Missionary first, physicist second

James H. Kraakevik 1928~2007

James H. Kraakevik was a renowned physicist and college administrator who headed the physics department at Wheaton College for many years. But first and foremost he thought of himself as a missionary.

Mr. Kraakevik died Thursday. The longtime Wheaton resident, most recently of Carol Stream, was 79.

"All of his accomplishments paled in comparison to his work as a missionary," says the second of his five sons, Thomas, of St. Charles. "That's what he was all about."

One of Mr. Kraakevik's favorite Bible verses captured what drove him, his son adds, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel."

Mr. Kraakevik and his wife, Lynn, and their children did just that in 1964, when they accepted a calling from an organization called Sudan Interior Mission, to teach physics at Titcombe College in Nigeria.

"In a matter of nine weeks, from the time he was called in the mission field, we were packed up and gone," his son, Thomas adds. "This was a family of seven, with five children under the age of 12."

Initially, Mr. Kraakevik taught physics and Bible to his students, while his wife taught English. Within a year, he was named principal, and later was appointed education secretary for all of the primary and secondary schools served by the Sudan Interior Mission program, in Nigeria.

Despite admitting some initial fears about living in Africa, Mr. Kraakevik's children left their home in Wheaton with confidence, Thomas Kraakevik adds.

"We felt very privileged to be able to grow up in what could be considered a frontier experience," he says, "which is what Nigeria was back in the mid-1960s."

The family returned to Wheaton in 1970 because of Lynn Kraakevik's health problems, leading Mr. Kraakevik to resume his chairmanship of the physics department at Wheaton College, which he held until 1981.

From 1981 until 1984, Mr. Kraakevik accepted the role as international director for Sudan Interior Mission, based in Verona, N.J., returning him to his love of ministering to the African people.

In a memorial posted on Wheaton College's Web site, it credits his African experience with "establishing strong Christian educational programs to develop African leadership and an expanded awareness of and appreciation for the worldwide Church."

Based in part on his missionary work in Africa, Mr. Kraakevik was chosen in 1984 to be the third director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, a position he held until 1996.

Under his leadership, the center developed an Institute for China Studies, and worked to support ministry to Muslims, as well as a prison ministry, and an institute for churches in Eastern Europe and Russia.

"Jim was very much concerned with the church, globally, particularly with the development of the church in Africa and parts of Asia," says Robert Shuster, of the archive department of the Billy Graham Center. "He was very interested in helping an supporting the Christian churches that had started in these countries."

After his wife died in 2005, Mr. Kraakevik returned to Nigeria, this time to help set up Bingham University, a multi-discipline institution based in Abuja.

Besides his son, Thomas, Mr. Kraakevik is survived by Timothy (Ruth) of Glen Ellyn, John (Sheri) of Wheaton, Stephen (Kristen) of Scottsdale and Joel (Joni) of Suwannee, Ga., and 11 grandchildren.

Visitation for Mr. Kraakevik will take place from 3-8 p.m. Friday at Hultgren Funeral Home, 304 N. Main St. in Wheaton, before a 10 a.m. funeral service on Saturday at Wheaton Bible Church, Main and Franklin streets in Wheaton.