R. Harold Mincey

R. HAROLD MINCEY

Cedar Rapids

R. Harold Mincey, 88, of Cedar Rapids, died Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016, at home, his family beside him.

Memorial service: 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, at Cedar Memorial Park Chapel of Memories.

Cedric Lofdahl will facilitate as we share our memories of Harold.

Harold was born Aug. 27, 1928, the son of Johnie and Eunice (Jeffers) Mincey in Sylvania, Ga.

Growing up in rural Georgia, he worked several jobs to help support his family and still graduated from high school with honors. During his teen years, Harold was ordained as a minister and preached for a number of churches. He then attended and graduated from Mercer University in Macon, Ga.

While on staff at the First Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., Harold was accepted to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

At this time, he became the youth pastor of Deer Park Baptist Church. It is there where he met and married the love of his life, Shirley Simmons.

After graduating with a B.D. degree, Harold served with the U.S. Air Force and became the chaplain in Fort Worth, Texas.

At the end of his service, he and Shirley relocated to Kentucky, where he was pastor of three churches during the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1963, he received his Ph.D. from the seminary.

He was an active participant in the civil rights movement, focusing in particular on desegregation, and once had the pleasure of marching with Martin Luther King Jr.

Upon leaving Kentucky, he joined the American Baptist Assembly, and was called to be senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Columbus, Ind., in 1970, a position he held for eight years. During his tenure, he did important work for the Bartholomew County Ecumenical Assembly.

His remaining professional life was spent in Iowa as an area minister for Mid-American Baptist Churches.

After enjoying a few years of retirement, he was elected president of the Inter-Religious Council of Linn County. A high point of his life was when the council approved his vision of a television show which would feature a diverse public forum providing ethical perspectives on current events and relevant issues. This became "Ethical Perspectives on the News," a show he produced for several years, along with his colleague and friend, Cedric Lofdahl. The show is still in production on KCRG-TV9.

Harold was an avid reader, having a special appreciation for poetry. Loving music, he enjoyed singing in numerous choirs and performing solos in church with his fine, powerful voice. He especially enjoyed singing with his sons. Harold took great pleasure in entertaining family and friends in his home, and thrived in social circles of all kinds, but he valued solitude as well, reading the newspaper, working the crossword or playing solitaire. And he loved a strong, hot cup of black coffee.

Survivors include his wife, Shirley Mincey; three children, Jeff Mincey, Neil (Mary Blount) Mincey and Joy Mincey Powell; five grandchildren, James (Melissa) Mincey, Spring Mincey Hamer, Ashley (Ian) Moore, Tyler (Kelsey) Blount and Jacob Blount; seven great-grandchildren; four siblings, Johnie Mincey, Lucinda "Cindy" (J.L.) Parker, Joseph "Joe" (Gail) Mincey and David (Cynthia) Mincey; numerous nephews, nieces and cousins; and his two dogs, Tina and Rana.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and sister, Winona Hodges.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Iowa Humane Alliance, 6540 Sixth St. SW, Cedar Rapids, IA, 52404, in memory of Harold. His daughter-in-law, Mary, is the founder of IHA.

Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.cedarmemorial.com under Obituaries.