Vivian Trimble

Vivian Constance Paulk Trimble was born December 10, 1925 to Richard and Eva Paulk of Hickory Grove Community, Louisiana. She was a graduate of Buckeye High School and obtained a B.A. from Louisiana College. It was while they were students at L.C. that Vivian met James W. “Bill” Trimble who was to be her husband for 67 years. She became his dedicated partner throughout the years as he ministered in churches though out Mississippi and Louisiana. In 1960, they were appointed full-time missionaries to Beirut, Lebanon, where they remained throughout most of the civil war, often sleeping in basements and bomb shelters and surviving on Ramek Cheese and crackers as shells fell outside. She was stoic in her resolve to remain with the Lebanese people during their time of trial and danger, offering hope, encouragement, and comfort by her very presence among them. During the years Vivian and Bill served in the Middle East, Vivian taught English to high school and seminary students, mentored Arab Baptist ministers’ wives, and raised three children in a culture which they were soon to adopt as their own. Over the thirty-plus years they served in the Middle East, Vivian and Bill were also privileged to work among the people of Egypt, Greece, Morocco, and Cyprus. Vivian and Bill retired to Milton, Florida in 1990 to be near family. She is survived by her beloved husband, Bill, three children, Jerree (Rob) Sanders, Becky (Bruce) Young, and Paul (Melanee) Trimble, eight grandchildren, Nathan (Carrie) Young, Joanna (Destin) Echols, Susan White, John White, Andrew Trimble, Philip Trimble, and Rachel Trimble, two great-grandchildren, Cate and Abbie Young, and three siblings, Vyrtis Cox, Shady (Coupee) Paulk, and Jimmy Paulk, and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. Her warm, loving spirit, encouraging smile, kind words, and generosity will be missed by all.