Robert McGrady Blackburn (12 September 1919 – 17 March 2002) was an American

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

, elected in 1972.

Birth and family

Robert was born in

Bartow, Florida Bartow ( ) is a city and the county seat of Polk County, Florida, Polk County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1851 as Fort Blount, the city was renamed in honor of Francis S. Bartow, the first brigade commander of the Confederate Army to di ...

, the son of the Rev. C. Fred and Effie Frances (Forsythe) Blackburn. His father was the son of a Methodist minister, too. He married Mary Jeanne Everett on 16 November 1943, and they had three children: Jeanne Marie (Mrs. Ramon Cox), Robert McGrady, Jr., and Frances Lucile (Mrs. John Harwood). Robert, Jr. became the fourth generation of the family to enter Ordained Ministry. Mary Jeanne died on 22 May 1977 after a long illness. On 9 September 1978, Bishop Blackburn married Jewell Haddock of Jacksonville, whom he had known for several years. After the Bishop's

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

, they moved to Jacksonville.

Education

Blackburn graduated from high school in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. He earned a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

degree from

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. It offers undergraduate, gradua ...

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

, in 1941. He earned a B.D. degree from the

Candler School of Theology Candler School of Theology is one of seven graduate schools at Emory University, located in Atlanta metropolitan area, metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. A university-based school of theology, Candler educates Minister (Christi ...

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

in 1943. He also received

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

s from

LaGrange College LaGrange College is a private college in LaGrange, Georgia. Founded in 1831 as a female educational institution, LaGrange is the oldest private college in Georgia. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and offers more than 55 academ ...

, Florida Southern,

North Carolina Wesleyan College North Carolina Wesleyan University (NCWU) is a private Methodist university in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. It was founded in 1956. North Carolina Wesleyan offers courses at its main Rocky Mount campus, as well as satellite locations in Brunswick ...

, and from Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music in

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the northwesternmost Administrative divisions of Virginia#Independent cities, independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Frederick County, Virginia, Frederi ...

. In 1973 Florida Southern presented him the school's ''Distinguished Alumnus Award.''

Ordained ministry

Robert was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

deacon in 1943 by Bishop Arthur James Moore (and ordained Elder in 1944). Rev. Blackburn was appointed to

Boca Grande, Florida Boca Grande is a small residential community on Gasparilla Island in southwest Florida. Gasparilla Island is a part of both Charlotte County, Florida, Charlotte and Lee County, Florida, Lee counties, while the actual village of Boca Grande, wh ...

. Subsequently, he served the following

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

churches in the

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Annual Conference: First Church,

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

(as Associate Pastor); Mount Dora; Trinity,

DeLand DeLand is a city in and the county seat of Volusia County, Florida, United States. The city sits approximately north of the central business district of Orlando, and approximately west of the central business district of Daytona Beach. It is a ...

; First Church,

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

; and again First Church, Orlando (as Senior Pastor). Altogether, he served as a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

for twenty-nine years, a tenure interrupted only by his service as a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 1944–46. Rev. Blackburn was very active in conference affairs throughout his pastoral ministry, as well. He was considered an expert on financial matters. He was also elected a delegate to General and Jurisdictional Conferences between 1964 and 1972.

Episcopal ministry

The Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference of the U.M. Church elected Robert M. Blackburn to the

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

in 1972. He was assigned to the

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

Episcopal Area, where he served for eight years. In 1980 he was assigned to the

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

Area, where he served until retirement in 1988. During his final year of service (1987–88), under his leadership the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Annual Conference raised $19,400,000 for New Church Development. This was the largest sum ever raised by an Annual Conference in a one-year campaign to that date. Bishop Blackburn also served on several U.M. General Church Agencies: the General Council on Finance and Administration, the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the General Board of Church and Society, and the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women. He also served as a Trustee for more than a half-dozen U.M. institutions of higher education. Bishop Blackburn also represented the United Methodist Church at the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Methodist Conference in

Sheffield, England Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its southe ...

in 1980. He represented the U.M. Council of Bishops at the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an U.M. Conference in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

in 1984, as well.

Death and funeral

Bishop Blackburn died 17 March 2002 following complications from his 7 March open-heart surgery at Memorial Hospital in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. He was eighty-two years of age. A

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

service was held 19 March 2002 at 4:00 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 225 E. Duval St., Jacksonville, FL 32202. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations were received by the church.

Episcopal remembrance

Bishop

Joseph Yeakel Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

Smithsburg, Maryland Smithsburg is a town in Washington County, Maryland, Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,975 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Smithsburg is close to the former Fort Ritchie army base and just west of the ...

, remembered Bishop Blackburn as one of the ''"unsung heroes of the nited MethodistChurch,"'' a leader who was committed to serving his

episcopal area An episcopal area in certain Methodist denominations, such as the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AMEZC) and United Methodist Church (UMC), is a basic unit of this denomination. It is a region presided over by a resident bishop that is ...

. Both men became Bishops in 1972 and forged a bond through that common experience: :''"I've always appreciated Bob's

integrity Integrity is the quality of being honest and having a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and Honesty, truthfulness or of one's actions. Integr ...

...He was strong and a good leader and a friend. He really made his major contributions in the Area, and that's really what we're called to do."''

References

* The Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Churc

* InfoServ, the official information service of The United Methodist Church.

* ''Obituary,'' 18 March 2002, United Methodist News Servic

External links

''Retired Bishop Robert Blackburn dies at 82''

Photo of Bishop Blackburn