Maralene Wesner of Idabel, Okla., died on Tuesday (Jan. 13) at age 90. Her life will be celebrated on Saturday (Jan. 17) at Tom Baptist Church.
For 55 years, she and her husband Miles served that congregation and community in southeast Oklahoma with creativity and faithfulness. Writing sermons together and then hosting Sunday conversations afterward, they welcomed responses, even challenges, to their conclusions.
Open inquiry certainly marked the 73-year marriage and close collaboration of the Wesners. Together they wrote and published more than 20 books.
“We’re taught that it’s sinful to question and doubt,” wrote Maralene in their final co-authored book, Jesus’s Commonsense Gospel (2025, Nurturing Faith)
“Being conditioned to obedience and blind faith makes us vulnerable to propaganda, scam artists, and evil politicians,” she continued. “Individuals can’t become productive citizens and democracies can’t survive under these circumstances.”
Clearly, Maralene believed and advocated for following Jesus — as revealed in the Gospels — as the defining priority of the Christian faith.
Maralene taught at the K-12 and university levels. As a kindergarten teacher she was named Teacher of the Year for the State of Oklahoma in 1974-75. Her innovative approach to teaching phonics became the groundwork for the popular Hooked on Phonics.
In 2024, the Wesners seized an opportunity to continue their legacy through annual gifts to Belmont University in support of the Jesus Worldview Initiative, part of the Rev. Charlie Curb Center for Faith Leadership.
That commitment led to the launch last year of the Maralene and Miles Wesner Resource Library. The free online library (jesusworldview.org) provides a variety of resources for learning, teaching and preaching.
Much like the Wesners’ decades-long ministry of teaching, preaching and writing, the initiative and resource library are clearly focused on encouraging and equipping those seeking to see and live through the lens of Jesus’ life, teachings and calling.
John D. Pierce is director of the Jesus Worldview Initiative (jesusworldview.org), part of Belmont University’s Rev. Charlie Curb Center for Faith Leadership. Please mark October 12-14, 2026 for the second “Life Through a Jesus Lens” gathering in Nashville.