John Henry Jeffers, pastor emeritus of Auburn First Baptist Church in Tuskegee Lee Baptist Association, died Aug. 6. He was 86.
Born Aug. 15, 1921, in Glencoe, Jeffers went on to complete his undergraduate studies at Samford University in Birmingham before journeying on to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. In 1967, he received an honorary doctor of divinity from Judson College in Marion.
Jeffers’ other pastorates include churches in Collinsville, Hartford and Andalusia. He served in various branches of Southern Baptist life, including his position as commissioner for District 4 of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission and as a trustee for Judson.
In addition to being named the 1984 Citizen of the Year by the Auburn Rotary Club and receiving the Paul Harris Fellow Award from the Auburn Lions Club in 1982, the Alabama Baptist State Convention named him the Retired Minister of the Year in 1998.
He is survived by wife Jeanette Thomason Jeffers, one daughter, four sons, 11 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. (TAB)
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