Obituary of Dodava George Vanderlip

Dodava George Vanderlip died on Saturday May 13, 2023 in North Charleston, SC. George was born in Hilversum, North Holland, The Netherlands on November 27, 1926 to Sophia Maria Rijkhoek and Gijsbertus van der Lip. In November 1929, George, his older brother Eldad, and his mother and father immigrated to Montreal. George left school when he was 13 years old and worked for a year to help support his family. George and Eldad enjoyed a close relationship; camping in the Laurentian Mts., completing long cycling tours, and swimming in their youth.

George graduated from McGill University in 1949 with a BA in Ancient Greek and English. Upon graduation, he joined his brother in Pasadena to pursue their dream of living in California. Their mother Sophia joined them there in 1950. George earned another bachelor’s and a master’s  degree from Fuller Seminary and a master’s degree from Berkeley Baptist Divinity School. He was ordained a minister of the American Baptist faith during his early graduate studies and earned his PhD on full scholarship from the School of Religion at the University of Southern California in 1959.

After completing his graduate studies, George taught at American Baptist seminaries in California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. George also taught in the American Army Chaplaincy School in New York and New Jersey during the 1970s, while serving as pastor at churches in Pennsylvania.

George met Dora Elaine Christy when she was a student in his Sunday school class at First Baptist Church of Long Beach, CA. Elaine and George married in 1956 and had four children; Janice, Susan, Patricia, and John.

George and Elaine traveled extensively while George was teaching abroad during the summers of 1982 and 1983. They had stays in Switzerland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, East Germany, Poland, and Denmark. San Diego was home from 1984 to 1988 where George served as Pastor of the First Baptist Church. George served as Pastor of the American Protestant Church in Antwerp, Belgium between 1988 and 1990.

George was a life-long scholar, proficient in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, author of numerous books and scholarly articles, and hosted a television show about the Bible in Illinois. George was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He had a passion for languages, education, staying physically fit, chess, and serving the Lord. George was preceded in death by his wife Elaine, who passed away in 2014, and his brother Eldad, who passed in 2006. George married Ruth Christy in 2022, who survives him. They loved and supported each other in their later years. George’s loving memory lives on in his four children, nineteen grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. 

Simplicity Low Country Cremation & Burial Service, Inc. has provided their service. Loved ones will be notified of the memorial.

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