Ethics pioneer Valentine dies suddenly in Dallas

DALLAS — Pioneer Baptist ethicist Foy Valentine died suddenly Jan. 7 of an apparent heart attack, family members said. He was 82.

A native Texan and Dallas resident, Valentine was executive director of the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) former Christian Life Commission in Nashville from 1960 until 1987. Before going to the Christian Life Commission, Valentine was director of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission from 1953 until 1960.

W.C. Fields, longtime director of Baptist Press and a friend of Valentine’s, described him as the most significant civil rights leader among Southern Baptists during the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.