Jack W. Provonsha, M.D., M.Div., Ph.D., emeritus professor of philosophy of religion and Christian ethics in the faculty of religion at Loma Linda University, died Aug. 11, 2004, at the age of 84. Provonsha taught religion and ethics at the university from 1958 until his retirement in 1985.

A graduate of Pacific Union College, Angwin, Calif.; Loma Linda University School of Medicine; Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.; and Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, Calif., he was an ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister, as well as a physician, theologian and philosopher. He served as a pastor in Utah where, in his youth, he had been a shepherd. He was also a missionary pilot in Alaska, and a family physician with his late wife, Margaret, also a physician.

Provonsha was an accomplished artist, sculptor, rock climber, hiker and scuba diver. His vision for integrating religion, ethics and medicine led to the establishment of the Center for Christian Bioethics at Loma Linda University for which he was the founding director. He was the author of numerous works including the books You Can Go Home Again, A Remnant in Crisis, and God is With Us. The Center for Christian Bioethics is currently developing a new anthology of his essays.

Donations in Provonsha’s name may be sent to the Center for Christian Bioethics, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350.