George William Riddle, a longtime Alabama Baptist pastor and leader, died Sept. 23. He was 89.
Riddle graduated from Howard College (now Samford University) in Birmingham and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He served as a pastor of churches in Alabama for 40 years, including First Baptist Church, Arab, in Marshall Baptist Association; Dwight Baptist Church, Gadsden, in Etowah Baptist Association; Thomas Baptist Church, Birmingham, in Birmingham Baptist Association; and Pine Hill Baptist Church in Bethel Baptist Association.
After his retirement in 1984, Riddle served as interim pastor of many churches and was named pastor emeritus of East Gadsden Baptist Church in Etowah Association, where he was a member.
Riddle was active on the associational, state convention and denominational levels. He was moderator for Etowah Association from 1955 to 1956 and served in a number of roles with the Alabama Baptist State Convention. Riddle was a member of the committee on committees (1955–1956) and administration committee (1963–1965), first vice president of the convention (1959), vice chairman of the executive board (now the State Board of Missions) (1964), preacher to the convention (1969) and chairman of the foreign missions committee (1966), educational advisory committee (1968–1975) and program committee (1969–1971). He also served as associate editor of The Alabama Baptist (1945–1947), chairman of the Christian life commission (1955–1960) and the education commission (1984) and teacher with and director of Samford’s Howard Extension program, among other roles. Riddle wrote the weekly Sunday School lessons for The Alabama Baptist from 1981 to 1990.
His denominational service included serving as a trustee of the Foreign Mission Board (now International Mission Board) in the 1960s. Riddle was a Mason and World War II veteran.
He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Louise; three children; nine grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. (TAB)
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