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I 'm pleased to welcome you to my blog "Obituaries", which I started last year, going back about five years to extract obituaries from The News-Reporter pertaining to the deaths of people related to me, friends of mine, or just people I've known or should have known.
William T. Johnson
Monday, November 16, 2009
Waldo P. Harris,III
Funeral services for Dr. Waldo P. Harris III, 84, of North Alexander Avenue, Washington, were held Wednesday, July 6, 2005, at Kiokee Baptist Church, Appling, at 11 a.m., with Rev. Steve Hartman officiating. Graveside services were held at 3:30 p.m. in Resthaven Cemetery, Washington, with Rev. Albert W. Huyck Jr. officiating. He died Saturday, July 2, at Wills Memorial Hospital, Washington.
Dr. Harris was a native of Wilkes County and was the son of the late Mary Emerson Fluker Harris and the late Waldo Putnam Harris II. He attended school in McDuffie County and had degrees from BrewtonParker College, Mercer University and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was awarded the Doctor of Divinity by Mercer University in 1983 following his leadership in recognizing the area in Penfield where Mercer University was founded. He was known by many of his colleagues as the “Historian of Georgia Baptists,” and was instrumental in writing the 200-year history of the Georgia Baptist Association and many other publications.
Historian of Georgia Baptists’ dies after over 60 years service
WALDO P. HARRIS III
Dr. Waldo P. Harris III, distinguished Georgia Baptist minister, author, and historian, died Saturday, July 2, 2005, at Wills Memorial Hospital in Washington after a lengthy struggle with leukemia.
Two special recognitions are among many which indicate the high regard enjoyed by Dr. Harris among his Georgia Baptist peers. In June 1983, Mercer University awarded him the doctor of divinity degree, calling him “an able minister of the gospel, outstanding Baptist historian, preserver of Baptist beginnings in Georgia, and loyal friend of Mercer University.”
The ceremony also lauded the honoree as “one who has been an effective mediator in social conflicts, an outstanding spokesman for the heritage of early Baptist pioneers, and a faithful servant of the denomination.”
Also, when Dr. Waldo Harris retired as a member of the advisory committee of the Georgia Baptist Historical Commission (GBHC) in 2001, a letter from the commission summarized the esteem in which he is held. An excerpt reads:
“Waldo, you have been raising the historical consciousness of Baptists in Georgia for three decades, and we appropriately and gladly salute you for your achievements . . .”
While the “three decades” refers to Dr. Harris’ association with the GBHC, his contributions and achievements in various aspects of the gospel ministry covers more than twice that span, beginning with his ordination by Ebenezer Baptist Church at Aonia on November 28, 1943. Following his education, his first full pastorate was at Bartow, Ga. (1948-51). Subsequent Georgia pastorates included Broxton, Donaldson Drive (Atlanta), and First Baptist Church of Lakeland.
In June 1969 Dr. Harris was called to become associational missionary for the Georgia Baptist Association where he developed his monthly publication, “The Baptist Window,” and worked to make the summer camp program “meaningful and life-changing without doing away with the fun and recreation.”
A special challenge came in December 1977 when four rural black churches — two in Wilkes County and two in Lincoln County — were burned in the night. With others, Dr. Harris worked to help defuse a volatile climate and to rebuild at least one of the churches with volunteer labor.
Dr. Harris’ intense interest in Georgia Baptist history and his prolific output of supporting materials earned him the unofficial designation as “historian of Georgia Baptists.” He instigated and coauthored the 200-year history of the Georgia Baptist Association. He served a term as vice-chairman for the Southern Baptist Historical Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and as board member of the Southern Baptist Historical Society.
He was a member of the history committee of the Georgia Baptist Convention for almost 20 years, serving two terms as chairman. For 28 years, he was secretary-treasurer for the Georgia Baptist Historical Society.
“It came as no surprise to his closest colleagues when Waldo received a citation from the Georgia Baptist Convention in 1991 for ‘Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Georgia Baptist History,’” Dr. Robert Gardner commented in remarks prepared for Wednesday’s memorial service.
Even as he fought his losing battle with leukemia, Dr. Waldo Harris was busy with an extensive manuscript about the Penfield Christian Home, of which he was a contributing founder.
“In a very real sense, the achievements of Dr. Waldo P. Harris III will live long after this day of mourning and memorializing,” Dr. Gardner concluded.
(See related article elsewhere in this paper). He was a member of several historical commissions both of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Georgia Baptist Convention. He was President Emeritus of Penfield Christian Home. He married Hazel McKinnon of Macon in 1948, and following her untimely death, married Carol Corbett. He was a member of Kiokee Baptist Church.
Survivors include two daughters, Lillian Rebecca Rogers, and her husband, Richard Rogers, of Fitzgerald, and Mary Anne Harris of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; three grandchildren, George Harris Rogers, Mary Alice Rogers, and Sara Beth Rogers, all of Fitzgerald; three brothers, Joseph B. Harris, Washington, John S. Harris, Pelham, and Thomas M. Harris, Brandon, MS; and two sisters, Ruth E. Harris and Jane L. Wright of Washington.
Pallbearers included Chuck Anderson, James Bland, Lem Clark, Pete Knox, Paul Owens, Larry Simon, James Sherrer, and Jack Stone. Ordained ministers served as honorary pallbearers.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Kiokee Baptist Church Library Fund, Appling, 30802; Penfield Christian Home, Penfield, 30658; or the Georgia Baptist Historical Society, Mercer University, Tarver Library, Macon, 31207.
Hopkins Funereal Home of Washington was in charge of arrangements.
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