Landon Brady Saunders
July 26, 1937 – November 14, 2023
During a warm summer in Scott Depot, West Virginia, on July 26, 1937, Landon Brady Saunders was born into the kind and gentle home of Beulah Gladys Null Saunders and Robert Thomas Saunders.
Landon’s loving childhood was shared with three siblings, Roberta, Ross, and John, for whom he held deep affection. Words of devotion and affirmation were staples at the Saunders’ home. Seeds of faith took deep root in Landon’s early years. His tender heart and cheerful disposition were mature fruits of his family life at home.
In his youth, building on the farm developed an appreciation for excellent workmanship and fostered a strong work ethic within him.
Landon attended Freed Hardeman College and Harding College. He also attended Harding’s School of Theology. In 1981, Landon was named an Outstanding Alumnus at Harding University and in 2023, Abilene Christian University awarded him an honorary doctorate.
Landon served as a minister at various churches in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Texas. His warm voice masterfully wove faith and wisdom into gentle tales of life well lived. Landon diligently encouraged goodness and fostered the awesome significance of personhood. Revealing Jesus was paramount to Landon. His life was an absolute unflinching expression of love and truth.
Landon was intense and persuasive, but kind; highly regarded, but humble. His gentle blue eyes conveyed tremendous worth and affection to all.
In 1971, Landon helped launch Heartbeat, a nationally syndicated radio program. Landon was a thoughtfully brilliant wordsmith. Crafting authentic messages of hope and speaking words of truth were his life’s work. He diligently pursued the value of a human.
Landon garnered morsels of truth and insight about the meaning of life and its worth. He sifted and polished these nuggets to carefully reveal great abiding principles. He was a board member of the Yale University Center for Faith and Culture and Fellow of Caris Life Sciences Foundation.
He loved life. A tasty meal with a dear friend, a crackling fire and a good book, cold winter nights, or warm summer days, Landon took delight in most every day. His was a grateful heart.
This man loved to laugh. Children were his esteemed friends. Joy was his constant companion.
Landon was preceded in death by his parents, siblings, and a niece. Remaining are his sister-in-law, Sarah Saunders, ten nieces or nephews, and a host of their children.
Many loved Landon, but few have faithfully walked beside and cared for Landon so well and so long, as Michael Hawkins. As a younger brother would care for his older, so did Michael.
Our hearts are broken by the tremendous loss we feel, but how lucky were we to have known and been loved by Landon!
The pockets of our hearts have surely been lined with precious bits of wisdom, pearls of laughter, jewels of joy, and good reason for hope from our godly friend Landon. His spoken words will long encourage, and his pen, though now stilled, continues to deliver hope.
Landon loved traveling the vast world that God created. He so enjoyed the incredible places that he had seen and the remarkable people that he knew. But Landon’s heart was always happiest when, after a long journey, he returned home. And so it was, November 14, 2023, as the sun was rising on a crisp fall morning in Norwich, Vermont, when as gently as he came, Landon joyously returned home. Delighted with all the wonders he had seen, but oh, so happy to be once again, and finally, home.
A service of memorial will be January 13, 2 p.m. at Light of the World Church of Christ at 7408 S. Hampton Road, Dallas, Texas 75232.