Mark Mayfield, in Nampa. They were blessed to enjoy his last years with them. They relocated to Middleton in 2011 where Don was able to live out his days in the comfort of home. He began receiving the services of Encompass Hospice in March of this year until the time of his gentle passing surrounded by family on Thursday evening, August 2, 2018. Don's health did not permit him to venture out much after his illness and his last few years were ones of quiet introspection, with a deep longing for the return of his Savior and reunion with his beloved Vesta. He often expressed that his greatest desire was to see his loved ones in heaven and meet beside the tree of life. We who remain take comfort in the promise that we have eternity to look forward to and we plan to be reunited with him where there is no shadow of death. Knowing that Don and Vesta are both sleeping in Jesus, waiting to receive their new eternal bodies on resurrection morning gives us such hope. He was preceded in death by his wife, Vesta; his son Stephen; and his brother Charles. He is survived by his three remaining children: Donald Everett (and Gracie) Mansell of Paradise, CA, Marjorie (and Mark) Mayfield of Middleton, ID, and Dede (and Rich) Wood of Donnelly, ID; 7 grandchildren: Donald Ernest, Jr., Erika, Charles, Elizabeth, Monica, Emily Robin and Taylor; 7 great grandchildren Emily Saige, Isabella, Rowan, Asher, Micah and Aliana and soon to be born Ezekiel; daughter-in-law Roxanne (and Mike) Skeen of San Juan, WA; his brother-in-law Everett West (and Lorraine) of Woodland, CA; sister-in-law Mona (and Jack) Barnes of Sacramento, CA; sister-in-law Mary "Kay" Mansell of San Juan Capistrano, CA as well as many beloved nephews and nieces. *A graveside service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, Aug 10, 2018 at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens, Caldwell, ID and a memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 11, 2018 at Middleton SDA church, 421 Cemetery Rd in Middleton. Family and friends are welcome to attend both services. Arrangements by Zeyer Funeral Chapel, Nampa. 208-467-7300 Condolences may be expressed at ZeyerFuneralChapel.com ** In lieu of flowers those who desire may contribute a donation in his name to ADRA (Adventist Disaster and Relief Agency) at 1-800-424-2372 (This is the global humanitarian organization of the SDA church.)
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