Elizabeth Charlotte Van Nattan

JANUARY 1, 1943 – MARCH 5, 2020

Elizabeth Charlotte Van Nattan, 77, of Liberty Hill, Texas, homemaker, pastor's wife, and missionary, went to be with her Lord, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Round Rock St. David's Hospital from heart issues.

Elizabeth had been at Rivaridge Memory Care Center for some time in a battle with memory loss and general weakness. She longed to go home, meaning her home in Liberty Hill. But, her Lord knew her heart and took her Home to himself where there is no more pain, and where all memories are sweet and eternal, never to be lost again.

Elizabeth was born at Kola Ndoto mission station in Tanzania, East Africa, on New Years day in 1943. Her parents were missionaries Glenn and Charlotte Hoover. She grew up in Tanzania at Lahumbo and Katungulu. She attended a missionary school in Kenya, Rift Valley Academy.

In 1955, while Elizabeth was in 5th grade, a new boy arrived at the school named Stephen Van Nattan and entered 5th grade. Little did she imagine this boy would one day court her and marry her. Married in 1967, they had 52 blessed years together by the grace of God.

Elizabeth was a member of Calvary Bible Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan for many years. Later, she was an eager help meet to her husband when they went to Ethiopia as missionaries with the Sudan Interior Mission. She learned to improvise and survive in the bush country of Ethiopia where she and Steve were developing a youth camp. After a Marxist coup ended their work there, they went to Kenya with another mission where Steve was headmaster of a pastor's training school. Elizabeth had a ministry with women, and she entertained African Christians in her home which she loved to do.

Elizabeth had the heart of a servant. While in boarding school, in her teens, she noticed some of the younger girls had only a few dresses, and she realized their missionary parents were very poor missionaries with low support. On Saturdays the school vehicle went to the capital city Nairobi to take students to see dentists and optometrists. Elizabeth would convince the staff member in charge to let her go along. Once in Nairobi, she headed for Bazaar Street where all the shops were that catered to Asians and Africans. The students were not really supposed to be on that street because it was a bit close to the bad part of the city.

Elizabeth would shop and bargain for yardage and ribbons and buttons. These she then carried back to her room at the school, and she made dresses for the little girls from poor families. Few people ever knew what she was doing until many years later.

Elizabeth, after 1976, was very active in the four churches her husband Steve pastored in the USA. She was a friend to many ladies who stopped by her kitchen to talk about their lives and sorrows. She also kept a good supply of home baked cookies for teenagers who loved to stop by for a visit.

Her son Dan recalls: "She was such a cheerful person for most of her life. That's how I remember her most. Humming "Redeemed How I Love To Proclaim It" while pottering around the kitchen or garden, or some other hymn that she had in her mind. She loved sunny mornings, which was a reflection of her character!"

Her daughter Mary comments on her end days: "Mom tried to keep her sense of humor and fun, and her love for the Lord right to the end. A good thing to honor and remember."

Elizabeth is survived by her husband Steve and by her four children, Mary Stephens (Texas), Mike (Colorado), Dan (Australia), and Ruth Wright (Tennessee).

The only thing that may frustrate Elizabeth, now that she is in Heaven with her Lord, is if there is not a bit of clutter somewhere that needs straightening up. She was able to read her Bible and sing along with hymns to the end in spite of short term memory loss. If you are a born again Bible believer, Elizabeth will make a very good friend when your turn comes to move on up to the Glory.