1922 – 2020: MAF pioneer
It’s not often that the good-natured office comedian is the person who founded the organisation, but it says something about the humour and humility of Stuart King, pioneering founder of the world’s largest humanitarian airline, who ascended into glory on 29 August 2020.
Stuart, who died age 98 in the 75th year of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), combined a mischievous sense of humour which led him to make jokes at meetings and then ask the person leading to get on with it, with a deep desire to glorify God and serve the developing world through aviation and technology.
In 1945, Stuart, an RAF Engineer Officer who took part in the Normandy landings, felt God’s call to spread the gospel and transport humanitarian personnel, life-saving medicine and food to isolated areas.