Roten, Leonard

Former Jacksonville State BSU director dies

Leonard Roten, a former Baptist Student Union (BSU) director at Jacksonville State University (JSU), died Nov. 18. He was 88.

Roten, a native of Joplin, Missouri, served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He earned his master’s degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth Texas, in 1957, then moved to Alabama to become JSU’s BSU director. He served there until 1967, when he moved back to Joplin to serve as director of the BSU at Missouri Southern State University until 1982.

Many students at both universities answered the call to missions and church ministry during Roten’s time as BSU director. (TAB)