Retired Alabama Baptist leader Herschel Odell “H.O.” Hester died Dec. 2. He was 97. Director of the then Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions’ (SBOM) office of special missions (1961–1977) — a position jointly funded by the then-Home Mission Board (now North American Mission Board) and the SBOM — Hester is best remembered for his work in race relations. He…