[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 47 (Thursday, April 13, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E566-E567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    STATEMENT IN CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF REVEREND EARL NANCE, SR.

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM (BILL) CLAY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 13, 2000

  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to the Reverend Earl 
Nance, Sr. of St. Louis, who passed away on Tuesday, April 4, at the 
age of 89. While Reverend Nance was pastor of the Greater Mount Carmel 
Church for over 43 years until retiring in 1994, he will be most 
remembered for his active role in St. Louis politics and the civil 
rights movement of the 1960's.
  Born in Alma, Arkansas, Reverend Nance attended both Lincoln 
University in Jefferson City, Missouri and Morehouse College in 
Atlanta, Georgia. During his studies at Morehouse, Reverend Nance 
befriended the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whom he would 
later invite to the city of St. Louis to speak at a civil rights rally 
of over 9,000 individuals in 1957. He would remain a close an active 
ally of Dr. King as the Civil Rights movement grew and progressed 
during the 1960's.
  Politically, Reverend Nance played an active role in many 
organizations in the St. Louis community. While pastor of the Greater 
Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church, he served on the St. Louis 
School Board from 1966 to 1973. He would also serve as an advisor to 
four St. Louis mayors, including Raymond Tucker, A.J. Cervantes, 
Vincent C. Schoelmehl, Jr., and Freeman Bosley, Jr.
  Reverend Nance will be remembered as both a friend and public servant 
of the highest integrity. The city of St. Louis, and all who are 
dedicated to the cause of racial harmony and equal opportunity, will 
long cherish the many contributions of this outstanding leader.
  I would like to share the following articles about Reverend Nance's 
passing from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on April 6, 2000.

     [From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Metro, Thurs., Apr. 6, 2000]

        Pastor and Political Activist Earl Nance Sr. Dies At 89

                            (By Paul Harris)

       The Rev. Earl Nance Sr., a longtime Baptist pastor and a 
     community and political activist in St. Louis, died Tuesday 
     (April 4, 2000) at Compton Heights Hospital after a brief 
     illness. He was 89 and lived in St. Louis.
       The Rev. Mr. Nance was pastor for 43 years of Greater Mount 
     Carmel Missionary Baptist Church. His son, the Rev. Earl 
     Nance Jr., co-pastor of the church, took over when his father 
     retired in 1994.
       The Rev. Mr. Nance and his son had a relationship that was 
     more than just father and son--they were the closest of 
     friends.
       ``It was definitely a strong relationship . . . and it 
     remained so,'' Nance said. ``I guess you could say we were 
     like brothers, but you would always know who was the father. 
     He was my role model, and he paved the way for me in the 
     church and in the city.''
       Their lives had many other parallels. Both have been 
     teachers in St. Louis Public Schools, have served on the St. 
     Louis School Board and have served on the board of the 
     Mathews-Dickey Boys' Club.
       The Rev. Mr. Nance was an adviser to St. Louis Mayors 
     Freeman Bosley Jr., Vincent

[[Page E567]]

     C. Schoemehl Jr., John H. Poelker, Alfonso J. Cervantes and 
     Raymond R. Tucker.
       He served as president of the Central City Food Store, and 
     he was the first president of the Missouri Progressive 
     Baptist State Convention and moderator of its St. Louis 
     District Association.
       Reared on a farm in Alma, Ark., the Rev. Mr. Nance came to 
     St. Louis in the 1930s and worked as a baggage handler at the 
     bus station while living at the YMCA. He later sold insurance 
     and attended the old Brooks Bible College here and Gamon 
     Theological Seminary in Atlanta. He also served in the Army 
     in World War II.
       He graduated from Lincoln University in Jefferson City and 
     Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he was a classmate of the 
     Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1962, he was instrumental 
     in bringing the civil rights leader to St. Louis.
       Recently, he received the Pioneer Award from the Rev. Dr. 
     Martin Luther King Jr. State Commemorative Committee for his 
     commitment to civil rights in St. Louis.
       Martin L. Mathews, president and chief executive officer of 
     the Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club, was a friend of the 
     Rev. Mr. Nance for more than 40 years.
       ``He was always willing to go beyond the call of duty to 
     help not only his congregation, but he would reach out and 
     help others in the community,'' Mathews said. ``He was a 
     stern man, but fair. . . . He stood by what he believed in 
     and never wavered.''
       The Rev. Mr. Nance was considered a mentor and counselor to 
     many of the younger Baptist pastors in the city.
       ``He was there to help me shape my ministry,'' said the 
     Rev. Willie J. Ellis Jr., pastor of New Northside Baptist 
     Church. ``He was a man that spoke his mind. . . . He told it 
     just like it was.''
       The Rev. E.G. Shields, pastor of Mount Beulah M.B. Church, 
     affectionately called the Rev. Mr. Nance ``Dad.''
       ``He had a love for younger pastors. He wanted us to make 
     it,'' Shields said. ``He helped us to build our churches by 
     first getting our financial statements together. I loved and 
     respected him. He was truly a father figure to me.''
       The Rev. Mr. Nance served as an associate pastor at Galilee 
     Baptist Church and at Calvary Baptist Church before he became 
     pastor of Greater Mount Carmel.
       Visitation will be from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Greater 
     Mount Carmel M.B. Church, 1617 North Euclid Avenue. A funeral 
     service will be at 6 p.m. Sunday at the church. Burial will 
     be at St. Peter's Cemetery, 2101 Lucas and Hunt Road.
       The Rev. Mr. Nance was married to the late Thelma Brown 
     Nance, who also was a teacher in St. Louis Public Schools. 
     She died in May. Survivors are two brothers, Clyde Nance and 
     Ray Nance, both of Los Angeles; a sister, Sue Nance of Los 
     Angeles; and a granddaughter.

                                  ____
                                  

               A Civil Rights Pioneer, Mr. Earl Nance Sr.

       With the passing of the Rev. Earl Nance Sr., the civil 
     rights movement, the people of St. Louis and members of the 
     Greater Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church have lost a 
     friend.
       As one of 18 children born to Betty and Willis Nance of 
     Alma, Ark., Mr. Nance came from a humble background. 
     Education was the tool Mr. Nance used to advance. He never 
     forgot where he came from, and he always worked for better 
     schools.
       He began his formal education in Fort Smith, Ark., and 
     attended Gamon Theological Seminary in Atlanta and Brooks 
     Bible College in St. Louis. He was a graduate of Lincoln 
     University in Jefferson City and of Morehouse College in 
     Atlanta.
       While at Morehouse, Mr. Nance was the somewhat older 
     classmate, study partner and friend of the Rev. Martin Luther 
     King Jr. Earl Nance became one of Mr. King's lieutenants in 
     the civil rights movement and helped plan some of the 
     movement's strategies.
       He was influential in bringing the Rev. Dr. King to speak 
     at a Freedom Rally here in 1957. More than 9,000 people 
     attended the rally at Kiel Auditorium Convention Hall. The 
     money raised helped the civil rights effort in the South.
       And twice when Dr. King came to St. Louis he spoke at 
     Washington Tabernacle Church, where the Rev. Mr. Nance's 
     uncle, the late Rev. Dr. John E. Nance, was pastor. Before 
     becoming pastor of Greater Mount Carmel in 1951, the Rev. Mr. 
     Nance was a public school teacher. He was a member of the St. 
     Louis School Board from 1966 to 1973 and an adviser to four 
     St. Louis mayors: Raymond Tucker, A.J. Cervantes, Vincent C. 
     Schoemehl Jr. and Freeman Bosley Jr.
       For all his contributions to the community and church, 
     perhaps Mr. Nance's greatest legacy is his son, the Rev. Earl 
     Nance Jr. The younger Mr. Nance and his father were regarded 
     as a team, with the son following closely in his father's 
     footsteps. Mr. Nance Jr. and his father were co-pastor's of 
     Greater Mount Carmel from 1979 until the elder Nance's 
     retirement in 1994.
       Shortly after his father's death, Earl Nance Jr. recalled 
     two of his favorite memories of his father: ``He had a good 
     sense of humor. He always kept us laughing at home. And he 
     never missed my baseball games. He always blocked out 
     Saturdays so he could watch me play.''

     

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