Those who shaped the congregation — in faith, in music, in service, in love
Every church has its visible leaders and its invisible ones. The people remembered here were, in different ways, both: visible enough that their presence shaped the congregation, and humble enough that they rarely sought recognition for it.
In Loving Memory
Names from the congregation’s remembrance
We asked members whether there was someone the church had lost whom they would like to honour. What follows are the names offered — not a complete record of all who have been mourned at RTMC, but a beginning: a few names, held in the light, by those who loved them.
✞ Rev. Dr. Theodore Williams
Named by Oniel Samuel, Indira Prithviraj, and Devaki Samuel, Rev. Dr. Theodore Williams is remembered as a preacher, teacher, and pastor who continued to track his people long after his formal tenure ended. His influence was not confined to the years he stood in the pulpit. For those who knew him, pastoral care continued as a relationship, remembered long after the appointment itself had ended.
✞ Mrs. Esther Williams
Roopa Sundaramony Ravikumar remembers Mrs. Esther Williams with particular warmth:
“She was our Sunday school superintendent and VBS director. Powerful, unassuming, humble, and gracious. Her house was open to us teenagers.”
That open house became part of her ministry. For young people, the welcome of a home can become as formative as anything taught in a classroom.
✞ Mr. Neville Noronha
Named by Amritha Sarah Singh, Lipsita Sahu, and Sneha Noronha, Mr. Neville Noronha is remembered through the simple consistency of his presence.
Amritha writes:
“He never missed church, was always there to help and get arrangements done — a person who is missed dearly.”
There is something powerful in that kind of remembrance. Not a single dramatic moment, but the quiet certainty that someone would be there, ready to help, Sunday after Sunday.
✞ Mr. Dattatreya
Pamela John remembers Mr. Dattatreya for his prayerful life and his determination to speak openly about his faith:
“He prayed a lot and did not miss any chance to share the truth that Jesus Christ is Saviour and Lord. His wife Mrs. Indira Dattatreya continues the work today.”
In that remembrance, his ministry does not end with his passing. The work continues through those who remain.
✞ Mrs. Ellen Alexander
For Saraswathi Priyadarshini, Mrs. Ellen Alexander occupies a very particular place in her story. The VBS teacher-training classes she led became the beginning of Saraswathi’s own journey as a teacher.
“Those VBS teacher training classes she led became the very first steps in my journey as a teacher. She trained us with such conviction and passion.”
A teacher may never know how far a lesson will travel. Sometimes it continues through another teacher, and then through the children that teacher goes on to teach.
✞ Mrs. Jane Karkada
Rachel Shatananda, Ravi David, and Winston Ashwal each named Mrs. Jane Karkada — three times, in the gentle way people name those they cannot imagine the church without.
Her name carries the weight of familiarity, affection, and a presence woven into the life of the congregation.
✞ Mr. Prince Edwards
Praveen Prasanna remembers Mr. Prince Edwards simply as a Youth Adviser who mentored several youth.
The work of a youth adviser happens in conversations, in camps, in questions, and in the long patience of accompanying young people through uncertain years. Much of that work may never appear in a church record, but it remains in the lives of those who were accompanied.
✞ Rev. R.G. Soanes & Aunty Irene Soans
Prema Hall, Dorothy Deena Theodore, and Kamala Rachel remembered Rev. R.G. Soanes and Aunty Irene Soans.
Prema Hall described Rev. Soanes in words that suggest something deeper than a formal pastoral role:
“Rev. Soanes — like a family pastor.”
Their loss is remembered not simply as the passing of two church members, but as the loss of a whole household of service and pastoral presence.
✞ Dr. Fred Job
Named by Amelita Jeevaneson D’Monte and Amritha Sarah Singh, Dr. Fred Job is remembered in a quiet tribute to a life of consistent engagement with the church and its people.
✞ Mrs. Leela Gokavi
Amritha Sarah Singh remembers Mrs. Leela Gokavi as:
“Disciplined, smart, always cheerful, supportive, and involved.”
Five words that together describe a person whose contribution was expressed through presence, participation, and care.
✞ Rajay Suren
Lipsita Sahu named Rajay Suren alongside Uncle Nevil and Uncle Noel. His name appears in the Personal Story section too, where Lipsita remembers with warmth the encouragement she received from him in the choir.
He is remembered.
These tributes were gathered through the Grace & Growth congregation questionnaire, 2025–26. This is not a complete record of all who have been mourned at RTMC — no single document could claim to be.
Those Who Served Faithfully
Tributes from those who knew them
Some memories are attached to names. Others are attached to the work people quietly did, year after year, until that work became part of the character of the church itself.
✞ Bob Butt
Canadian missionaries with Youth for Christ — active at RTMC through the 1970s and 80s
Bob and Lenora Butt came to Bangalore through Youth for Christ and, in time, became fully part of the life of RTMC. Bob was deeply involved in the lives of young people, both within the church and across the city. He established TAMI — Teens and Twenties are Most Important, a club that gave young people a community and a sense of their own worth.
Their home in Shantinagar was always open. Young people came and went freely. Bob preached regularly at the Sunday evening services — services that drew many young people, including boarders from the Baldwin schools. His accessibility and range of knowledge made him a trusted and memorable presence.
He was always available, knowledgeable, and entirely without pretension.
Before they moved back to Canada, where Bob later passed away, their lives had already become a witness to many young people in Bangalore and beyond. Lenora sends her greetings on RTMC’s 150th anniversary. Both are remembered with deep gratitude.
— Editorial Team
🎹 Mrs. Ruth Hicks & Miss Jean Fritchley
The Music Sisters — pianist and organist at RTMC from the 1980s through the early 2000s
Mrs. Ruth Hicks and Miss Jean Fritchley served the RTMC choir for more than two decades. Mrs. Hicks played the piano during church services; Miss Fritchley played the organ. Together, they shaped what Sunday mornings sounded like for an entire generation of the congregation.
Miss Fritchley would arrive at least half an hour before each service to place small handwritten slips in the hymnals — one for each choir member, listing every item for the morning. She had prepared them before the choir members arrived.
That small detail says much about who she was. Her dedication was not spectacular; it was consistent, meticulous, and freely given over more than twenty years.
— Freddy Soans
📖 Mrs. Lily Gidney & Miss Gladys Flanagan
Sunday school teachers at RTMC in the 1950s and 1960s
In the 1950s and 1960s, two women shaped the faith of RTMC’s children in ways that have lasted a lifetime.
Mrs. Lily Gidney played the baby organ and taught the Junior children choruses that those who sat in her class still sing today. Miss Gladys Flanagan taught from a Flannelgraph Board, bringing Bible stories to life with a storyteller’s gift.
Both asked their children to memorise Bible verses and recite them the following Sunday. It was a small discipline, perhaps, but it became a lasting gift.
Nirmala George remembers what those verses meant years later:
“In times of difficulty, these verses would come to my mind and fill me with strength, hope, and peace.”
The Sunday school of those decades was not simply a programme. It was formation — words learned by heart, songs learned by repetition, stories made vivid, and faith carried quietly into adulthood.
— Nirmala George
“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6
