When news of Raymond F. Cottrell’s death came to me via the Internet yesterday, I got out the issue of Spectrum (vol. 11, no. 2) in which he reported on the events of the Glacier View Sanctuary Review Committee in 1980. Although this twenty-five-page article will not be considered the most important thing he ever wrote—his contribution to the SDA Bible Commentary deserves that distinction—it was a watershed piece of journalistic writing for the Adventist Church.

In typical Cottrell fashion, he meticulously laid out the details of the event before moving to an analysis of the meeting, its participants, and documents. He took the discussion past the person of Desmond Ford to the state of biblical study within the Church, and his explanation contained insight into the roles of both its administration and theological scholarship. He deftly parsed the difference between doctrinal and journalist truth. For me, the analysis underscored the contribution of currency and experience that journalism can bring to doctrinal truth.

Cottrell was sixty-eight when he wrote the Spectrum article. It marked the beginning of his second career—the one after retirement from denominational employment as a pastor, missionary, writer, and editor. No longer speaking for the Church as an associate editor of the Adventist Review or as a book editor for the Review and Herald Publishing Association, he found his own voice and began to underscore the importance of the independent journalism among Adventists.

As a frequent speaker at the San Diego Chapter of the Association of Adventist Forums, he shared his personal knowledge of Adventist history over the past half-century. He was in his eighties when he helped found the journal Adventist Today. "Adventist Today is a magazine of news, analysis, and comment," he wrote in September 1996. "We explore theological issues only when the topics have current news value.…Adventist Today is for Adventists who care about the church as we do—the church to which we have all dedicated our lives, our labors, and our meager ’fortunes.’"

It was also during his eighties that he served on the Gender Equity Committee of the Southeastern California Conference. No one considered him an "old foggy" as he drafted statements and motions in support of women’s ordination.

Cottrell’s love for the Church was evident in all that he did; so, too, was his dedication to the pursuit of truth. He was a serious student of the Bible who memorized the book of Daniel in both Hebrew and Aramaic and the book of Revelation in Greek. His care for the text was not to justify his position but to discover what was there.

As word of his death spread through the Adventist academic community there were comments to the effect that today’s theologians stand on his shoulders. As an Adventist journalist, I feel that I, too, stand on his shoulders. He was an excellent reporter who knew the value of facts and wrote with grace and discernment. He was an editor who understood the important contribution that news makes to a prophetic community. In my mind, he deserves to be in the pantheon of Adventist saints.

A memorial service will be held for Raymond F. Cottrell on Sabbath afternoon, February 1 at the Yucaipa, California, Seventh-day Adventist Church.

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