J. Wesley Hole, 101; Prominent Lay Official for Methodist Church

J. Wesley Hole, an influential lay administrator in the regional and national United Methodist Church for nearly four decades, has died at the age of 101.

Hole died Feb. 14 in Arcadia of natural causes.

From 1934 until 1972, Hole served as treasurer, and as statistician for many of those years, of the Southern California-Arizona Conference of the church, tracking contributions, expenses, membership growth and demographics. He saw the number of Methodists in the area triple from fewer than 92,000 to about 300,000.

Known for his sense of humor as well as pragmatic business procedures, Hole would encourage Methodists to contribute more money for missionary work by comparing their donations to the cost of dog food. In 1953, when he used that strategy, he calculated that Methodists were spending $42 million a year to feed pet dogs, but only $9 million for international church work.

In 1964, Hole became the first layperson ever elected as secretary, or top administrator, of the nationwide General Conference of the Methodist Church. He served until 1968, and then stepped in again from 1970 to 1972 when his successor resigned for health reasons.

Well-known to the national as well as regional church hierarchy, Hole led the regional lay delegation to the national conference seven times -- every four years from 1940 through 1964.

“I could almost as soon believe in God letting me down as him,” Bishop Gerald H. Kennedy said in giving Hole the Southern California-Arizona section’s Layman of the Year award in 1969. “I don’t know of any man who seems to me to stand more for integrity and character, and a man upon whom I depend more completely.”

Hole also served for many years as treasurer of the Western Jurisdictional Conference.

At his retirement, then Times religion writer Dan L. Thrapp called him the denomination’s “indispensable man.”

Widowed by the death of his wife of 70 years, Velma, Hole is survived by a daughter, Marilyn L. Peer of Los Angeles; son John W. Hole Jr. of Whittier; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Memorial donations can be sent to the Memorial Fund at the La Canada United Methodist Church, 104 Berkshire Place, La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011, or to the J. Wesley Hole Scholarship Fund at the Claremont School of Theology, 1325 N. College Ave., Claremont, CA 91711.