Second Navigators President Dies
By Jeremy Reynalds (04/01/05)
Dr. Lorne Sanny, second president of The Navigators, died on March 28.
His death was attributed to complications from pneumonia following several months of serious health issues and a recent diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. He was 84.
A tribute on the Navigators web site (http://home.navigators.org/us/Index.cfm?Entity=24&Department=5&Dept_Order=7&This_TopicOrder=1&This_SubtopicOrder=18#1) reported that Sanny was born to Charles and Emma Sanny of Granville, Iowa, on Nov. 22, 1920, and raised in LeMars, Iowa.
A commitment to Jesus Christ in his teen years directed his entire life.
He attended Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now known as Biola University), where he met and joined The Navigators, a Christian ministry founded by Dawson Trotman to help people "know Christ and make Him known."
Lorne married Lucy in 1943 and started a family not long after. In the midst of their active ministry lives, they raised six children.
For 15 years, Sanny served as Trotman's understudy, including seven years with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) as director of counseling and follow-up. When Trotman drowned in 1956, he was succeeded by Sanny.
During Sanny's 30-year tenure as president and general director of The Navigators (which moved from Southern California to Glen Eyrie in Colorado Springs in 1953), The Navigators grew from a staff of 171 in fewer than a dozen countries to 2,580 in 71 countries.
Currently, 4,027 Navigator staff work in 110 countries, among 214 people groups and in 161 languages.
After stepping down as president and general director of The Navigators in 1986, Sanny continued as chairman of the U.S. Board of Directors until 1993. He developed and served the Navigator Business and Professional Ministries, The Navigators' marketplace outreach.
Sanny continued to help Navigator staff worldwide, as well as being a mentor to Christian businessmen and an active participant in his local church until his death.
Among his many accomplishments was the development of follow-up material for the BGEA. In 1972 Talbot Theological Seminary conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. The Christian Management Association named him Christian Manager of the Year in 1987. Late last year, he was awarded Discipler of the Year by the BGEA.
Commenting in the tribute to Sanny on the Navigators web site, Jerry White, who succeeded Sanny as The Navigators' third president in 1986, said "What I've come to learn is that, though Dawson Trotman was the founder of The Navigators, Sanny was the builder of The Navigators."
White added, "(Sanny) gave it focus, direction, and purpose. He was a godly man, one of the most humble men I've known, and a wise leader who had a sense of where The Navigators ought to go. I saw him last week, and we reflected on God's leading. He told me, ‘Jerry, I've accomplished everything God wanted me to do. It's hard to leave the family, but this is right." While we will miss Lorne, he was ready and considered this to be a promotion."
Also speaking in the tribute to Sanny on the Navigators web site, Mike Treneer, who replaced White as international president of The Navigators in January, said, "While our hearts grieve with Lorne's family at the loss of a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather, we rejoice with Lorne Sanny at his victorious entrance into the presence of the Savior he loved and served so faithfully and fruitfully. The Navigators were privileged to be led for 30 years by a devoted servant of Jesus Christ, a committed mentor of many, and a gifted teacher of God's Word. For those of us who pick up the torch from him, Hebrews 13:7 is an appropriate exhortation: ‘Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.'"
The public memorial service will be held Sunday, April 3, at 2:00 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Castle at Glen Eyrie, The Navigators' worldwide headquarters, with a reception following.
The family has requested that in lieu of flowers gifts be sent and designated to the Sanny Glen Eyrie Fund in care of: The Navigators P.O. Box 6000, Colorado Springs, CO 80934
The fund's purpose is to sustain the future discipling ministry of Glen Eyrie, a passion of Sanny's.
Additional information may be obtained by contacting Navigators Senior Vice President Lauren Libby at (719) 594-2380 or e-mailing her at Lauren.Libby@navigators.org
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