Earl Wayne Minor, Chaplain, Colonel, USAF (Ret.) passed away on March 15, 2009, in Savannah, GA. He was born on August 23, 1920, in St. Joseph, MO to the late Rev. and Mrs. John W. Minor. The family moved to Bethany, MO in 1929 when his father became pastor of First Baptist Church. A brother, Bill, died in 1922 and a sister, Jewell Minor Smith, lives in Springfield, MO. While a student at Bethany High School, Wayne played the tuba in band, was a member of the basketball and football teams, won awards at the state level in speech and tuba and was president of the senior class. He was very active in the Boy Scout program and was the first scout in Harrison County, MO to achieve Eagle Scout. He attended William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri on an athletic scholarship and graduated from there in 1942. Other degrees included a Master of Divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY. Upon graduation from seminary he was commissioned a Chaplain in the Army. Following Chaplain School, he was sent to the South Pacific where he became a member of the 6th Infantry Division on Luzon, P.I. and was with Graves Registration until the end of World War II. He was the assigned to Korea with the Occupation Force and transferred to the Air Force in 1948. His many Air Force assignments included units in England, Germany and Korea as well as the United States. He was chosen to attend the Command and Staff School for a year before being assigned as Executive Officer to the Chief of Air Force Chaplains at the Pentagon. He was then assigned to Germany as Command Chaplain of USAFE, supervising all Air Force Chaplains in Europe and the Middle East. He returned to the States to serve as Command Chaplain of Air Training Command at Randolph AFB, TX. He retired from the Air Force in the grade of Colonel after 29 years. Among his awards and decorations are the Legion of Merit, awarded on two separate occasions, and the Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters. In 1969 he was honored by William Jewell College with an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree for the programs he initiated while serving in Europe. Wayne held a private pilot's license and loved to fly, but he was happiest when he was in the mountains, hiking the Appalachian Trail, surveying God's handiwork. Wayne married Leona Fern Hesseltine, also of Bethany, MO while a student at William Jewell College in 1940. Their three daughters are Sandra Kay Smith of Macon, GA, Judith Minor Villari (Joe) and Nancy Jane Fullilove of Savannah, GA. He has two grandsons, Todd A. Villari (Kim) of Birmingham, AL and Anthony W. Fullilove (Debbie) of Nellis AFB, NV. He also has five great grandchildren. He was a professional affiliate of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, a member of the International Transactional Analysis Association and a Certified Instructor with Effective Training Associates. He was also a clinical member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Counselors and licensed by the State of California as a Marriage, Family and Child Counselor. Following retirement from the Air Force, the Minors moved to Leesburg, FL where he served as pastor of Haines Creek Baptist Church from 1979 to 1984 and again from 2000 to 2003. At that time he was given Pastor Emeritus standing by the church. He also served as a staff chaplain for Hospice of Lake County, FL for three years. They have resided in Savannah, GA since October, 2003. In 2003, his family established the Earl Wayne Minor Scholarship Fund at his alma mater, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in honor of his long ministerial career. This scholarship fund assists students in financial need who are pursuing a career in the Chaplaincy of the Armed Forces of the United States. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be sent to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Office of Institutional Relations, 2825 Lexington Road, Louisville, KY 40280. Please reference the Earl Wayne Minor Memorial Scholarship Fund.

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