Mary H. Wise

Lakeland -Wise, Mary Hendricks, 82, passed away August 6, 2019 at Lakeland Regional Hospital. She was born in Saint Petersburg, FL, July 2, 1937. As a child, Mary joined her parents, Edwin and Oneida Brengle, in the Philippines where they served as missionaries at the close of World War II. On her return, she went to high school at Canyonville Bible Academy where she met the love of her life and partner in ministry, Jack Wise. After graduating in 1956, she moved to Lakeland, Florida where she attended Southeastern Bible College along with her mother, Oneida Brengle. Rumor has it that there was significant competition between Mary and her mother for the best grades. In 1961, Jack and Mary were married. After their honeymoon, they traveled to Ontario, Canada where Jack and Mary pastored in Westport and Smiths Falls. During this time, Cindy and Sarah were born. They returned to Lakeland in 1965. Mary earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Southeastern Bible College in 1969, the same year their son Carl arrived. Upon graduating, they moved their family to Canyonville, Oregon. Jack taught school, fought forest fires, drove bus, and ministered regularly in churches around the area while Mary served faithfully as a teacher and kept their young family together. In 1976, they moved to Payette, Idaho and started a Christian school at Payette First Assembly. The school is still in operation today and has provided a Christ-centered education to many students throughout the years. In 1983, they again returned to Lakeland where Mary worked tirelessly with Jack in senior’s ministry at First Assembly and later Victory Assembly in Lakeland. Mary was a detailed administrator. In her many accounting books, you can find every penny spent from honeymoon to the final days of her 58-year marriage. She loved the old hymns of the Church. Wherever she was, she accompanied Jack with the piano and accordion. Mary loved her husband and children with an unwavering steady love and invested her life in service to bring God’s message of love to everyone she met. Her faithfulness, love, and smile will be remembered by those touched by her life. Mary is preceded in death by her parents, Edwin and Oneida Brengle; her father-in-law and mother-in-law, Carl and Stella Wise; brother Samuel Brengle; and sister Sarah (Brengle) Vitale. Mary is survived by her husband, Jack Wise; daughters Cynthia (Steven) Pendarvis of Lakeland, FL, Sarah (John) Bishop of Scottsbluff, NE; and son Carl (Fran) Wise of Saint Petersburg, FL. She is the beloved grandmother of David (Marlene), Samuel (Leah), and Stephen (Kathryn) (Sarah and John), and Hannah (Ian) and Georgia (Carl and Fran). She is the great-grandmother of three, Graley (Samuel and Leah), Elijah (Steven and Kathryn), and Isaiah (David and Marlene). She is also the aunt and great aunt of several nieces and nephews.