James “Jim” F. Humphries, former missionary and pastor, died Sept, 28 in Tyler. He was 93. He was born March 9, 1926, in Savannah, Ga., to James Madison Humphries and Anna Fagg Humphries. He made his profession of faith in Christ at age 8 and was baptized on Aug, 5, 1934, at the Long Branch Baptist Church in Anderson, S.C. Immediately after he graduated from high school in 1944, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served aboard the LST 807 in the Pacific theater of World War II. His military service included battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. After returning from the war, Humphries enrolled at Furman University in Greenville, S.C., where he earned an undergraduate degree. Upon graduation, he began working for the Kellogg Corporation as a regional salesman in Lubbock, where he met the love of his life, Mary Lou Lookingbill. After a three-month courtship, they married on Christmas Day 1955 in Springdale, Ark. A few years later, he felt God’s call to ministry and enrolled at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he received a Master of Divinity degree. During his time in seminary, he was pastor of a church in Loco, Okla. In 1966, the Humphries answered the call to missions, moving with their three young children to Vietnam. In Saigon, he became pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, where he ministered to U.S. military personnel. The Humphries served on the foreign mission field seven years before returning to the United States in 1973. He served with World Evangelism Foundation until 1977. He then became pastor of First Baptist Church in San Marcos, where he served 13 years. During his early retirement years, he was interim pastor at churches in New Braunfels, Corpus Christi, Odessa, Frankston and Canton. Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Mary Lou Lookingbill Humphries of Tyler; son Matt Humphries and daughter-in-law Stella of Tyler; son Mark Humphries and daughter-in-law Laurie of Tyler; daughter Tracy Humphries Miller and son-in-law Ben of Denton; seven grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; a sister, Ellen Bracewell; and a brother, Tom Humphries.
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