Bill and Lois Twichell met during the first week of college (Lois as a Freshman and Bill as a Sophomore) when they were both in line to try out for choir. Lois was from upstate NY and Bill from northwest PA (location of the first oil well) and the college was Roberts Wesleyan in NY. Bill was determined he wasn’t going to be shy and he struck up a conversation with Lois and her friend. Lois said, “After that, he was the ever-present Bill. He was everywhere.” Bill said, “I didn’t know what I wanted to do except chase Lois and play Rook, which was the acceptable card game on a Christina campus”. Two years after they met, Bill was about to be drafted so he quit school and went to work until they caught up with him. He was in the Army and had a 3-day pass to get from Alabama to NY, marry Lois and return. It was July, 1966. Four months later he was on his was to South Korea. Lois went to live with Bill’s folks. She said, “That was pivotal in my Christian walk. They embraced me and taught me about a personal love of the Lord.”

Meanwhile, Bill was learning life lessons in the military. He said, “It was one of the best things in my life. It matured me and I was able to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. It changed me. I had been shy. Hard to believe, huh? The Army gave me a level of confidence.” Bill ended his Army life as a drill sergeant. In 1970 their son Jonathan was born. Lois said, “Kids are a blessing.”

Bill & Lois earned degrees in Greenville, IL – Lois in Elementary Education and Bill in Business Administration, and Bill went on through Law School. Living in the St Louis area, Lois found a good babysitter and got a teaching job. In 1975 Bill passed the Kansas Bar and worked for a law firm there. A year later Debbi was born. In 1980 the Twichell’s knew God had plans for them. Lois said, “God was moving us, we just weren’t sure where.” Late in May Bill and Lois met the Masons in Pinedale, resulting in the Twichells moving to Pinedale.

The Twichell’s son Jon married Lori and their children are Sydney, Christina & John-William. They live in Texas. Bill & Lois’s daughter Debbi married Alan Ballard, their children are Elayna & J.T. They live in Pinedale.

Bill has been an elder at Pinedale Bible Church for over 15 years. Lois has been the Ladies Bible Study teacher for more than 15 years. Currently, Bill and Lois both work in his general practice law firm – emphasis on civil litigation. Lois said, “Bill’s strength is peace making.” Bill & Lois’s latest ministry is to encourage and minister to missionaries by phone, email and personal visits. Bill said, “I can see the Lord’s hand in it. The team the Lord has gathered at the office appreciates our vision and that allows us to pursue it. I’ve had a sense of the presence of the Lord in my life since my earliest memories. The Lord has always taken care of us.”

Printed in Pinedale (WY) Bible Church Newsletter, Nov. 2006.

By Judi Myers