John Roy Strock was born on a farm outside of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on June 8, 1882, to George Wood Strock and Barbara Herman Strock. He graduated from Carlisle High School in 1898, after which he took a preparatory course at Dickinson Preparatory School, finishing in 1899. He enrolled at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and in 1903 graduated Phi Beta Kappa, receiving a bachelor of arts degree. In 1905 he enrolled at Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and three years later earned a bachelor of divinity degree.
He was ordained into the ministry and commissioned as a missionary for the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States (GS) on September 3, 1908. He sailed for India on September 9, 1908, and arrived in Guntur, India, on November 1, 1908. He married Elizabeth M. Evans, at St. Matthew's Church, Guntur, on November 9, 1911.
Elizabeth Evans was born in Brandtsville, Pennsylvania, on December 16, 1882, to Harry and Laura E. Evans. Her family moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and she graduated from Carlisle High School in 1900. She then spent three years at the West Chester State Normal School, graduating with honors in 1903. She taught in the Carlisle public schools for the next four years. In 1907 she enrolled at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania and graduated with a Ph. B. in 1909.
In 1942 Pastor Strock left service in India. He returned to the United States and became a professor of missions at Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary, Maywood, Illinois, from 1942-1943. He then accepted an appointment as Secretary of the ULCA Board of Foreign Missions and served from 1943-1946. Pastor and Mrs. Strock returned to India in 1946. He served as an advisor to the Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church until his return to the United States in 1949. Pastor and Mrs. Strock retired from active missionary service in 1949. Pastor Strock died in Tennessee on October 30, 1978, at the age of 96.
From the description of John Roy Strock and Elizabeth Evans Strock Papers 1910-1978; 1910-1953. (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Library). WorldCat record id: 50276417
