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Guyre, John Wesley
9/1/1997
| John Wesley Guyre was born on October 26, 1941 in the town of West New York in New Jersey. He was the only son of three children of John and Lillian Guyre. John grew up in New Jersey until the age of 18 years at which time he joined the U.S. Navy. Being stationed in Orange, Texas, he served the U.S. Navy for three years. He also worked in the oil fields of Louisiana. John and his wife, Alice Wagner, were married on December 12, 1959. It was a marriage that produced four children: Alice Ann, John Wesley III, Judy Marie, and Brian Keith. He joined the United Methodist Church in 1970 while living at Indian Bayou. As a valued church member at the Indian Bayou United Methodist Church, he participated in most every area of church programming until, inspired by a call of the Holy Spirit, he answered the call to ministry in 1972. With the complete support of his loving wife, along with the children, they left the security of a secular trade in the oil industry and went full force into a successful ministry. John received his License to Preach in 1972, proceeded through the Course of Study route and was ordained Deacon in 1975. In 1974, he began his ministry with his appointment to the Port Barre-Krotz Springs-Waxia charge where he served until June of 1979. Following these years of his ministry, John chose to leave the active ministry and take secular employment. In 1983, he was appointed to the Indian Bayou-Kaplan Charge (his home church) where he served for three years. His other appointments included Iowa, First-Hayes (86-87), Wisner-Boeuf Prairie (87-89), Eunice-Iota (89-92), Eunice-Ville Platte (92-93), Claiborne-Wilhite (93-94), and Fairview-Sweetlake from 1994 until the time of his death on Labor Day, September 1, 1997. Throughout his years of service, sometimes dealing with personal health problems, he persevered and was a vocal presence on moral issues that confront our society today, locally and Conference-wide. Among John's greatest concerns beyond pastoral ministry were his involvements as a volunteer in United Way, Hospice, and the Wesley Foundation at McNeese State University. Also noteworthy was his concern and crusade against gambling and the issue of Sunday Closing Laws. He authored numerous resolutions concerning anti-gambling, which were presented before the Annual Conference. As a member of the People's Action Group in Lake Charles, John led his churches in raising money and helping to place anti-gambling billboards in the Lake Charles area while pastoring the Fairview-Sweetlake charge until his untimely death. John was a dedicated, committed Christian leader and compassionate pastor. Throughout his life and ministry, he touched the lives of many persons with the grace of Jesus Christ, his Lord. With a name like "John Wesley," how could he not follow in the path of ministry set before him? Through it all, John kept a smile on his face and his countenance made one surrender to his wonderful personal agenda for life. He will be sadly missed by his family and many friends. As John was called home to his Eternal Rest, one could almost hear the voice of God Himself saying, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter now into the joy of your Lord!" |
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| Source: Journal Louisiana Conference 1998, p. 247 By Rev. T.R. "Tom" Bergeron, Sr. | |
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