Dellming, Bo

25 December 1940 – 7 October 2016

Bo Dellming was born in 1940 in Åseda, a small village in the southern part of Sweden, where his father Harald was a carpenter. When Bo was 16 years old he had a life-transforming experience of salvation that affected him for the rest of his life. He decided to follow Jesus in everything he did—and all of us who have met him have met a person very much like Jesus.

Bo graduated from the Theological Faculty at Uppsala University, and in 1965 he married his fellow student, Kerstin, who was an M.K. from China and Japan. They arrived in Japan in 1966 and celebrated their fiftieth anniversary as missionaries in May 2016. They worked for many years in Mishima and other parts of Shizuoka Prefecture, before pioneering a work in Fuji City from 1994, where they saw the growth of a living church.

Bo was loved much, first of all by his family, but also by thousands of Japanese. He was loved by rich and poor, and not least by the children he met. But he was loved especially by those on the fringes of society: homeless, alcoholics, lonely people, and those with physical or mental weaknesses. Bo always supported and encouraged Japanese colleagues and fellow missionaries. In later years he was also able to visit Swedish prisoners in Japan. People of other nationalities found in him a friend always willing to help.

I myself counted Bo as my elder brother, “oniisan”. We arrived in Japan a couple of years after Bo and Kerstin, and I was always proud to be able to introduce Bo as my example and brother. One of his friends summed up his life in the following way: “No one was beyond grace, love, or forgiveness in his eyes”.

Bo and Kerstin had three children. Kristina and Daniel live and work as teachers in Japan. Mikael is also a teacher and lives in Stockholm, Sweden. Bo and Kerstin were blessed with ten grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

After a long struggle against cancer, Bo was finally called home to Jesus surrounded by his family. His last words were: “Thank you! Thank you! All is well. I will be waiting for you in heaven.” Around 900 people gathered in Fuji City for the funeral, which had an atmosphere of love and warmth. Their son, missionary Daniel Dellming, officiated.

Rest in peace Bo! We will soon meet at our heavenly Father’s house!

See http://www.eom.nu/media/11501/eposttidning_20.pdf for a Swedish magazine article written in Bo’s memory. His ashes will be interred in the family grave in Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery (Yokohama Gaijin Bochi).

Submitted by: Arne Wikström (missionary in Japan 1968–1991, former Director for East Asia Mission)