This month, we at Abingdon Youth lost two dear friends and beloved colleagues. On May 12 Kelly Chinn, who designed the covers and interiors of many of our curriculum resources, lost his life to colon cancer. He was 33. Less than a week later, Lee Eshleman, one half of the Ted & Lee comedy team, took his life after a lengthy battle with depression. Ted & Lee had been working on a piece for our Veracity Video Vignettes line.

Kelly Chinn
Kelly was responsible for the colorful interiors of several volumes of our Faith in Motion series and for the look of our successful Worship Feast line. He also designed the logo for our forthcoming Sunday school resource, Claim the Life. In 2003, Kelly—a lover of comic books and science fiction—worked many late nights drawing the original artwork featured in Faith League, our comic-book-themed 2004 vacation Bible school program.

Kelly was talented not only as a visual artist, but as a musician and dancer. He was a graduate of Murray State University in Kentucky and a member of the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps. Kelly will be remembered not only for his artistic gifts, but for his energy, intelligence, and love of life.

Lee Eshleman
Lee was best known for the two decades he spent as one-half of “Ted & Lee,” an acting duo that retold stories from Scripture using sketch comedy. Ted & Lee performed at several youth conferences and retreats around the country and were best known for their plays Creation Chronicles and Fish-Eyes. The pair had been working on a show for our Veracity Video Vingettes line that would include sketches from Creation Chronicles and Fish-Eyes, as well as some new material.

Lee was a father, husband, and member Community Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He will be remembered for his quick wit, kind heart, and extraordinary talent on stage. Click here to read a statement about Lee from the Ted & Lee TheaterWorks website.