Keston Center Grieves the Passing of Lorna Waterton Bourdeaux
(1955-2026)
Lorna Elizabeth Waterton Bourdeaux passed from this life on Thursday, August 6, 2026, in Oxford, England, following a valiant battle with cancer. Her funeral will be held on Monday September, 7, 2026, at 12 p.m. at St. Mary’s Iffley, Oxford, UK, and will be available via a livestream link available here soon.
Lorna was born in 1955 and studied Russian in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in 1977. While there, she met Christian rock musician Valeri Barinov. She would later write his biography in 1985, “Valeri Barinov: The Trumpet Call.” That book, along with “Ten Growing Soviet Churches,” co-authored with her late husband Michael Bourdeaux, offer two examples of her efforts to promote the research and study of religion and religious persecution in communist and totalitarian countries through Keston College.
The young woman first heard about Keston’s mission from her friend Sally Carter while the two studied Russian together. Lorna began working full-time for Keston College in 1979 after being encouraged to apply for a research assistant position. There, she and Keston founder Michael Bourdeaux became interested in one another and were married in September in a ceremony officiated by His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Michael Bourdeaux, whose first wife passed away from cancer in 1978, had two children, Karen and Mark. Lorna and Michael later added to their family with Adrian and Lara-Clare.
Lorna continued her work with Keston throughout her life. She served as encourager, editor, and counselor to her husband, the Rev. Dr. Canon Michael Bourdeaux. In his memoir, he wrote, “Lorna, without question, devoted herself to a man whose life, without her, might have disintegrated. She showed me that dark times and obstacles along our path could, by faith, be turned into blessings.”
Active in the Iffley Music Society, Lorna was an integral part of the community and served as a churchwarden and on the Parochial Church Council of the historic St. Mary the Virgin in Iffley, which was built around 1160-1182. She and Michael generously opened their home to guests and for meetings and other community events. Lorna also served as a trustee of the Bishopsdown Trust.
Kathy Hillman, Director of the Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society at Baylor University, described Lorna as “a warm, talented, and brilliant woman who was comfortable with individuals from all walks of life and made them comfortable, too. She personally edited Michael’s publications and supported him in every way imaginable.”
Lorna Waterton Bourdeaux was preceded in death by her husband Michael in 2021. Survivors include her children Adrian and Lara-Clare, her grandchildren, and her step-children Karen and Mark, along with their families.