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In memoriam: Missionary emeritus Jenifred Ann Hester, 1948-2024

Portrait of Jenifred Hester. IMB Photo

Jenifred Ann “Jeni” Hester, an International Mission Board missionary emeritus who shared the gospel in Colombia, died Oct. 3, 2024, in Hereford, Texas. She was 76.  

Jeni was born Feb. 10, 1948, in Amarillo, Texas, to the late J.D. and Winifred Hoskins Hester. She graduated from Texline High School and received the Bachelor of Science from Texas Woman’s University in Denton and attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. 

Jeni came to faith in Christ in the summer of 1956. When seeking missionary appointment, she recalled that after her baptism she wanted to tell the whole world about Jesus. She learned more about missions in a discipleship program at her church and wrote, “I began to feel that God wanted me for a special purpose. I always felt burdened for those people we were studying about. … I wanted to be a missionary.”  

After graduation from high school, Jeni spent the summer as a nurse’s aide and decided to pursue a degree in nursing. She went to school, worked as a nurse and was active in her local church. After graduation from college, she worked as a registered nurse for two years before she began seminary to prepare for missionary service.  

In 1973, the International Mission Board appointed Jeni missionary to Colombia, where she served as a nurse practitioner. She also served in church planting, disaster relief, and refugee ministry as a community health provider.  

Jeni is survived by her two sisters, Rebecca Hester Walls (Jerry) of Hereford, Texas, and Karan Hester Scott (Harry) of Dallas, Texas; one niece and one nephew; two grand-nieces and one grand-nephew. 

An informal gathering to honor Jeni’s life was held Oct. 19 in Hereford.  

Read an obituary here.