[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 18112]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        IN MEMORIUM OF THE REVEREND DR. BROOKS E. REYNOLDS, SR.

 Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I would like to set aside a few 
moments today to reflect on the life of a remarkable Delawarean, Rev. 
Dr. Brooks Reynolds, upon his passing at the age of 88. Dr. Reynolds 
was among the most remarkable men I have been privileged to know in all 
of the years I have lived in Delaware. Throughout his life, he 
demonstrated tremendous courage and integrity. He was a man with a kind 
heart, great abilities, and boundless energy. Unlike most people who 
are looking for ways to slow down when they turn 80 years old, Brooks 
Reynolds kept picking up the pace. In the way he lived his own life, 
Dr. Reynolds reminded each of us how good we can be.
  The Rev. Dr. Brooks E. Reynolds, Sr., was born in Shortly, DE, on 
November 2, 1915, to the late John and Lida Rickards Reynolds. Upon 
completing high school in Georgetown in 1933, he attended Goldey 
College, now known as Goldey Beacom College, in Wilmington and 
Washington College in Chestertown, MD, before earning a bachelor's 
degree in education and a master's degree in sacred theology from 
Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. His doctorate of divinity degree 
was earned at Howard University in Washington, DC.
  Dr. Reynolds was lucky enough to have found love twice in his life. 
He married Grace Collins Reynolds in 1939 and together they served a 
number of churches beginning in Hooper's Island, MD, in 1938, a part of 
the former Wilmington Conference of the Methodist Church. Grace passed 
away in 1993.
  His dear friend, Beatrice Simonds, was an important part of his 
latest ministries and they spent many happy years together before his 
passing. She describes him as having ``personality plus.'' In Bea's 
words, ``If there ever was a God on earth, he was.''
  In 1945, Dr. Reynolds was called to start a new church in Wilmington 
Manor just south of Wilmington, DE. Beginning with meetings in a 
private home, the church grew through two building programs and the 
renaming to Asbury United Methodist Church. It had a membership of 2300 
when Dr. Reynolds was reassigned to Bethesda United Methodist Church in 
Salisbury, MD, in 1974.
  Dr. Reynolds first retired in 1986 but returned to active ministry to 
serve three additional pastorates, most recently Christ United 
Methodist Church in Laurel from 1999 to 2001, where I was once 
privileged to speak as a lay person while Governor of Delaware. In 
1954, he became the first chaplain of the Delaware State Police and in 
2003 was awarded the first Delaware State Police emeritus status with 
promotion to major. Dr. Reynolds also served as the chaplain for the 
Delaware State Hospital.
  Other significant past affiliations included the chaplaincy of 
Governor Bacon Health Center in Delaware City, secretary of the board 
of evangelism and president of the board of trustees of the Peninsula 
Conference Board of Hospital and Homes, and president of the trustees 
of the Manor House in Seaford. He was a 32nd degree Mason and Past 
Grand Chaplain of the Masonic Lodge of Delaware.
  Dr. Reynolds will always be remembered by me and by the tens of 
thousands of people whose lives he touched and enriched as a kind and 
compassionate man who loved all people. He saw no distinction between 
color, gender, race, or creed. He was a visionary in every sense of the 
word. Life was about growth, and he was always trying to find new ways 
to reach out to people. When the church had no money, Dr. Reynolds 
bought a bus to transport people to church who otherwise had no way of 
coming to church. The bus transported parishioners, children to Sunday 
school, and to day care. Some 300 children rode his buses. The church's 
fleet of buses expanded to include 27 buses.
  Dr. Reynolds had a great sense of humor and was known for telling 
fabulous stories. One of my favorite all-time quotations came from him, 
too. ``The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.'' He 
often injected humor into his sermons and had a quick wit. He was a 
genuine person, and was not just comfortable to be around; he was a joy 
to be around.
  Dr. Reynolds is survived by his sons, Brooks E. Reynolds, Jr., of 
Topeka, KS, and State Representative Bruce C. Reynolds and his wife, 
Kathleen, of Bear, DE, as well as by seven grandchildren, Ty, Lyda, 
Blair, Bret and Chad Reynolds, Mary Bock, and Brian Seals, and one 
great-granddaughter, Tara Leek.
  I rise today to commemorate Dr. Reynolds, to celebrate his life, and 
to offer his family my support. Dr. Reynolds embodied the best of 
Delaware, and he will be sorely missed by us all.

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