Portrait of Robert Compher. IMB Photo
Robert Compher, an International Mission Board missionary emeritus who shared the gospel in Vietnam and the Philippines, died April 8, 2026. He was 94.
Bob was born Oct. 29, 1931, in Garrett Park, Maryland, to the late Paul Richard Compher Sr. and Sylvia F. Compher. He graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, Maryland, and received the Bachelor of Arts from Howard College (now Samford University), Birmingham, Alabama, and the Master of Divinity from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Missouri.
He was drafted into the U.S. Army in September 1953 and served in Korea. After his release in 1955, Bob enrolled in college to prepare for mission service. He married Priscilla Weeks in August 1957. Following graduation, they spent the next three years attending seminary. While a student at Midwestern, Bob became the pastor of Lebanon Baptist Church at Hemple, Missouri, and worked as a student grader at the seminary. In February 1962, he accepted the call to become pastor of Winn’s Creek Baptist Church in Halifax, Virginia.
While seeking missionary appointment he wrote, “…it was in Korea that God awakened in my heart a desire to become a foreign missionary. For the first time I saw some of the needs of the world and my relationship to those needs. I pledged to God that I would return to the States and prepare myself for mission service.”
In 1963, the International Mission Board appointed Bob and Priscilla missionaries to Vietnam. They planted churches and helped establish orphanages and relocation services. Later, they served in the Philippines mentoring pastors and training church leaders.
Bob was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Priscilla Weeks Compher.
He is survived by his children, David Compher (Cathy), Doug Compher (Lisa), Kathy Cocks (Steve) and Rob Compher (Leah); nine grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held June 20 at Mountain Brook Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.