Mabry Rhodes, retired pastor of First Baptist Church, Pratt City, was killed in an auto accident near Fultondale Jan. 5. He was 88.
Rhodes and his wife, Mary Lou, were returning home to Hayden after a doctor’s appointment when their pickup truck bumped a school bus in the northbound lanes of Interstate 65, causing Rhodes to lose control, according to NBC 13.
Mary Lou Rhodes, his wife of 67 years, was treated for serious injuries at UAB Hospital and released Jan. 10.
Rhodes, who was licensed to the ministry in 1934 and ordained in 1941, served as pastor of many Alabama Baptist churches during his more than 60 years in the ministry, including congregations in Clarke, Hale, Calhoun, Cullman, Shelby and Jefferson counties.
He finished his pastoral career at First, Pratt City, where he served from 1954 until 1967 and returned in 1985.
Rhodes retired in 2001 when the church closed its doors.
He was also retired from a position as vocational rehabilitation counselor at Spain Rehabilitation Center in Birmingham.
Rhodes studied at Howard College (now Samford University) in Birmingham and the University of Alabama (UA) before receiving his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Louisville in Kentucky in 1951.
He earned his master of divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., in 1953 and later returned to UA to receive another master’s degree in 1972.
Rhodes is survived by his wife, three children, 10 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. (TAB)
Share with others: