The Pastor with Several Names – Rev. Norval Wixom and the First Church of God
Rev. Norval Wixom pastored the First Church of God in Idaho Falls from the summer of 1961 to the summer of 1966. [1] He was born in Bend, Oregon to William and Evalena Ellis and named "Norval Clair Ellis". [2] At a very young age he was adopted by Walter and Eva Wixon and his name was changed to “Norval Dick Wixom.” [2] He grew up in Wapato, Yakima County, Washington, his foster father working as a carpenter. [2, 28] Thus some records incorrectly show his place of birth as Wapato. Many years later, shortly after meeting his biological brother in 1975, he changed his name to Norval Ellis Wixom. While in Idaho Falls, the Post Register at different times printed a number of variant spellings for both his first and last names, most often calling him Rev. “Norvell” D. Wixom. [1,3] Rev. Wixom wrote the “Friday’s Pulpit” column published in The Post Register on October 13, 1961: [4] The First Century Church was established by those who did it at the peril of the