Melvin William Clinton Jr. of Turkey, longtime Texas Baptist pastor, died April 11 in Silverton. He was 88. He was born Jan. 11, 1937, in Ponca City, Okla., to Melvin Edward and Alta King Clinton. He married Guyretta Ruth Baker on June 2, 1957, in Uncas, Okla. He was pastor of First Baptist Church in Turkey 48 years. He previously served at First Baptist Church in Lamont, Okla., and Bethel Baptist Church in Funston. He also was actively involved in the Kairos and Emmaus ministries. He had served on the Turkey Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance Service several years and was a member of the Turkey Lions Club. He was preceded in death by his wife Guyretta Ruth; daughter Debra Zanardi; son-in-law Mark Zanardi; and two sisters, Ida Mae Wright and Roseanne Snodgrass. Survivors include son Gary Clinton and wife Theresa of Silverton; daughter Karen Rice and husband Walt of Howardwick; eight grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren with one on the way; brother Madison Clinton of Altus, Okla.; and sister Ellen Neely of Ponca City, Okla. His funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on April 15 at First Baptist Church in Turkey. The family request memorials be sent to First Baptist Church in Turkey.

Marguerite Gaston Garrett, former member of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board, died April 8. She was 98. She was born May 5, 1926, in Buffalo, N.Y., to Orissa Knight Gaston and John Zell Gaston, while her father was completing his medical residency there. She grew up in Houston near the medical district and Rice University. She graduated from Rice University and met her husband Robert (Bob) Irving Garrett on a blind date on San Jacinto Day, April 21, 1946. They married Aug. 6, 1948, in Houston. Since her husband was a medical doctor serving in the U.S. Navy, his tours of duty took them to live in many places, including California, Illinois, Virginia and Florida, before settling in Lufkin in 1971. At First Baptist Church in Lufkin, she served on multiple committees and in various ministries, including choir and handbells, and was involved in Woman’s Missionary Union. She served in the Medical Auxiliary of doctor’s wives and in the leadership of the local Museum of East Texas, Ellen Trout Zoo and Kiwanis Club. She was preceded in death by her husband Bob, daughter Katherine and son Glenn Arthur. She is survived by son Robert I. Garrett Jr. and wife Jane Huff; daughter Peggilu Garrett Woodward and husband Douglas; son J. David Garrett and wife Ruth; four granddaughters; two grandsons; and five great-grandchildren.

F.B. Huey Jr., longtime seminary professor and former missionary, died April 7. He was 100. He was born in Denton on Jan. 12, 1925, and attended the University of North Texas before graduating from the University of Texas in Austin. He worked in a family-owned business in Denton for 10 years before entering the ministry in 1955. While a seminary student, he served as pastor of churches in Bolivar and Denton. After graduating from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with the Master of Divinity and Ph.D. degrees, he and his family served as Southern Baptist missionaries in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 1961 to 1965, where he was professor of Old Testament at the South Brazil Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1965 until his retirement in 1990, he was professor of Old Testament at Southwestern Seminary. He served as editor of the Southwestern Journal of Theology from 1975 to 1978, was associate dean for the Ph.D. degree from 1985 to 1990, and served as interim pastor of 27 churches. He also was guest professor at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Rüschlikon, Switzerland, in 1970-71, and at the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary in 1996. After his retirement, he continued as adjunct professor of Old Testament at Southwestern Seminary and as pastor of the Rush Creek Baptist Church in Arlington. He was the author of eight books, four of which were translated into Chinese. He served as one of the translators for the New American Standard Bible, the New International Version and the International Children’s Bible. He contributed numerous articles to scholarly and popular religious publications, Bible commentaries, theological dictionaries and encyclopedias. He was named as a distinguished alumnus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2001. He was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Nonna Turner Huey; grandson, Jonathan David Huey; and great-granddaughter, Brynlee Anne Bitton. He is survived by his daughter, Mary Anne Lisbona and her husband Alberto; daughter Linda Miller and her husband Darrell; son David Huey and his wife Debbie; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at Travis Avenue Baptist Church, where he was a member, at 11 a.m. on April 15. The family will receive friends beginning at 10 a.m. prior to the memorial service.

Bertha Dell Mieth, supporter of global evangelism and Wayland Baptist University, died April 9 in Fort Worth. She was 88. She was born Dec. 23, 1936, in Paducah. After leading a mission team from First Baptist Church of Seminole to Mexico in 1971—where more than 1,500 people professed faith in Christ—she and her husband Ben devoted themselves to global evangelism. Together, they founded International Commission, which has worked more than 50 years to establish relationships with churches and equip believers to share the gospel around the world. From the time one of their children attended Wayland Baptist University, the Mieths invested their prayers, presence and resources in the university. They established the Ben and Bertha Mieth Professorship in Global Missions, provided numerous scholarships and made a lasting impact on the university’s facilities. Their recent $1 million gift is helping to enhance Wayland’s multimedia facilities on the Plainview campus, moving the university closer to achieving the goal of the Thrive Campaign, which the Mieths chaired together. Most recently, the Mieths gave $2.5 million to upgrade the facilities and equipment of the Ben and Bertha Mieth School of Nursing at Wayland’s San Antonio campus. She was a longtime member of the First Baptist Church in Glen Rose. She is survived by her husband of 71 years Ben; daughter Debra Cavett and husband Rodney; daughter Miki Martin and husband Woody; son Bennie Mieth and wife Elaine; nine grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren. Viewing and visitation is scheduled beginning at noon on April 18 at First Baptist Church in Glen Rose, followed by the funeral service at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to the First Baptist Church of Glen Rose building fund or to the International Commission.

Clifford Dane, a Southern Baptist missionary emeritus who served in Belize and Brazil, died Jan. 7. He was 86. Dane was born July 1, 1938, in Weatherford to Henry and Ruth Dane. He came to faith in Christ as a child and was active in church life alongside his parents and siblings. During his 11th-grade year, he surrendered his life to special service for God, and the following year he surrendered to preach and began preaching at various church services. During his last year of high school, he met Peggy Delano. They were married Aug. 16, 1959. Over the next several years, Dane served as a pastor, earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Wayland Baptist University and taught fourth grade. Feeling led by God to foreign missions service, the Danes moved to Fort Worth, where he earned a Master of Religious Education degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In 1972, the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board—now the International Mission Board—appointed the Danes as missionaries to Brazil. He established a school of religious education, planted churches and opened a recreational learning camp. Dane earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Caribbean College of the Bible International in San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago, and taught courses in theology, archeology and religious education at Baptist Theological Seminary in North Brazil. The Danes later served in Belize, where he worked to strengthen churches, hosted volunteers from the U.S. and continued planting churches. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Peggy Dane; children Brent Dane, Troy Dane, and Gwenann Sprecher; eight grandchildren; and seven great grandchildren. Donations in his memory may be made to the Lottie Moon Offering, IMB, 3806 Monument Avenue, Richmond, VA 23230, or online at Generosity Resource Center – IMB Generosity.

Lurae “Looie” Biffar, who served Texas Baptists and Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas more than a half-century as a graphic designer, died March 21 in Chico. She was 79. She was born June 30, 1945, to Clyde and Elva Attaway Biffar and grew up in Big Spring. She earned her degree in graphic design from the University of North Texas in 1967. She served four and a half decades as a graphic designer in the public relations and communications office at the Baptist General Convention of Texas. After retiring from the BGCT, she served in a similar role with WMU of Texas. When she began work with Texas Baptists, she used a drawing board, rapidograph pen, utility knife and T-square. By the time she retired, she was proficient in multiple types of graphic-design computer hardware and software. She served with six BGCT executive directors—T.A. Patterson, James Landes, Bill Pinson, Charles Wade, Randel Everett and David Hardage—and worked at three Baptist Building locations. For more than three decades, she coordinated and supervised the set-up of the exhibit hall at Texas Baptists’ annual meeting. Along the way, she received numerous graphic design awards from the Baptist Public Relations Association/Baptist Communicators Association. She was preceded in death by her brother Glenn Biffar and her sister Elaine Shuffler. She is survived by her nephew Aaron Biffar; her niece Andrea Jones and husband J.D.; niece-in-law Laurie Watkins; sister-in-law Patti Biffar; and great-nieces and great-nephews who thought of her as a grandmother. The family will receive guests from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. March 25 at Hawkins Funeral Home in Bridgeport. Her memorial service will be at 1 p.m. March 26 at Hawkins Funeral Home in Bridgeport, with burial at Chico Cemetery.

Travis Farrar Patterson, Baptist minister and former seminary professor, died Feb. 16 in Aledo. He was 91. Born in Columbus, Ga., to Sarah Carolyn Culbreath and George Travis “Pat” Patterson, he grew up in Memphis, Tenn., the oldest of seven children. He married Helen Edwina Schovajsa of Amherst in 1959 when they were both graduate seminary students. Farrar held degrees from Southeastern Bible College, Baylor University, Dallas Theological Seminary, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Texas Christian University. He was pastor of churches in Weatherford and in Columbus, and he taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1969 to 1985. He spent a sabbatical year in 1984 as a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge in England studying the life and works of John Wesley in preparation for writing and publishing his own book, Do-it-Yourself Bible Study. He also served his community as a town councilman. He is survived by daughter S. Paige Patterson Clarke and her husband James Clarke; daughter H. Shea Patterson Young and her husband Patrick Young; and by four grandsons, Austin, Laurence, Edward and Arthur.

(RNS)—Martin E. Marty, an eminent church historian, prolific chronicler and interpreter of religion and its role in public life, died at the age of 97 on Feb. 25 in a Minneapolis care facility where he spent his final years.

Marty, who was also a friend, mentor and pastor to many, taught for 35 years at the University of Chicago Divinity School and published a constant stream of books, articles, essays, newsletters and columns. His book Righteous Empire: The Protestant Experience in America won top honors at the 1972 National Book Awards in Philosophy and Religion.

In 1987, he published the first of his three-volume survey of 20th-century American religion, in which he described the impact of fundamentalism on the religious landscape, depicting fundamentalism as a reaction not to liberal religion or textual criticism of the Bible alone but to modernity itself and its increasing secularism.

His work helped give birth to “Modern American Religion and the Fundamentalism Project,” a years-long study Marty led with religion scholar R. Scott Appleby of fundamentalism in seven major faiths around the world.

The project produced multiple encyclopedic books—five of which Marty wrote or co-edited with Appleby—plus several documentary films and radio episodes that appeared on PBS and National Public Radio.

“Righteous Empire and the Fundamentalism Project continue to shape academic discourse today,” said James T. Robinson, dean of Chicago’s divinity school, where Marty helped to found the Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion. Opened in 1979, it was named for Marty when he retired from the school in 1998.

Robinson said Marty, “a cornerstone” of the divinity school, influenced “the study of religion and public life with his visionary scholarship.”

Marty, who published some 60 books in all, served for a half-century as an editor and columnist for The Christian Century magazine and produced a biweekly newsletter, “Context,” for 41 years.

Disciplined and prolific writer

Dean Lueking, the longtime pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest, Ill., a friend of Marty’s for 75 years, remembered the prodigious industry behind his output.

“Marty had a well-ordered sense of time; every minute counts,” remembered Lueking. “He got up in the morning at 4:44 a.m. and started writing before breakfast. He was remarkably productive. He could take a 10-minute power nap and be completely refreshed.”

Lueking told of a day when a caller reached Marty’s assistant at the divinity school, who explained that the professor could not be interrupted because he was working on a book. To which the caller replied: ‘He’ll be done soon. Just put me on hold.’”

Born on the eve of the Great Depression on Feb. 5, 1928, in West Point, Neb., Martin Emil Marty was the son of a Lutheran schoolteacher who bequeathed orderliness, ambition and Swiss-watch punctuality to the youngster, while Marty’s mother, Anna, endowed the boy with a sunnier spirit of good-humored openness and inquisitiveness, according to Lueking, who attended seminary with Marty and knew his parents.

In 1941, Marty left home to study at Concordia Lutheran Prep School before earning his undergraduate degree from Concordia College (now University) in Wisconsin. After completing his theological training at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Marty was ordained to the ministry in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and began serving in suburban Chicago parishes, including one he founded, the Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit in Elk Grove Village.

During those early years in parish ministry, Marty pursued postgraduate work at the University of Chicago, and in 1963 he was invited to join the faculty at the University of Chicago Divinity School.

Understanding religion in a pluralistic society

The shift from the pulpit to the academy was a springboard for Marty, who quickly emerged as an internationally known figure whose understanding of religion in a pluralistic society gave him insights beyond campus.

He served as a Protestant observer during the Second Vatican Council in Rome in 1964 and became involved in the Civil Rights Movement, marching in Selma, Ala., the following year with Martin Luther King Jr.

“He was impressive in the classroom, but that was just scratching the surface,” said Daniel L. Pals of the University of Miami, a graduate student of Marty’s in the 1970s.

“Marty was also a churchman in the most serious way,” Pals said. “Politicians paid attention to Marty. Norman Lear reached out to Marty when he launched People for the American Way. Marty just was so deft at navigating that intersection of faith and culture and how they inform and influence each other.”

For Pals, however, it was Marty’s decades-long friendship with his students and their families that left the deepest impression.

“Marty cared deeply about our scholarship and our academic achievements, but also about our spouses and children,” he said.

“He knew there was more to life than the world of learning. For Marty you were a student with a family. He was a family person himself. That’s the real measure of a Renaissance man—never a sniff of snobbery. He knew the names of the people in our families. He was so normal, so well adjusted.”

‘A clarion voice of faithful reason’

John Buchanan, the former publisher of The Christian Century who died earlier in February, described Marty in an interview as “one of the most grace-filled human beings I’ve met and a clarion voice of faithful reason in our culture which is so desperately needed today.”

Buchanan, longtime pastor of Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church, also paid tribute to Marty as a “world-class scholar and a devoted churchman who was always skillful in bringing out the better angels in others.”

Emily D. Crews, executive director of the Martin Marty Center, praised Marty as “a devoted teacher and adviser who leaves a legacy of boundless energy and creativity. I’m surrounded by so many people who were influenced by his work—his advisees, fellow clergy, members of his former congregations. He lived a life of generosity—generous with his work, with his time, with his students and with colleagues, parishioners and friends.”

Religion writers for daily newspapers counted on Marty as a go-to source of information, but also winsome wisdom and a generosity of spirit. He was prompt to answer calls and lent greater clarity and nuance to the often-obscure points of religion stories.

As with his students, his expertise often came with friendship, including invitations to lively wine-and-cheese gatherings in his John Hancock Building apartment in Chicago.

Marty is survived by his wife, Harriet; sons Joel, John, Peter and Micah; foster daughter Fran Garcia Carlson and foster son Jeff Garcia; stepdaughter Ursula Meyer; nine grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.

Levi Weldon Price Jr., Baptist missionary, pastor and seminary professor, died Feb. 19. He was 83. He was born on Christmas Day 1941 in Gorman and grew up in a pastor’s home, moving to several places throughout his childhood. He graduated from high school in Monahans in 1960 and married the love of his life, Luethyl Dawkins, on May 28, 1962. He earned his undergraduate degree from Baylor University in 1964 before serving in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1964 to 1968. As a combat engineer in Vietnam, he achieved the rank of captain and received a battlefield commendation for his service. In 1976, he earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Golden Gate Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif. He was pastor of churches in Richmond, Fresno and Milpitas, Calif., before serving as a missionary in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, through the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. His ministry then led him to El Paso, where he was pastor of First Baptist Church for 17 years. During his time there, he launched outreach initiatives to serve the community. He founded a businessmen’s lunch for men who worked downtown, creating a space for fellowship and spiritual growth. Later, he became a professor of Christian ministry at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary, a role he cherished as he mentored future leaders in the church. In retirement, he served as an interim pastor for churches in Lorena, Gatesville, Clifton, Crawford and Waco and in Las Cruses, N.M. One of his greatest joys was Paisano Baptist Encampment near Alpine. His connection to the camp spanned nearly his entire life—first attending as a boy, then working in the cook shed as a teenager, and later preaching there while in college. He returned as a guest preacher before serving as its president 20 years. He is survived by his wife of 62 years Luethyl; son Timothy Levi; daughter Sara Gloria Welshimer and husband Mark; and seven grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to Paisano Baptist Encampment, P.O. Box 973, Alpine, TX 79831, or Methodist Children’s Home, 1111 Herring Ave., Waco, TX 76708. Private family graveside services with Marine Corps honors will be at Hemmeline Cemetery near Gatesville. Memorial services are scheduled at 1 p.m. Feb. 28 at First Baptist Church in Waco.

J. Melburn Sibley of Grapevine, a Texas Baptist pastor and denominational worker, died Dec. 16. He was 89. He was born Sept. 12, 1935, in Perryton to J.M. Sibley Sr. and Iva Crutcher Sibley. He attended Hardin-Simmons University before earning both an undergraduate degree and a Master of Arts degree at Baylor University. He also earned a Master of Divinity degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. During college and seminary, he was pastor of Little River Baptist Church in Cameron. From 1961 to 1967, he was pastor of First Baptist Church in Karnes City. He became superintendent at South Texas Children’s Home in Beeville in 1967, serving there until he was called as pastor of First Baptist Church in Eagle Lake in 1973. From 1990 to 1995, he was a vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention Stewardship Commission in Nashville, Tenn. He later worked as a consultant with Cargill Associates in Fort Worth and as an interim pastor of several churches. Sibley served on the Executive Board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and on the BGCT Committee to Nominate Institutional Board Members. He also served on several library boards and was the past president of three Rotary Clubs. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Martha Sibley; daughter Michele Riddle and her husband Ken; son Michael Sibley and his wife Hanna; two granddaughters; and one grandson. Memorial gifts in his memory can be made to Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary or First Baptist Church of Keller.

Jerry R. Stratton, a Texas Baptist minister, associational director of missions and retired U.S. Army officer, died Jan. 18. He was 91. He was born Jan. 4, 1934, in Boone County, Ark., to John Robert and Lola Pearl Stratton. While attending Ouachita Baptist University, he met, fell in love with, and married Dotse Mae Benson in 1954. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He later earned a Master in Education degree from Baylor University. His military career as an officer and aviator spanned 30 years, from 1954 to 1984. His assignments included service stateside and in Panama, two tours in Vietnam, two tours in Korea and in Germany. His honors and achievements include Master Aviator Wings, Jump Wings, 24 Air Medals, two Bronze Stars and numerous other service medals. In 1986, He sensed and answered God’s call to vocational ministry. He served as minister of education and administration at First Baptist Church of Copperas Cove and was director of missions for the Tri-Rivers Baptist Area, working with 65 churches in Central Texas. In this role, he helped churches plan mission projects, organized training for church leaders and assisted churches in calling new pastors. He also served in pastoral roles for several churches including Adamsville Baptist Church and Buchanan West Baptist Church. He wrote Bible devotions that eventually were published in three volumes, God’s Daily Word. He was preceded in death by his wife of 66 years Dotse Mae Stratton and by his sister Barbara Stratton Sutton. He is survived by daughter Laura Nolen and her husband Michael; son Larry Stratton and his wife Kimberly; six grandchildren; five great grandchildren; and his brother David Stratton.

Melissa Kaye Yeary Wells, children’s Sunday school teacher and daughter of one Baptist pastor and wife of another, died Feb. 4 in Houston. She was 59. She was born Jan. 5, 1966, in Louisville, Ky., to Dan and Melinda Yeary. Missy made her profession of faith and was baptized at South Main Baptist Church in Houston in 1974, when her father was on staff as minister to single adults. Shortly after, the family moved to Coral Gables, Fla., where her father was pastor of University Baptist Church. In 1984, Missy traveled back to Texas to attend Baylor University, where she was president of Pi Beta Phi and eventually reigned as Homecoming Queen in her senior year. After graduation, she returned to her alma mater in 1989 to lead the Baylor Student Foundation. She met Steve Wells in her first week in that work, and they married a few days shy of a year later. She returned to South Main in 2003 when her husband became the congregation’s pastor. She served South Main in countless ways, particularly as a Sunday school teacher of 2-year-olds, making it her mission for young children to know and love Jesus and his church as she did. She is survived by her husband of 34 years Steve; daughter Rachel Lawrence and her husband Blake; sons Ben and Josh; grandchildren Fischer, Lila and Shepherd; her brother Wes Yeary and his wife Erica and their four children; and her brother Doak Yeary and his wife Amy and their three children.