Collection 464 Oral History Interviews with Eileen J. Kuhn

Collection

Identifier: CN 464

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Oral history interviews with Eileen J. Kuhn in which she describes her family background; her conversion to Christianity; her medical training as a nurse; life at Moody Bible Institute in the late 1940s; China Inland Mission at about the same time; her call to foreign missions; her work at the CIM retirement home in Toronto; descriptions of John and Isobel Kuhn; work among the Lisu people in Thailand and Burma; translation of the Bible into the Lisu language; contacts with a former Kuomintang warlord in the so-called Golden Triangle; work as a teacher and administrator at the Singapore Bible College; memories of Lois and Mary Le Bar and other Wheaton professors; the church in Singapore; and retirement from the mission field. The time period covered by the interviews is 1925 to 1994.

Eileen J. Kuhn was interviewed by Robert Shuster on October 20 and December 10, 1992, and May 19, 1994 at the Overseas Missionary Fellowship Retirement Home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Dates

Created: 1992-1994

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

The copyright to the oral history interviews in this collection is held by the Billy Graham Center Archives.

Biographical Information

Full Name: Eileen J. (O'Rourke) Kuhn

Birth: March 21, 1925, in Glenside, Pennsylvania

Death: November 18, 2021, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Family:

Parents: Francis L. and Evelun (Nourse) O'Rourke

Siblings: 3 brothers - Donald, Roger, Kenneth

Marital Status: Married to John Kuhn, March 3, 1958

Conversion: 1942

Education:

1943-1946: Sibley Memorial Hospital, Washington D.C. Became a registered nurse

1947-1949: Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Illinois. Graduated with diploma in Missions

1949-1950: University of Pennsylvania Nursing School

1951: Attended a Summer Institute of Linguistics program

1970-1971: Wheaton College. Received a BA

1975-1976: Wheaton College. Received a MA

Career:

1949-1952: Joined Overseas Missionary Fellowship. Worked as a nurse at the OMF Retirement Home in Toronto, Canada

1952-1956: Worked among the Lisu people of Thailand

1956: Editorial work in Singapore

1957: Furlough in the United States

1958: Returned to Singapore, married John Kuhn

1958-1963: The Kuhns served in Burma and Laos, where John was Laos field superintendent

1964: The Kuhns in Hong Kong helped prepare the Bible in the Lisu language for publication

1965-1966: Furlough in the United States

1966: Returned to Singapore. After John's death on March 22, Eileen began teaching at Singapore Bible College

1966-1991: Taught Christian Education at Singapore Bible College, became dean

1981-1982: Furlough in the United States, returned to Singapore Bible College

1991: Returned to the United States, served as minister-at-large for OMF. Moved to the OMF Retirement Home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Extent

5.00 Audio Tapes

245 Minutes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Accruals and Additions

The materials in this collection were given to the Billy Graham Center Archives by Eileen J. Kuhn in 1992 and 1994.

Accession: 92-128, 92-157, 94-50

April 29, 2002

Robert Shuster