Mark Rich was born in Salem, Oregon and was baptised at nine years old in the Bethel Baptist Church of Salem. He graduated from Linfield College and Colgate Rochester Divinity School and received an MA and PhD from Cornell, majoring in rural sociology.

He was pastor of the First Baptist Church, Groton, New York for ten years. During that time, he received the Rosa O. Hall award for outstanding rural ministry. For a period of 14 years, he was Secretary of Town and Country Work for ABC USA. He was instrumental in the organization of the Rural Church Center at the American Baptist Assembly, Green Lake, Wisconsin. From 1952 to 1961, he was professor at the Missouri School of Religion at Columbia, Missouri. It was during this time that he was asked to inititate a program of continuing education for the clergy. In 1953 he led a rural churchman's tour in France, Germany and Switzerland, and again in 1965 made extensive observations of lay and clergy training programs in Europe.

In 1961 he became the Director of Continuing Education of ABC USA. In 1966 he was "loaned" to the Pacific Northwest Council on Theological Education to be its founding director. Mark returned to the home of his childhood in the Orenco area, anticipating his retirement at the end of 1967, but he passed away in April 1967.

--Text from Rich's memorial service program, part of the collection.

Charles Rich, son of Mark, was born in Cortland, New York in 1925 and spend his early life in several eastern and midwestern states. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy from Oberlin College and continued to study for his Master's degree at Colgate-Rochester Divinity School until 1949. In 1962, Charles graduated with a PhD from University of Chicago Divinity School. Throughout his education, he also developed skills in music, becoming the Music Director at First Baptist Church of Chicago, headed by Jitsuo Morikawa, in the early 1950s.

In following decades, Charles worked at several colleges in teaching and administrative positions. These colleges included Colorado Women's College, Ottawa University (KS), Pacific Lutheran University (WA), and Pierce College (WA). It was during his time in Colorado where he gained an interest in East Asian Studies, later informing his work with a congregation of largely Japanese-American heritage and other scholarly interests.

While in Tacoma, Washington, Charles served as a pastor at Whitney Memorial United Methodist Church for over a decade. Charles retired in 2001, using his remaining years to write several books. He passed in 2014 in Bend, Oregon, leaving behind his wife, Kikue Rich, and three children.