Global Ministries is saddened to learn of the death of Alan “Mick” Ritchie McCain
Alan “Mick” Ritchie McCain
March 18, 1930 – August 22, 2017
The Reverend Alan “Mick” Ritchie McCain, 78, died Tuesday, August 22, 2017, in Turkey where he had lived for many years. He was an English teacher, administrator, ordained minister, and mission co-worker with the United Church Board of World Ministries (UCBWM), a predecessor mission body of what today is Global Ministries.
Mick was born March 18, 1939, to Allison and Mary (Ritchie) McCain, and grew up in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
He is survived by his wife, Evin Egeli McCain, of Izmir, Turkey; his children, Betsy (Brent) McCain Schroeder, of Plantsville, Connecticut, and Andrew (Elif) McCain, of Saint Paul, Minnesota; three stepsons, Hasan, Huseyin, and Sitki Egeli; 10 grandchildren who brought him endless joy; and his siblings, Thom (Jan) McCain, Bruce (Donna) McCain, and Molly (Mike) Batzner. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Sally Ann Bliss McCain.
An ordained graduate of Andover Newton Theological Seminary, Mick served in churches in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Minnesota.
Mick and Sally were first appointed to Turkey by the UCBWM in August of 1961. Mick touched thousands of lives as a teacher in Talas and Tarsus, Turkey, where he served in mission as both an educator and administrator. Mick and Sally ended their time in Turkey in 1973, but then later returned in 1986. During this time, Mick served as a teacher and eventually transitioned into a role as the UCBWM Middle East Liaison. In that role, he oversaw three schools, a publishing house, and hospital. The McCains’ mission work additionally reached out to the interfaith communities of the region and refugees.
Mick retired in Turkey in 2002. His twilight years were hand-in-hand with Evin Egeli, with whom he traveled, wrote tour guides, and led tours in Turkey.
Music flowed through him all the days of his life, from singing with family, participating in many choirs, and conducting music wherever it was needed.
Mick is interred at the Ferikoy Cemetery in Istanbul, Turkey – a Protestant cemetery where many other UCBWM and American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Mission (ABCFM), another predecessor body of Global Ministries, mission co-workers are buried.
A memorial service is scheduled on September 22, 2017, at The Congregational Church United Church of Christ in Rochester, MN, 974 Skyline Dr., Rochester, MN 55902. Memorial gifts may be directed to the Health and Education Foundation of Turkey (SEV), Global Ministries, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, or to the Aegean Forest Foundation (Ege Orman Vakfi).
Condolences may be sent to Betsy McCain Schroeder, 171 Burritt St, Plantsville, CT 06479.