Gustavo V. Suarez Obituary Gus Suarez, 67, was a beloved husband, father, brother and the best Papi to his grandchildren. He entered the presence of God on February 22, 2022. Gus was born July 19,1954 in Havana, Cuba to Lino and Maria Suarez. He is survived by his wife of 42 years Diana Suarez, their two sons Phillip Suarez (Megan) and Matthew Suarez (Jacqui), and their seven grandchildren: Cooper, Camryn, Cohen, Crew, Addison, Eisley, and Lucca; as well as, his sister Marta Suarez Ferragut. Gus came to the United States, following residence in Panama, Nicaragua, and Chile, seeking political freedom from communist Cuba and found freedom and so much more. He was a proud Cuban American but knew he was only passing through to his ultimate citizenship in heaven. Upon arrival to the United States at the age of 13, without his family or speaking the English language, Gus attended and loved his time at Staunton Military Academy. If you have listened to any of Gus' sermons, you have probably heard of the infamous waffles he had to endure every Friday at the academy. He was part of the graduating class of 1973. His parents instilled in him the importance of education. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1978. Gus knew God had something big planned for him and he wanted to serve God at all costs. He went on to get his Master of Divinity at Mid - America Baptist Theological Seminary in 1982. Gus started his ministry serving the Hispanics in upstate New York as a pastor and church planter. From 1985 - 1992, he went on to serve the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware as a National Church Planting Missionary at the North American Mission Board (NAMB) to the various ethnic groups. In the early 1990s, Gus served as a chaplain in the United States Army as a rank of Captain. From the East Coast to the Southwest, Gus told God, "What in the world is a Cuban going to do in New Mexico" and boy, did God show him. God called Gus to become the Language Director of the New Mexico Baptist Convention. Working with the various ethnic groups, he loved the people and cherished his ministry and time spent in New Mexico from 1992-2005. He was able to continue to pursue his education with a Doctorate of Ministry at Golden Gate Seminary and graduated with the class of 1997. From the Southwest, God called Gus to the beautiful Pacific Northwest from 2005 - 2007 as the Executive Director of the Northwest Baptist Convention. At that time, he was only the second Hispanic American to serve at that executive level. Following his time in the Pacific Northwest, Gus had the opportunity to do what he loved most--which was to instill his love for church planting in lives of students. From 2007-2014, he was the Professor of Church Planting at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. During his time in the Midwest, he had the opportunity to study evangelism and church growth at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and graduated in 2013 with a Ph.D in Evangelism / Church Growth and Missions. God works in mysterious ways and called Gus to do a complete circle and go back to where he started in Maryland to pastor the church Primera Iglesia Bautista de Laurel he had started back in 1985. Gus served and pastored the church for a second time from 2014 - 2020. He loved the people and the ministry he had at Primera and we will never forget time he spent there and lives that were touched. Gus retired from ministry in November of 2020, but "does a minister ever retire" Gus moved with his wife to Yukon, Oklahoma to be closer to their grandchildren. He started teaching online as Adjunct professor at Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary. Gus truly loved his time imparting knowledge onto the students and getting to know them personally and encouraging them as they go through the journey of life. Most recently, Gus served as an interim pastor at Capitol Hills Baptist Church with the Hispanic church in Moore, Oklahoma. He loved the people and hoped to help the church get to the next level. Gus was able to continue his passion serving as a chaplain to Hispanic baseball players in the minor leagues. He recently served as a chaplain to the Oklahoma City Dodgers following previous years and seasons with the Bowie Baysox and Albuquerque Isotopes. Gus will leave a deep void in his family and so many other individuals he has touched. We love you so much Gus. We will not say goodbye but we will say until we meet again. We love you, Honey, Dad, Papi, brother, pastor, professor and friend. We will miss your voice, your laugh, your hugs and the so many laughs we had with you especially playing games. Don't worry about us. You were such a good steward; you made sure we were taken care of. We will take it from here. In lieu of flowers the family is asking that you consider a donation to Gus' passion of equipping the next generation to further the kingdom. You can donate in two ways... Anyone who would like to donate funds in Gus' name can send those to: SWBTS or Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary P.O. Box 22500 Ft. Worth, TX 76122. Please remember to put "Hispanic Studies Scholarship" in the memo section. To pay by credit/debit card gifts please go to https://swbts.edu/support/ click the "give now" button and fill out the form. Under designation select "other" and then type in "Hispanic Studies Expendable Scholarship Fund". Many of Gus' students were only able to study under him because of donations that allowed scholarships for their course, especially students in Latin America. Any gift given will be in tribute to Gus and add to his legacy at SWBTS and prepare worthy Hispanic students in need for Christian Ministry. With Love, The Suarez Family . Memorial Service All Saints Community Church Sunday, March 13, 2022 2:00 PM 11400 Portland Avenue Oklahoma City, OK 73120