JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan, who died Oct. 16 in a plane crash near St. Louis, was a lifelong Southern Baptist active in his church and denomination.
Carnahan, 66, who was running for the U.S. Senate, died while en route to a campaign stop. Also killed were his son, Randy, who was piloting the plane, and a longtime aide.
Both Carnahan and his son were active members of First Baptist Church in Rolla, Mo.
The governor, a member of the congregation since 1959, had served as a deacon, Sunday School teacher, Church Training director and choir member.
He was a former member of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board and a former trustee of Southwest Baptist University and the Southern Baptist Foundation.
Campaign adviser Chris Sifford, who also died in the accident, was a Baptist, too. He was a member of Memorial Baptist Church in Jefferson City, Mo.
In a 1994 interview with Associated Baptist Press, Carnahan described public service as a “noble profession” and said that his Baptist faith influenced the way he governed.
“A lot of the decisions that one makes are very delicate ones on matters of policy,” he said. “I would hope that I inject some very basic beliefs in my decision process.”
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