Ross Fite

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. " (Psalm 116:15) God in his infinite wisdom called our beloved husband, father, grandfather, friend, and faithful missionary, Ross David Fite, from labor to reward. Ross David Fite was born January 7, 1926, in Sparkman, Arkansas, in the home to Horace W. Fite and Ada Lemon Fite. He was born again in the fall of 1946 while attending Maddox Avenue Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, Texas. Ross Fite laid his earthly body aside and went home to be with his Savior on August 3, 2014. A celebration service will be held in his memory on Tuesday, August 12, 2014, at Iola Baptist Temple at 10:00 a.m. in Iola, Kansas, where he was a member. Ross Fite grew up in west Texas and graduated high school at the age of 17 in Childress, Texas. After graduating, he entered the Navy and served our country as a Naval lifeguard, Seaman First Class, on the USS Zuni during World War II. After receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy, he went home to care for his family. He met his one and only bride, Ila Mae Bivens Fite, while attending church in Ft. Worth, Texas, where he had received the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. From the time he was saved, he began serving God and never looked back. Having worked on a ranch in California, his life-long dream had been to become a rancher, until shortly after marriage, God began to burden his heart for the ministry. He was called to preach then attended and graduated from the Bible Baptist Seminary of Fort Worth, Texas, in 1954. He moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he started Fayetteville Baptist Church and for seven years served as its pastor, then he answered the call to become a missionary in Latin America. He labored faithfully as a missionary in El Salvador and then in southern Mexico for over fifty years. More than forty churches and missions and two Bible seminaries are in existence today as a result of his ministry. He also established three radio ministries, one in southern Mexico and two in El Salvador. He is survived by: his wife of sixty-five years, Ila Mae Fite; four daughters: Martha and her husband Lonnie C. Smith of Guadalajara, Mexico; Mary and her husband Roger R. Collins of Iola, Kansas; Deborah and her husband Mike Meredith of Mandurah, Australia; and Rachel and her husband Mark King of Ft. Worth, Texas. He is also survived by 12 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. Preceding him in death were: father, Horace Fite; mother, Ada Lemon Fite; brother, H.W. Fite; sister, Fanny Coyne; and sister, Ruth Fite. Pastor Roger R. Collins, of Iola Baptist Temple, will be officiating. Pastor Cayetano Fuentes, a graduate of the first class of the Bible Baptist Seminary in El Salvador and pastor of Iglesia Biblica Bautista in San Salvador, will be bringing the sermon. Interment will be held at the National Cemetery in Fort Scott, Kansas. Memorials are suggested to Iola Baptist Temple and may be left with the Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Memorial Chapel of Iola, which is in charge of arrangements. To sign the guestbook online or leave a condolence, go to www.iolafuneral.com .