Arland K. Faust peacefully passed on to heaven July 30, 2014 in Spring, Texas surrounded by his family. Arland was born in Vom, Nigeria on January 13, 1933 where his parents, Arthur and Aletha Faust, were serving as missionaries. Arland grew up and went to school in Holton, Kansas living with his grandparents, Jacob and Sophia Knapp. He enjoyed living with his parents when they were on furlough and spent two years with them in Hartford, Connecticut when his dad was working on his PhD. Some summers were spent in Africa during his high school years. While at Holton High School, he was quarterback of the football team, played basketball and ran track. There he met the love of his life, Betty Bunton. Arland’s father married them in Holton, Kansas on December 18, 1955. They were friends for 67 years and married for 59 years.

Arland graduated from the University of Kansas in 1955. He earned a medical degree in 1959 from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. His internship was completed in 1960 at St. Lukes Hospital in Kansas City, MO. Afterward, he served in the Navy as a Lieutenant in Louisville, Kentucky doing induction physical examinations for new recruits. In 1966, he completed an ophthalmology residency at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Relocating his family to the Rio Grande Valley, he practiced ophthalmology for 31 years in McAllen, Texas.

Arland was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Medical Association, the Christian Medical and Dental Association and various other medical associations. He was on staff at McAllen Medical Center, was involved with Rotary International, and actively participated as a member of the First United Methodist Church.

Membership in the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA) added friends, joy and fulfillment to Arland’s life. As a medical student, Arland and Betty, a nurse, volunteered at a medical clinic organized by CMDA for the indigent in Washington, D.C. Arland performed eye surgery for CMDA’s first medical mission project, which was in Mexico, and others to Honduras and Dominican Republic and Mexico. He also traveled to Freetown, Sierra Leone and served in an ophthalmology clinic there for six weeks.

In his free time, Arland enjoyed traveling, gardening in his yard, boating and fishing. During his lifetime, he visited 25 countries and most of the United States, once taking his family on a “Van Ho” drive from South Texas to Alaska and back.

Arland had a strong, Christian presence and was a kind and humble man who required little and gave much. He loved all people and was easy to know with a quick smile or joke. He often ended long distance telephone conversations with his children by saying, “Well, Carry On,” which would surely be his advice to everyone now.

He is survived by his loving wife, Betty Faust of Spring, Texas; three children: Pam Wilson and husband Dan of Tomball, Texas; Kenny Faust of Spring, Texas; and Rosemary Lewis and husband Terril of Spring, Texas; four grandchildren: Maggie Wilson, Katie Wilson, Garret Lewis, and Matt Lewis; a brother, Gerald Faust and wife Marcia of Pueblo West, Colorado; two nieces: Stephanie Leeper and husband Scott and Sophie Faust both of Denver, Colorado; a grandnephew, Preston Leeper and a grandniece, Ayesha Leeper.

Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, August 6, 2014 at Evangel United Methodist Church in Holton. Visitation with family will start one hour before the service at the church. Interment will follow in Holton Cemetery. Everyone is invited to return to the church with the family for lunch. In lieu of flowers, the family requests with gratitude that remembrances be made to the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), a ministry of the Christian Medical and Dental Association. It is a non-denominational, multinational service organization training African physicians to become general surgeons who are willing to remain in Africa to meet that need. Donations can be made online at cmda.org under “Ministries, Missions, PAACS, Become Involved” or by mailing a check to PAACS-CMDA, PO Box 9906, Fayetteville, NC 28311-9906 with a notation in honor of Arland K. Faust. To leave a special message for the family, visit www.mercerfuneralhomes.com