Services held for former Army chaplain, Florida Baptist pastor

 

Rev. Leonard Thomas Melton passed away recently in Asheville, N.C., at the age of 86. He had served as pastor of First Baptist Church in Flagler Beach and Airpark Baptist Church in Starke at various times in his ministry. He also served as an Army chaplain and retired from the military following service in Vietnam. He was an ordained minister for more than 60 years. Rev. Melton was born on June 14, 1930, in Gainesville to the late Lonnie L. and Norma Marie (...

May 8, 2017 By Florida Baptist Witness staff Obituaries Read more...

Former BCF professor W. Wiley Richards passes away at age 84

 

Dr. Walter Wiley Richards, who spent 34 years on the faculty of The Baptist College of Florida (formerly Baptist Bible Institute) before being named professor emeritus of Theology and Philosophy upon his retirement, died in Graceville on April 15th. He is the author of five books, wrote numerous articles and papers, and contributed Sunday School lessons to the Florida Baptist Witness for 27 years. He also served as pastor of churches in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, and served as an interim ...

April 17, 2017 By Florida Baptist Witness staff Obituaries Read more...

Billy Graham Crusades' Cliff Barrows dies at 93

 

Clifford Burton "Cliff" Barrows, who served as music director of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for more than 60 years, died Nov. 15 in Pineville, N.C., after a brief illness. He was 93. The Marvin, N.C., resident had traveled the world with Billy Graham since the noted evangelist's first crusade in 1947 in Grand Rapids, Mich., the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association reported. Barrows' contributions to the ministry were immeasurable, Graham said in an official statement upon the musician's death. "There wouldn't be ...

November 16, 2016 By Diana Chandler Obituaries Read more...

Original MBTS faculty member John Howell, a Miami native, dies

 

One of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's original faculty members and longtime administrator, John C. Howell, died Sept. 6 at age 92 after a short illness. Howell served at Midwestern from 1960-99 in various roles, including professor of Christian ethics, dean of the faculty and vice president of academic affairs at the Kansas City, Mo., campus. "The entire Midwestern Seminary community is saddened to hear of Dr. John Howell's passing," President Jason Allen said. "Dr. Howell was a dear friend to me and ...

September 16, 2016 By T. Patrick Hudson Obituaries Read more...

Phyllis Schlafly, defender of family and unborn, dies at 92

 

Phyllis Schlafly, founder of the conservative group Eagle Forum who was known for her decades-long advocacy on behalf of the traditional family, died Sept. 5. She was 92. Called a friend and "profound influence" by leading Southern Baptist women, Schlafly opposed the feminist movement for more than 40 years. An attorney, speaker and mother of six, she also publically opposed abortion, same-sex marriage and communism. In addition to authoring or editing 20 books, Schlafly was a columnist, radio commentator and television commentator. Dorothy Patterson, ...

September 7, 2016 By David Roach Obituaries Read more...

'Left Behind' author Tim LaHaye dies at 90

 

Tim LaHaye, author of the bestselling "Left Behind" novels who helped stir a national interest in end-times prophecy, died today (July 25) of a stroke. He was 90. In addition to his end-times novels, LaHaye was a pastor, evangelical leader and author of more than 60 other books with 14 million copies in print on topics ranging from family life and sexuality to secular humanism and God's will, according to an obituary from Tim LaHaye Ministries. The 16-book "Left Behind" series, co-authored with Jerry ...

July 25, 2016 By David Roach Obituaries Read more...

Longtime Pensacola pastor Alton Butler dies at 90

 

Alton Butler, 90, pastor of Myrtle Grove Baptist Church in Pensacola, Fla., from 1963-93, died July 9. He served as president of the Florida Baptist State Convention in 1984, and on the boards of trustees of Stetson University in DeLand and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Butler's additional Florida Baptist State Convention service included serving on the State Board of Missions 1968-71, 1977-80 and as chairman 1978-79; Committee on Nominations 1966, 1969, 1972, 1974, 1987, and as chairman 1989; and Committee on Order of ...

July 20, 2016 By Carolyn Nichols Obituaries Read more...

Longtime Florida Baptist Convention contract worker Wayne Goff dies

 

Wayne B. Goff, 78, of Punta Gorda, Fla., died July 16 after a brief illness with pancreatic cancer. He was a longtime contract worker for the Florida Baptist Convention. Prior to his service as a contract worker with the Convention’s Stewardship and Sunday School departments, Goff served as first vice-president of the Florida Baptist State Convention in 1998-99; a member of the Committee on Nominations in 2000 and 2001; and from 1989-1997 served as a trustee on the SBC Home Mission ...

July 20, 2016 By Florida Baptist Witness Obituaries Read more...

Charles Ryrie: 'one of the great theologians of the 20th century'

 

Charles C. Ryrie, a scholar whose name abounds on Ryrie Study Bible editions with more than 2.6 million in print in multiple languages, died Feb. 16 in Dallas at age 90. Known for his end-times theology of dispensationalism, Ryrie was a longtime systematic theology professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and a longtime member of First Baptist Church in Dallas. At FBC Dallas, Ryrie became close friends with the current pastor, Robert Jeffress, and his predecessors at First Baptist, O.S. Hawkins and Mac ...

February 19, 2016 By Art Toalston Obituaries Read more...

Cru cofounder Vonette Bright dies at 89

 

Vonette Bright, cofounder of Campus Crusade for Christ and an internationally known leader in prayer and women's ministry, died Dec. 23 from complications related to acute leukemia. She was 89. Bright and her husband, Bill, who died in 2003, launched Campus Crusade, now known in the United States as Cru, at UCLA in 1951. It has since grown into what news reports called the world's largest Christian ministry, with 25,000 staff members and 300,000 volunteers working in 173 countries. Vonette Bright also was instrumental in petitioning Congress ...

December 29, 2015 By David Roach Obituaries Read more...

Longtime Southern Seminary music professor and UF graduate dies

 

A world-famous pianist and musicologist who was the longest-serving faculty member in the history of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary died Nov. 11 after a battle with cancer. Maurice Hinson, 84, was the senior professor of piano at the seminary and had taught courses for 58 years.   “Maurice Hinson was one of the greatest musicologists ever to serve among Southern Baptists, a world-class scholar whose authority was regularly invoked in the leading conservatories and schools of music around the world,&...

November 13, 2015 By S. Craig Sanders Obituaries Read more...

F.A.I.T.H. Riders national coordinator loses battle with cancer

 

Buddy Newsome died Nov. 1 in Lakeland, Fla., at the age of 60 after a battle with cancer.   He came to Christ in 1999 through the ministry of First Baptist Church at the Mall in Lakeland. It was there that Newsome had the vision to start F.A.I.T.H. Riders, a ministry of Christian bikers committed to sharing the Gospel with other bikers using their motorcycles as a bridge to sharing their faith.   Newsome served as the national ...

November 3, 2015 By Keila Diaz Obituaries Read more...

Former Florida Baptist State Convention recording secretary dies at age 88

 

Joseph Neil Folmar died in his sleep on Oct. 29 at the age of 88 at Heritage Crossings in Jacksonville, Fla. He had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for 10 years.   Folmar was born in Alabama on May 20, 1927, and remained there until joining the Army. He then attended Stetson University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in English and met his wife to be, Barbara. They were married in 1954, and moved to Kentucky where he attended the Southern ...

November 2, 2015 By Florida Baptist Witness Obituaries Read more...

Passing of Strength Team founder Mike Hagen leaves Florida Baptists hurting

 

Mike Hagen, founder and president of the Strength Team, died Oct. 11 after suffering a stroke following surgery.   Hagen, 56, started the Strength Team in 2001 as an outreach ministry featuring athletes from different sports and backgrounds, including professional and college football, baseball, body building, power lifting and wrestling, among others.   The team is based in Missoula, Mont., and travels the country offering its services to local churches. During the past 10 years, Hagen and his team have become well-known across Florida, ...

October 13, 2015 By Keila Diaz Obituaries Read more...

Former Florida Baptist First Lady Phyllis Bennett dies

 

Phyllis Jean Metz Bennett, widow of former Florida Baptist Convention Executive Director-Treasurer Harold Bennett, died Sept. 6 in Winter Garden. She was 90. She was married for 55 years to Bennett, who led the Florida Baptist Convention from 1967-79. The couple moved to Nashville in 1979 when he was elected president-treasurer of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, where he served until his retirement in 1992. He died in 2003. “I remember Phyllis as a vivacious, upbeat and gracious lady, who was always supportive of ...

September 18, 2015 By Barbara Denman Obituaries Read more...

Former Pensacola resident Frances Horton dies after spending a life in missions

 

Missionary Frances Horton, 89, who spent 35 years in Japan before retiring in 1988, died July 25 in Mobile, Ala.   Horton was appointed as a missionary to Japan in 1952, where she was an English teacher and publisher, in addition to her roles as Sunday school teacher and choir director. She also served on the board of directors of the Japan Missionary Language Institute in Tokyo and volunteered at the Tokyo Friendship House.   After her retirement, she spent time speaking about missions and ...

August 5, 2015 By Keila Diaz Obituaries Read more...

Holmes Baptist Association leader Barrett Lampp passes away at 81

 

Surrounded by family and friends, Holmes Baptist Association Director of Missions Barrett Lampp, 81, of Tallahassee, Fla., passed away May 25 from heart complications.    Lampp was born Nov. 7, 1933. He was one of seven siblings and the second oldest of four boys. He married his wife, Connie, on Nov. 27, 1958, and they have a son and a daughter, Brent and Lucinda Dufrene.   Lampp graduated from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in California in 1969 and filled various ministry roles through the years. ...

May 27, 2015 By Keila Diaz Obituaries Read more...