Ron Butler – who died Oct. 29 – retired in May after 44 years of serving churches in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi. He served as pastor of Pine Level Baptist in Chatom and Spice Pond Baptist in Eight Mile.
Ladell Blanton, who served as director of missions for Bethlehem and Pine Barren Baptist associations from 1999 to 2003, died Oct. 3. He also served for years as a pastor in Mississippi.
Gerald Max Sims, who served as a bivocational music minister for his entire adult life — most recently at Central Baptist Church in Florence — died Aug. 8.