Bruce M. Wickwire Sr. was the Seventh-day Adventist world church’s Publishing Department director from 1975 to 1980, having risen to the position after managing the publishing and door-to-door sales of Adventist literature in his native United States and mission fields worldwide.

Wickwire, who died September 27 at age 96, held Publishing director posts in East Asia three years after World War II, and later in Europe and Africa. In 1949, he helped secure funds from the world church to expand the Indonesia Publishing House, which met the growing demand of local Adventist literature salespeople.

Throughout his career, Wickwire touted the benefits of the denomination’s literature ministry, saying it was a good return on investment for the church, both financially and for bringing in new members.

Wickwire wrote two books in retirement. His 2005 book “Gospel in Shoes” identifies several well-known Adventists who joined the church because of Adventist literature, including Jack Blanco, who went on to become dean of the School of Religion at Southern Adventist University in Tennessee, United States, and authored the Clear Word Bible.

A native of Nebraska, Wickwire worked as a farmer in Arkansas before becoming a door-to-door salesman of Adventist literature, then known as a “colporteuring.” In 1944, he became the Publishing Secretary for the Arkansas-Louisiana Conference and two years later moved to serve in the same post for the Texas Conference.

In 1948, he moved his family to Indonesia to accept a call in Jakarta. Traveling to Southeast Asia then meant living on a small freight ship at the mercy of sometimes rough seas. His daughter, Linda Breedlove, recalled a harrowing trip through a typhoon, in which the captain fought to keep the ship upright as waves crashed over the deck for three days.

“I always said the devil didn’t want him to go out there and tried to stop him,” she said. “He [had] been through a lot but he always came through trusting the Lord.”

Wickwire served in Indonesia for two years, later moving to Singapore to work for the Adventist church’s then Malayan Union Mission and Far Eastern Division. Trips to outposts throughout the division back then would take months. “Him coming home was like Christmas with all the things he bought for us on his travels,” Breedlove said.

Wickwire’s 2000 book “Bold Journey” recounted an overland trip from Singapore to London while returning home with his family from the mission field in 1954. His kids remember overnight bus rides with Persian carpet sellers who had never seen westerners.

“My dad was very active, very adventurous and always positive. I can’t remember him ever being negative,” said his son, Bruce Wickwire Jr.

Later in life, the elder Wickwire held Publishing posts in the Southwestern Union in Texas, the Columbia Union in Washington, D.C., and the church’s Northern European Division in England. He came to the denomination’s world headquarters in 1972 as associate Publishing director before becoming director in 1975. He retired in Tennessee.

He is survived by his wife Adele, three children, 13 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. A memorial service is scheduled for Sunday, October 7 at the Collegedale Adventist Church in Collegedale, Tennessee.