It is with heavy hearts and much love that we announce the passing of our beloved wife, mother and grandmother, Benita Ukstins, on May 3, 2025, at the age of 84. She passed away peacefully in her home in West Norriton, PA surrounded by her loving family.
Born on May 22, 1940 in Liepaja, Latvia, Benita was a woman of unwavering faith, strength, empathy and boundless love for others. She dedicated her life to her family and to her Lord, Jesus Christ.
She emigrated to Germany with her parents and older sister, Astrida, and then later to the United States to the Cleveland, Ohio area in 1951. She was a devout member of the Cleveland Latvian Baptist Church until 1986 where she served as the women’s ministries leader and choir director.
Benita graduated from Bethel University in St. Paul, MN in 1966 with a dual major in elementary education and music. She was married to Uldis Ukstins in 1967 who pastored at the Cleveland church until 1986. The family then moved to Lansdale, PA where Uldis began pastoring at the Bucks County Latvian Baptist Church and then later the Philadelphia Latvian Baptist Church.
Benita was member of the board of the Union of Latvian Baptists in America where she oversaw aid to the Baptist churches in Latvia, Brazil and other parts of the world. In the 1980s, she was also a member of the Baptist World Alliance Women’s Ministries Board. She often traveled to Latvia in support of these ministries.
As a devoted mother, Benita raised her children with love, grace and wisdom. She dedicated her life to her children, her family, and to her work. As a life-long school teacher and as the head of the women’s missions work for the Latvian Baptists in America, her dedication to others was unwavering. She helped and prayed for children and those in need here in the United States, Latvia and around the world. She had a remarkable ability to make everyone feel valued and heard.
She is survived by her husband Uldis of 57 years, her three daughters Liv, Ači, and Erika, her sons-in-law Daniel, Aaron, and Nick, her two grandchildren Luke and Tessa, her sister Astrida Kuhns, brother-in-law Robert Kuhns, and their family. Though our hearts are broken, we take comfort in knowing she is now at peace in the presence of the Lord she so faithfully served. We will carry her memory and love for others forward.
A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, May 10, 2025, at the Bucks County Latvian Baptist Church in Applebachsville, PA, with the service beginning at 10:00 am.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to “LBDS Sieviešu Kalpošanas Apvienība” (Women’s Ministries of the Baptist Churches in Latvia) in her memory.
Arrangements are in the care of the C.R. Strunk Funeral Home, Inc., Quakertown.
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” - Revelation 14:13 NIV
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Benita Ukstins, please visit our flower store.