A tribute to Lori Delle Pinney de Nij
Lori was second born into the Herb and Melba Pinney family. She was born at Doctor Long’s office in the Park Hotel on the plaza de Socorro, New Mexico. This hundred year old landmark was where territorial governor of New Mexico, Lou Wallace, wrote a great portion of his best seller book, Ben Hur. The story is told that General Wallace liked the winter weather in Socorro better than cold Santa Fe.
All of our ten children attended public school through the twelfth grade then on to private colleges. Herb and Melba gave each child far more homework than they got at school. Lori loved to read and write; she became a devout disciple of conservative Christianity and conservative politics. She graduated with top honors from Dallas Christian College where Dr. Mark Berrier said, “Lori was a top student; she aced my Greek and Hebrew classes.” After some graduate work back east, she settled down teaching at Colegio Biblico, a Spanish language college in Texas and Mexico.
Here she met an older student studying for the ministry to return to his home church in San Raymundo, Guatemala. They fell in love with each other and a joint view of ministry. At graduation time Eugenio “Queno” Nij, and Edgar Clavijo, from Colombia, South America, married to Lori’s sister, Linda, were in the same graduating class. The graduating boy’s father-in-law was the graduation speaker. Edgar and Linda’s return to Colombia gave us experience in dealing with the drug Lords of Colombia, and the loyal Clavijo Christian family.
Lori and Queno returned to Guatemala as ministers of the Iglesia de Cristo in San Raymundo, Guatemala. Now educator Lori was face to face with Socialist public education. She soon found that 91% of the men could not read or write in any language and they were serfs of a completely socialist government.
She began to dream of a private children’s school that would be academically superior, open to both boys and girls, and open to all students, Mayan, Latino and European. She began with a one room pre-primary school and grew it to four schools from pre-primary to college prep. with nearly 700 students at Morning Glory Christian Academy with ten buildings fully paid for on campus.
In teaching the children, she also found ways to teach their whole families. Working with GT Continental National Bank she taught parents and kids to learn to save, and once they learned to control their finances they learned to invest and work hard and work their way out of socialist poverty. Working with Queno and the Christian organization, Casas por Cristo, they have overseen the building of over 300 full wooden homes for Christian families that owned some land on which to build.
Lori had continued to work, though very sick the past few years; this April her battle was over. The following is a first hand report of Lori’s Guatemala by her brother.
Lori’s Trip Home
By S. Dean Pinney
As we began this final journey of Lori’s graduation service at Morning Glory Christian School, we gathered for an intimate time of singing and prayer at Lori’s house. While we were inside, the large crowd began to assemble outside in the street. The walking procession was to wind through San Raymundo and then make a sharp descent just outside of town on the narrow mountain road that leads to the school. I have traveled this road so many times before, but this would be the last walk with Lori. The crowd was too large to count, and from my position I could see a sea of people both in front and behind me. All the students were walking, all dressed up in their school uniforms (even though they are on Easter holiday). The streets came to a halt as this massive procession passed by. People were remarking, “Seño Lori” as we passed. The students were crying, the parents were somber, and in the crowd were every sort of person that you could imagine. As we began that difficult walk down the steep road, I noticed the strong helping the weak, the fast waiting on those much slower, and people passing out water along the way. This almost five-mile walk up and down the winding mountain road to the school would be a vigorous walk for anyone, but no one complained or whined at all. Small groups of kids were singing, adults sharing memories, and many were just dumbfounded at the thought of life without Lori. After nearly an hour or so we arrived at the school. There was a plethora of speakers, diplomats, and ministry partners who spoke. Then, as the band played, several of us spread some of her ashes among the trees by the soccer field. Then we moved to the other side of the campus, where there was a memorial built to house the urn and significant mementos. After another beautiful ceremony, including Lori’s favorite song sung by the teachers and staff, the students each laid a rose at the memorial. A final song, a closing prayer, and Lori will forever be memorialized in the center of the very school she began almost 20 years ago. And so her graduation ceremony was completed, as she became another of our Heavenly alumni. All in all, I was humbled to get to be witness to it all.