Reverend Stanley Crookall

A life-long servant of our Lord, Reverend Stanley Crookall, born May 9, 1922, passed to the next life on January 6, 2021. He was peaceful and in prayer at the time.

At an age when most people are thinking of retirement, he founded Bible Art Ministries in October 1976, and was active in delivering the message and supervising the missionaries for 40 years, until mid 2016, when poor health forced him to withdraw. Since November 2017, he has been a resident of Perley & Rideau Veterans’ Health Care Centre.

Born in Hamilton, Ontario, to Tom and Hannah Crookall, he is pre-deceased by his parents, his brother Roy, his wife Gwen, and his daughter Marjorie. He is survived by his sons Paul (Catherine) and Timothy (Dianne), four grandchildren (Andrew, Christopher, Jake and Sarah) and two great-grandchildren (Olive and James).

He enlisted in the Canadian Navy in W.W. II. Immediately upon discharge, he and his wife Gwen enrolled in the Salvation Army Training College. For the next two decades he was in full-time work for the Lord – as a Salvation Army officer in the Maritimes; a missionary in Northern Ontario; a Bible salesman in Eastern Ontario; a Baptist minister in Hamilton, Ontario; and nation-wide as a salesman for Gospel Light Sunday School materials. 

For ten years (1965 to 1975) he was an art instructor at the Pineridge School, a provincial jail for young offenders. During that time, he was an active force behind prayer meetings and the setting up of Full Gospel Businessmen Durham. In 1976 he moved to Ottawa to be a member of the Bill Prankard Evangelistic Association but left that on the calling of the Lord to set up Bible Art Ministries.

Initially, the ministry was to schools in Canada, with Stan and his son Tim making the presentations. Then the laws changed, and delivery in Canadian schools was no longer allowed, so he delivered in the USA, with a side trip to Jamaica. 

Living in Florida, he discipled two Colombian nationals who went to the same church as he did. Eventually, Omar and German decided to take the ministry back to Colombia, where the constitution had just been changed to remove the monopoly of the Roman Catholic Church, and to allow the Protestant Church to operate freely. The mission has been active in Colombia since then.

He was married to Gwen, the love of his life and a great partner in the ministry, from 1942 until her death in 2000. He was married to Mary, a long-time friend of the family, from 2002 until 2007.

Bible Art Ministries to Continue. Stan asked that, in his memory, donations be made to Bible Art Ministries to support the mission in Colombia. He also made it clear he would like the ministry to continue, and he made provision to support that objective with a generous donation in his will.  

His Life Story (to age 85) is told in his book, Drawing Souls to Christ. Many of you have copies. A few are still available at $10 each, including shipping. To order contact Paul Crookall, by mail at P.O. Box 4460 Stn E, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B4, or by telephone 613.850.7117, or by email bibleartministries@gmail.com  

A Small, Private, Family Funeral will be held in Peterborough on January 9. A memorial celebration of life was planned at Bethel Pentecostal Church in Ottawa and possibly at a location in Oshawa, but they are delayed because of Covid regulations limiting gatherings to 10 people. We will let you know if/when this changes.

Psalm 116:15 (N.I.V.) Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.