Lottie Copeland, who served with her husband more than a decade through Texas Baptist Men Builders, died Oct. 20 in McAllen. She was 90. She was born April 13, 1926, in Bay City. She attended Lon Morris Junior College in Jacksonville and Southwestern College in Georgetown. She married George Neil Copeland June 29, 1947. From 1947 to 1961, they lived in Bay City, where she worked as a physical education teacher and girls’ coach. She and her family later lived about eight years in El Campo before moving to McAllen, where she taught at McAllen High School and was a Sunday school teacher and involved in Woman’s Missionary Union at Calvary Baptist Church. From 1992 to 2002, the Copelands served with the TBM Builders, helping construct 101 churches. She was preceded in death by her brother, Charles Wilbur Boyd. She is survived by her husband; their three children, Jonathan Copeland of Sauk Rapids, Minn., and his wife, Carol,  Jennifer Hart of Mission and her husband, Johnny, and Claude Copeland of McAllen, and his wife, Laura; seven grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and her siblings, Crawford Frank Boyd and Francis Hull.

Bong Hee Han, a longtime Korean Texas Baptist leader, died Oct. 23 in Tyler. He was 62. He was born Nov. 3, 1953, in Korea to Sang Sae Han and Chong Sook Choi Han, and he attended school in Korea. Following his undergraduate studies in Korea, he moved to Texas to pursue a graduate degree from Baylor University. He served in East Texas more than 20 years as senior pastor at the Korean Baptist churches in Tyler and Nacogdoches. He is survived by his wife, Han Im Song of Tyler; children, Samuel Han of Tyler; Lois Han of Tyler, John Han of Tyler; father, Sang Sae Han of Korea; and siblings, Ik Hee Han and Jae Hee Han of Korea and Kwon Hee Han of Chicago.

Albert Warner Wicks, a former member of the Baptist General Convention of Texas’ State Missions Commission, died Oct. 24 in McAllen. He was 88. He was born Dec. 22, 1927, in Mission to Albert and Maude Wicks. He served in the U. S. Navy during World War II and graduated from Baylor University. He was president of the construction company that built part of Interstate 10 from Houston to San Antonio, along with the first runways at what is now Houston Intercontinental Airport. He was an executive and owner of several restaurants and most recently worked as an insurance agent. He was ordained as a deacon at Conway Avenue Baptist Church in Mission, and he later served as a deacon at Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston, Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth and Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen. He also taught Sunday school in each of the churches where he was a member. In addition to serving on the State Missions Commission, he also was on the board of Drug Prevention Resources. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Dorothy Cox Wicks of McAllen; a son, Bert Wicks of The Colony and his wife, Denise; a daughter, JoBeth Rickard of Houston; four grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and his siblings, Robert Wicks of Mission and JoMae London of Corpus Christi.

Alma Hazel Rohm, who served more than five decades as a Baptist missionary in Africa, died Oct. 17 in Nigeria. She was 90 years old.

Alma Rohm served 54 years as a Baptist missionary in Nigeria.“Chief Mama Dr. Alma Hazel Rohm, as she was affectionately known in Nigeria, gave her entire life serving and leading others to the knowledge of Jesus Christ,” said Sam Holland of Waco, Rohm’s cousin.

Early call to missions

She was born Nov. 11, 1925, in Waco, and felt God’s call to missions at any early age.

 “Not long after I was saved at age 9, the Holy Spirit told me I was to be a single woman missionary teacher in Africa,” Rohm said in a 2004 article in the Baptist Standard. “I objected vehemently. I wanted to get married, have a lovely home and four children. 

“When I could not escape the voice of the Holy Spirit, I finally told God I would be a missionary if I could go to China or Japan and serve as a doctor or a nurse. But that was not the task God had for me. When he kept repeating the same call, I stubbornly told God I would not be a missionary.

“When I was 12 years old, our church choir sang an Easter cantata on the seven last words of Christ on the cross,” she continued. “Between each anthem, the lights were dimmed except for a lighted cross in the baptistery, and the choir director read one of the seven last sayings of Jesus on the cross.

“As I heard those words, my heart was touched, and I said to myself, ‘If Jesus could die for me, surely I should be able to live for him.’”

Rohm earned her bachelor’s degree with honors in education, English and biology from Baylor University in 1947. She graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1949, taught for a year at Buckner Orphans Home and then was appointed a missionary to Africa in 1950.

Invested her life in Nigeria

She spent the next 54 years ministering to the people of Nigeria, serving as a teacher at a men’s teacher training college, now Bowen University, the first and largest Baptist University in Africa, and at primary and secondary schools in the towns of Iwo and Oluponna, Nigeria. She was designated “Chief” by King S.O. Abimola II, and also received an honorary doctorate of divinity from the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary.

The magazine, Organ and Music, described Rohm as a “woman of many virtues, a music icon in Nigeria especially in the Nigerian Baptist Convention, an epitome of a faithful missionary… an author, teacher and educationist, philanthropist, playwright, administrator, visionary, versatile musician, just to mention a few.”

Several ministries in Nigeria bear her name, including Alma Rohm Baptist School, which also has a statue of the missionary in front of its library, and Alma Rohm Baptist Church.

Rohm retired in 2004 and returned to the United States after serving the fourth longest tenure among missionaries with the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board.

“Her love of the people of Nigeria and the desire to continue the mission of leading others to Jesus Christ led her to return to Nigeria in 2008,” Holland said.

“She wanted to live out her life among the people she had come to love,” even using her Social Security checks to start and support a kindergarten in Iwo, he added.

Honored by Baylor, remembered by friends

In 2009, Baylor University honored Rohm as a distinguished alumna. That same time, the Baylor University Libraries honored six graduates, including Rohm, who served as international missionaries with the special exhibit “So Great a Cloud of Witnesses.” Baylor’s Crouch Fine Arts Library holds Rohm’s book, 306 Hymn-Writers, published in 2001.

People throughout the world took to social media to remember and celebrate Rohm’s life, Holland said. People of Nigeria who loved her spoke of her in these words: “A rare gem … God’s general… Mama to all of us… a legend… (and) lived for others.”

Another friend wrote, “The angels are having a party now that Alma is home! But we who remain are sad to lose her presence.”

“All who knew her would agree that the most fitting Scripture would be 2 Timothy 4:7-8. She indeed fought the good fight and has received her crown of righteousness,” Holland said.

Rohm was preceded in death by her sisters, Kathlyn Maxwell and Margaret Nichols, and brothers, L.V. McNamee and Ralph Rohm.

She is survived by nephews, Gary McNamee of Granbury and Robert Elton Maxwell Jr. of Houston; nieces, Barbara Tomaja and Linda Fehrle, both of Spring; and cousin, Holland.

Services will be held Dec. 8 and 9 in Iwo, Nigeria, where she will be buried.

Eva Louise Hickerson Aldredge Henley, who taught Sunday school 82 years up—to the last Sunday of her life, died in San Angelo Sept. 24. She was 98.

Eva HenleyShe was born in Tullahoma, Tenn., and grew up in Commerce. She earned a bachelor of science degree from East Texas State University, a master of religious education degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a master of arts degree in English from Louisiana Tech University.

In 1938, she married Truman Aldredge, who at that time was minister of music at First Baptist Church in Commerce, where her father was pastor.

From 1950 to 1966, they served First Baptist Church in Minden, La. She loved her ministry in Minden and flourished as director of the senior high Sunday school department, in outreach for the church, as a Training Union teacher and as a substitute teacher at Minden High School. Also known for her gracious hospitality and elegant entertaining, she hosted visiting preachers and legendary deacons’ parties.

Her husband died in 1966, but her indomitable spirit, faith and love of learning helped her through her grief, and she earned her second master’s degree, at Louisiana Tech, while also teaching English composition at the university.

In 1968 she married Taylor Henley, executive director of Baptist Memorials Retirement Center in San Angelo. She used her hospitality gifts to regale Baptist Memorials board members, and for many years organized a silver tea to raise funds for the Baptist Memorials.

For 25 years, she taught English at Central High School in San Angelo, often dressing up as characters in literature. She coached UIL students, many of whom won awards in English language and literature. She bragged about her students—one placing first in state UIL competition, another earning a Ph.D. at Princeton University, another teaching at Texas A&M.

She was president of the Texas Joint Counsel of Teachers of English and as a board member of the United Way of San Angelo. She was a frequent contributor of witty and inspirational opinion columns in the San Angelo Standard-Times.

The Taylors founded Missions Our Mission, leading ministry trips to eight countries. In addition to preaching, she taught English-as-a-second-launguage classes in Ukraine. Together, they led 35 mission trips to Ukraine. After his death in 2000, she became president/executive director of the organization and led 11 more Ukrainian mission trips and raised money for missions in other countries.

She was a member of First Baptist Church in San Angelo, serving on many church committees, acting in 17 Christmas dramas, and visiting people to invite them to church even after she no longer could drive and had trouble getting to their front doors on her walker. For the 48 years she lived in San Angelo, she taught an adult Sunday school class—up to the Sunday before she died. Since the age of 16, she taught Sunday school in various churches.

Eva was preceded in death by her father, Julius Hickerson; her mother, Anna Mae Coon Hickerson; her brother, Julius Hickerson Jr.; her husbands, Truman Aldredge and Taylor Henley; and her stepson, John Henley.

Eva is survived by two daughters, Anne Morton and her husband, Bill Funderburk, and Jann Aldredge-Clanton and her husband, David Clanton; her niece, Julianne Hickerson Newton; seven grandchildren, David Herring, DeAnne Herring Kaloski, Chad Clanton, Brett Clanton, Valerie Henley Webre, July Henley Henry and Jennifer Henley Phillips; 17 great-grandchildren, Macey Herring Rose, Chandler Campbell, Anna Campbell, Paige Parker, Colin Parker, Danny Herring, Maren Herring, Dawson Herring, Lyle Clanton, Emmett Clanton, Paul Clanton, Robbie Webre, Morgan Webre, Mary LeBoeuf, Kelly LeBoeuf, Ryan Phillips and Nathan Phillips.

A service of celebration of her life will be held Oct. 8 at 11 a.m., at First Baptist Church in San Angelo.

Memorial donations may be made to Missions Our Mission, Buckner Baptist Benevolences and United Way of San Angelo.

Bailey Stone, former evangelism director for the Baptist General Convention of Texas and pastor of churches in McKinney, Bryan and Odessa, died Aug. 26. He was 86.

Stone was born June 21, 1930, in Houston, to Hugh Bailey Stone Sr. and Elizabeth Ballard Stone. He became a Christian at age 16 through the witness of a friend at San Jacinto High School, Henry SoRelle, and his father, A.C. SoRelle Sr. Soon after his conversion, he committed his life to the gospel ministry.

He turned down football scholarships at three state universities to attend Baylor University to study the Christian Scriptures.

After graduating from Baylor, he attended and graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

He met Joyce Pearson when she was a senior at Baylor, and they married in 1954.

Stone served full-time as an evangelist several years before becoming the pastor of Longview Heights Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn.

He and his family later returned to Texas, where he became pastor of First Baptist churches in McKinney, Bryan and Odessa.

In 1992, he was named director of evangelism for the BGCT.

After his retirement in 2001, he continued to travel and preach throughout the United States and in Japan, Taiwan, Brazil, Peru, Hong Kong, Australia and Columbia.

He returned to First Baptist Church in Odessa, where he had been pastor 14 years, to serve two years and four months as interim pastor. The church honored him by naming him pastor emeritus.

He served 11 years on the board of trustees at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, where he was awarded a doctor of divinity degree.

Stone is survived by his wife of 62 years, Joyce Pearson Stone, and three sons, Bailey III and his wife, Maria, of Coppell; Tim of Nashville, Tenn.; and John and his wife, Robin, of Huntsville, Ala.; his four grandchildren, Harrison and Abigail of Huntsville, Ala.; and Margaret and Reagan of Coppell; and a cousin, Susan Scott of Monaville.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Sept. 2 in the chapel at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano.

Memorial gifts may be sent to the Salvation Army at 5302 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75235; Prison Fellowship at 44180 Riverside Parkway, Leesburg, VA 20176; or Dallas Life at P.O. Box 130116, Dallas, TX 75221.

Helen McNeely, 78, died June 10 in Waco. He was born June 23, 1937, in San Antonio, grew up in Jarrell and graduated from high school in Bartlett. She attended the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and served with Texas Baptists’ Invincibles program in the summers of 1956 and 1957, leading in Vacation Bible Schools by day and in revivals each evening. He also attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where she met her husband, Don. They married Dec. 23, 1960. She served on staff at First Baptist Church in Garland, Birchman Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth and Central Baptist Church in Bryan. She taught kindergarten in Birmingham, Ala., and Houston. She was children’s director at Second Baptist Church in Houston before she and her husband served as missionaries in Zambia 15 years. In Zambia, she produced radio and television programs and was director of Baptist Communications Ministry. The McNeelys eventually transferred to Mongolia to minister to an unreached people group. Later, they served with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship global missions in Berlin, Germany, to coordinate volunteers in Europe and the former Soviet Union. Their largest project was a three-year residential training school for pastors and church leaders in Irkutsk, Siberia. In 1997, they accepted an invitation from CBF Global Missions Coordinator Keith Parks to become Texas-based global volunteer coordinators. In that role, they sent a team of volunteers from First Baptist Church in Waco to rebuild homes in Kosovo. She is survived by her husband of 55 years; three sons, Rob of Burleson and his wife, Pam, Wes of Houston and Bart of Fort Worth and his wife, Lisa; six grandchildren; and one sister, Barbara Wills of Abilene.

Maxine Price Ray died July 27 in Plano. At age 105, she was the oldest graduate of John Tarleton College, now Tarleton State University. She was born June 29, 1911, in Collegeport, the oldest daughter of Dick and Norma Harris Price, and she grew up at Palacios-by-the-Sea. After graduating from Tarleton, she attended Sam Houston State University. Raised in a staunch Presbyterian family, she was teaching first grade in Palacios when First Baptist Church called a young single pastor named Carroll Ray. After dating for a year or more, they married on Sunday morning, Nov. 13, 1932. Together with her husband, they served Texas Baptist churches in Italy, Laredo, Clarksville, Houston, Pampa and Perryton before he became director of missions for Top O’ Texas Baptist Area. She was preceded in death by her husband of 72 years; by their son, Carroll Ray Jr.; and by three sisters, Bobby Babcock, Nancy Sisson and Cherry Waldrep. She is survived by her daughter, Ann Spivey, and her husband, Ed, of Allen; son, Robert P. Ray, and his wife, Sandy, of Benton, Ark.; daughter-in-law, Joyce Ray of Fort Worth, and their families; eight grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and six great-great-grandchildren.

W. LeRay Fowler, pastor emeritus of West University Baptist Church in Houston, died June 14. He was 92. Born Oct. 20, 1923, in Hill County, he earned undergraduate and master’s degrees from Baylor University before graduating from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. At Baylor, he met his best friend and wife of 70 years, Rosemary. As a recent Baylor graduate, he was a member of the first Youth Revival team in 1945. He was pastor of First Baptist churches in Moody, Brady, Ballinger and Sweetwater before completing the last 23 years of pastoral ministry at West University Baptist Church. On his 15th anniversary at the Houston church, the congregation named its new chapel in his honor. He was active in denominational life, serving on the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Board and the Annuity Board, and after retirement, he chaired a committee that raised millions of dollars for the Adopt an Annuitant program. He also served on the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board, the Baptist Standard board of directors, the Human Welfare Coordinating Board and the Christian Education Coordinating Board. He also was a trustee for Houston Baptist University and Baptist Memorials Ministries in San Angelo. He traveled extensively, visiting more than 90 countries and all seven continents. He loved Baylor University and established the LeRay and Rosemary Fowler Scholarship at Baylor’s Truett Theological Seminary. He is survived by his wife; son, Mark, and his wife, Brenda; son, Steve, and his wife, Kathy; four granddaughters; and six great-grandchildren.

William H. Gray Jr., Baptist missionary and longtime director of Texas Baptist Partnership Missions, died July 17 in Fort Worth. He was 88. Gray was born Sept. 13, 1927, in Waco. He earned his undergraduate degree from Baylor University and his master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was pastor of Texas Baptist churches in Tomball and Willis, a Southern Baptist missionary to Mexico 23 years and founding director of the Partnership Missions program for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. In retirement, he remained active at North Fort Worth Baptist Church and served as president of the resident council for his living community until a recent illness. He was preceded in death by his wife, “Pinky,” in 2009. He is survived by a son, Brad S. Gray of Nashville, Tenn; daughter, Anna H. Gray of San Antonio; grandson, Hunter M. Gray of Falls Church, Va., and one great-grandson. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Bill and Pinky Gray Baptist Student Ministries Missions Fund, Texas BSM, Attn.: Cindy Zoller, 7557 Rambler Rd., Suite 1200, Dallas, TX 75231.

Richard Lynn Mangum, 69, died July 6 in Georgetown. Mangum was born in Goose Creek, and he grew up in Cuero and San Antonio. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio and earned his undergraduate degree from Southwest Texas State University, where he was very active in the Baptist Student Union ministries. He married Patricia Ruth Hinze July 19, 1969. He was ordained to the gospel ministry at First Baptist Church in San Marcos. He earned his master of divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a doctorate from Luther Rice Seminary. He served in many pastoral roles, including chaplain of Texas Baptist Children’s Home, and he ministered to multiple pastors and churches as an associational director of missions. Since 2008, he was an area representative for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Mangum was an avid reader and student of history, particularly Texas history. He traveled the state, driving back roads and discovering the interrelated human stories from the era of Spanish Texas to the late 1800s. He also was a passionate sports spectator and a Baylor Bears fan. He is survived by his wife of 46 years; sons, Scott and Jeff; and six grandchildren.

Carl R. Wrotenbery, dean emeritus of libraries at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, died June 19 in Fort Worth. He was 86. Wrotenbery was born in Mount Pleasant to P.H. and Gertrude Cates Wrotenbery and attended public school in Tyler. He earned his undergraduate degree from Baylor University, a master’s degree in library science from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree and doctorate in theology from Southwestern Seminary. He was named a distinguished fellow and professor of theology and library science at B.H. Carroll Theological Institute in 2006. Previously, he was professor and dean of libraries at Southwestern Seminary and director of the library at the University of Corpus Christi. He was a member of Agape Baptist Church in Fort Worth. Wrotenbery was an avid woodworker who showed his work at craft shows and sold numerous pieces. He was preceded in death by a son, R. Alan Wrotenbery. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Julia Winn Wrotenbery; his daughter, Martha Runnels; three granddaughters; a brother; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Riley EubankRiley W. Eubank Jr., 91, a former pastor, pastoral counselor and educator, died June 13 in Austin. He was pastor of Seventh and James Baptist Church in Waco, Woodlawn Baptist Church in Austin, Webb Baptist Church in Arlington, Pawnee Baptist Church in Pawnee and University Heights Baptist Church in Stillwater, Okla. While in Austin, he was pastor-adviser to the Baptist Student Union at the University of Texas, where also held the Townes Bible Chair and became close friends with fellow pastors Browning Ware, Carlyle Marney, Blake Smith, Dick Lear and Hardy Clemons. One of his proudest achievements was desegregation of Seventh and James Baptist Church. He was vice chair of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission, and the commissioners visited the White House for a briefing by President Lyndon Johnson on the pending Civil Rights Act of 1964. He was a trustee of Baylor University and Hillcrest Hospital, a member of the BGCT Executive Board and a co-founder of the Waco Pastoral Counseling Center. Later in his ministry, he focused on pastoral counseling education and care, interning at Memorial Baptist Hospital in Houston and the Institute of Religion. He moved to Columbia, S.C., where he was director of clinical pastoral education at South Carolina State Hospital and then director of CPE and pastoral services at Baptist Medical Center and also supervised chaplaincies in Easley, Aiken, Greer and Summerville, S.C. He was passionate about servant leadership, books, travel, fishing, camping, art, music, and deep and abiding friendships. His wife, Wynelle Brown Vickrey, preceded him in death. He is survived by his son, Dean Eubank; daughter, Nancy Eubank Lewis; stepson, Larry Vickrey; stepdaughter, Raelynn Vickrey Olson; four granddaughters; three great-granddaughters; and his sister, Eleanor Tuck. A memorial service will be held at First Baptist Church in Austin July 9 at 1:30 p.m.

Perry F. Webb Jr., 91, died May 14 in Natchitoches, La., where he was pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church. Webb was born Feb. 9, 1925, in Malvern, Ark., to Perry F. Webb and Thelma Fern Stahl Webb. He spent his early years in Malvern and Pine Bluff, Ark., before moving to San Antonio, where he earned his high school diploma from Texas Military Institute. He graduated from Baylor University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He served as a Baptist minister 74 years, beginning at a country church in East Central Illinois where he joked he learned to “persecute the saints” with his preaching. He was pastor of First Baptist Church in Poteet from 1949 to 1952. Later pastorates included First Baptist Church in Natchitoches, La.; First Baptist Church in Albany, Ga.; and First Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, La. He served two years as president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, and he also served on the executive boards of both the Louisiana Baptist and the Georgia Baptist conventions. He served 15 years as a trustee of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and two years as chairman of that board. He also was a trustee for Louisiana College and Tift College. He had been a member of the board of directors for the Baylor Alumni Association and was an avid fan of Baylor athletics. Webb is survived by his wife of 66 years, Virginia Powell Webb; daughter, Deborah Webb Smith; son, Perry Flynt Webb III; grandsons, Walker and Phillip Smith and Jonathan and Tyler Webb; and sister, Rebekah Webb Richards.

Morris Thomas Wall, 92, died June 12 in Waco. Wall was born Sept. 20, 1923, in Knox City to Ivan Wall and Lucy Scroggins Wall. He grew up in East Texas and served in World War II. After he graduated from Baylor University, he enrolled at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he met Dora Louise Sexton. They married Aug. 15, 1951. He was the first pastor of South Garland Baptist Church in Garland and associate pastor of First Baptist Church in Waco. He also served churches in Georgia, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona and Alaska, where his ministry focused on planting and growing churches. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Deborah. He is survived by his wife; daughter, Karen Talley; and seven grandchildren.