William Sergeant

(From Nelson-Berna Funeral Home)

William Lyle Sergeant, 84, of Springdale, went home to be with his Lord, August 11, 2023.

He was born in Marshalltown, Iowa, November 27, 1938 to Lyle Allen Sergeant and Grace Lang Sergeant and moved to Southwest City, MO in fourth grade where he graduated from high school. He attended Southwest Baptist College in Bolivar, MO, Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, OK where he earned a Bachelor’s degree, Wichita State University where he earned a Master’s degree and Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX.

He and LaVeta Pierce met at college and were married in Belle Plaine, KS in 1960 and enjoyed 63 years together. They were appointed in 1970 as missionaries with the Foreign Mission Board, SBC. They served in Taejon, South Korea four years where he was athletic director, coach and teacher at Korea Christian Academy, a school for missionary children, and served Korean churches. Subsequently they served in Taichung, Taiwan at Morrison Academy where he was also athletic director, coach and teacher. He managed their swimming pool and was an Instructor Trainer of the American Red Cross, Far East Region. He deeply impacted hundreds of students during his 30 years on the mission field.

He was a founding member of Yoido International Church in Seoul where he served as a Sunday School teacher, deacon and bus driver. He later helped start Li Syang Gwo Baptist Church in Taichung, Taiwan and taught English Bible study in a Taiwanese Baptist Church.

His hobbies were travel, SCUBA diving with his two sons and running races including 7 marathons and 7 triathlons.

They retired to Springdale, AR in 2001 and he was a member of First Baptist Church, Fayetteville.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings: Dorothy Kirk and her husband Stanley, Jeannie Peterson and her husband Alfred, and his brother Gerald Sergeant and his wife Helen.

Survivors include his wife, LaVeta, two sons Curtis and his wife Debra of Dadeville, AL and Terry and his wife Becky of Abilene, TX, four grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.

Visitation will be at 10:00, Saturday, August 19, 2023 at First Baptist Church, Fayetteville. The Memorial service will follow at 11:00 a.m. To sign the online guestbook, please visit www.bernafuneralhomes.com. Arrangements are by Nelson-Berna Funeral Home in Fayetteville.