God raises men fitted for their generation. David “fell on sleep” “after he had served his own generation” (Act 13:36). I shared this with brother Surgenor (or “Uncle Bob” as he was known by many) before he passed.
Robert was born on September 2, 1928, the only child of godly Christian parents. He was an active, somewhat mischievous boy. His early years were marked by events that brought him close to death. His mother said, “Robert, you will either end up in the penitentiary or a coffin!” By God’s grace, the first was not true. When he was 11, his mother took him to Atlantic City, NJ, and he nearly drowned. He realized that he would have been in hell. This was his first conviction of sin and the danger he was in. Soon after, Albert Joyce and Herb Harris came for gospel meetings. He made a profession of salvation, but it wasn’t real.
His behavior was often reckless. Robert once rode on a motorbike from Akron to Cleveland at 100 mph. He had his pilot’s license as a teenager and once found himself flying in a snow squall with few instruments and no idea where he was. On descent he saw a red light to his left and realized that it was from a radio tower, narrowly missing it. Though none of these incidents severely troubled him, he often thought of death and being in the lake of fire. But his parents were praying for him, and the Lord was moving to subdue this stubborn, independent young man.
His father worked in the steel mill in Cleveland and secured a job for Robert. The work involved hot molten steel in a flaming furnace. He witnessed men having accidents and getting severely burned. Once, an overhead crane with its heavy block narrowly missed his head. He looked into the intense, roaring flame and thought, “That’s where you would be if you would have died.”
He married a nice young lady named Wilda on his birthday in 1950, and they settled on Cleveland’s west side. A man invited them to gospel meetings in the gospel hall around the corner. He had wanted to avoid that influence but now lived almost next door! He and Wilda attended, and she realized that even with all her good living, she had never been born again. While cleaning one day, she realized that in God’s sight, all her good living was like that filthy rag, and she trusted Christ.
Her conversion spoke to Robert. He had heard the gospel all his life, and she was saved before him. The Lord used her to show him what it meant to simply believe God’s Word. He was her first convert, on February 10, 1952. This profession was real and the change in his life proved it.
An older godly man named David Roy took an interest in Robert. He progressed spiritually and began preaching in the open air in small villages with Mr. Roy. He spent his vacation time in gospel work with men such as Archie Stewart, George Graham and William Warke. He and Wilda built up the Sunday School in their assembly from three children to 75.
Early Labors in the Gospel
In June 1963, he began gospel work full time. His first meetings were in a tent in Cresco, IA, with William Warke. They had some opposition that prepared him for what he would encounter in the future. He had labored in the steel mill with rough men, so he was equipped to deal with any who might cause trouble. One woman professed salvation, and this encouraged them. On the last day of those meetings, George Graham called. He wanted him to help in some meetings in Romney, WV. They could not secure a suitable location there but found one in Fort Ashby, WV. They were encouraged with fruit in the gospel, which indicated the Lord’s direction for him to labor in that state.
He went to Mannington, WV, the next year. His wife was from this area so there were relatives, and after laboring there with Oswald MacLeod, some professed salvation. Robert was encouraged and felt that the Lord was directing him specifically to the state of West Virginia. In 1970, he pitched a tent south of Keyser and began to visit homes. He labored alone for 12 weeks, sometimes with 125 people attending. Souls were saved, including many in the Pancake family. He felt that the Lord was working to form an assembly testimony. He continued the work in a schoolhouse south of where the present New Creek Gospel Hall now stands (Claysville School). He preached the gospel and taught New Testament principles to believers for 37 weeks. They began meeting for prayer, then commenced a Sunday School. After teaching 1 Corinthians 11, the saints told Robert that they were going to break bread the next Lord’s Day, March 21, and asked if he wanted to join them! They began with 17 believers in the fellowship that continues to the present.
Continued Efforts
Brother Surgenor’s labors in West Virginia can be read in his book Happenings up the Hollow. He continued preaching in different areas of the state with varied results to the end of his life. I shared many efforts with him in Glenville, Buckhannon, Keyser, New Creek and elsewhere. Living with him in his trailer revealed a different aspect of his person than what was seen publicly. He was a very easy man to be with, sensitive to my desires and interests, and easy to share thoughts and understandings of Scripture.
He made a regular practice of engaging in extended prayer three times a day. He spent many hours daily studying the Scriptures.
He wrote and printed about 283 different tracts. Most of these are still available from Tim and Rachel Boddy in New Creek. He also wrote small booklets for believers on various topics and a number of larger profitable books. His bread-making skills were part of his reputation, and, while he enjoyed it, he also used it to spread the gospel. Officials in his town, including the mayor, firemen and policemen, as well as postal workers, neighbors and many others received the gospel along with a loaf of bread.
In his last months, his strength failed to the point that he and his dear wife, Wilda, entered an assisted living home. The Lord took him home on August 14, 2024. No doubt it was a reception with the words “Well done …”
Eternity will reveal the results of his labors in different places but especially in West Virginia. May the Lord stir others with a spiritual exercise to follow the same pattern in their lives for the Lord.