With hearts rejoicing in the midst of sadness, we announce that Richard Elwin Strout entered into the presence of his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, on September 12, 2026 at the age of 87. He passed away peacefully at the Jay Weil Center for Hospice Care in New Port Richey, Florida surrounded by the love and prayers of his family.

Richard leaves behind a rich legacy of faithful service which touched thousands of lives. Following their wedding on June 16, 1962 he and Virginia served with Child Evangelism Fellowship in Illinois and Michigan before moving to Sherbrooke, Quebec with their children in 1970. This was in obedience to God’s call to reach French Canadians with the Gospel, a burden which the Lord had placed on Richard’s heart when he was just 15 years old.

For 52 years, Richard and Virginia served in many roles in Quebec with Child Evangelism Fellowship, Bethel Bible Institute (now Word of Life), Emmaus Bible Correspondence Courses, Centre de Formation Chrétienne, News of Quebec, Assemblée Chrétienne de Cookshire, Grace Chapel, and as a respected leader and Bible speaker among the French Christian Brethen Assemblies of the province. In March 2023, they relocated to Word of Life in Hudson, Florida where they continued to serve as volunteers, especially in the Bible Institute library.

Richard loved ministering the Word of God in many creative ways in churches, classrooms, and camp meetings. Whether it was using magic with children, hand motions with adults, audio-visual presentations, lessons from his extensive collection of biblical era coins, or by enthusiastically preaching the Word, he found ways to engage his audience. He loved music and singing and was an effective song leader, usually accompanied by Virginia on the piano. He also enjoyed playing the autoharp. Known for his quick wit and humor, his humble gracious manner endeared him to people of all ages.

Richard leaves behind his beloved wife of 64 years, Virginia, and his sons Mark and wife Laurie, Paul and wife Leslie, Joel and wife France, and his daughter Lois as well as 14 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his sisters Susan and Mary and is survived by his brother David of Williamstown, New Jersey.

An English Celebration of Life service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, September 17, 2026, at Carrollwood Bible Chapel, 15316 Casey Road, Tampa, FL 33624. The service will be followed by light refreshments. It will be possible to view the service, in real time or later, at the following internet address: https://evt.live/celebration-of-life-for-richard-strout.

A second bilingual service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 31, 2026 at Parole de Vie Québec (formerly Bethel Bible Institute) located at 1175 chemin Thomas Woodward, Sherbrooke, Québec. There will be a brief graveside service in the afternoon at the nearby Huntingville Cemetary off of Route 147.

In lieu of flowers, your sympathy can be expressed through a monetary donation to News of Quebec online at https://newsofqc.org/ or by U.S. or Canadian check sent to C.P.33039 C.P. Thibeau, Trois-Rivières, Québec, G8T 9T8.