Booth, J.W.
3/25/1947
February 2, 1874 - March 25, 1947 |
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| J. W. Booth, son of T. J. and Florence McKay Booth, was born in Carroll County, Mississippi, February 2, 1874. He spent his boyhood on his father’s farm and attended the local public school. He received his ministerial training at Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi.. While there he met Miss Mamie Lott of Jackson, who became his life companion June 8, 1904. Theirs was indeed a heaven-made union, and for forty-three years they walked together in loving and sacrificial service. Into this ideal home were born three children: J. W. Jr., of Houma, Louisiana; Ruth, now Mrs. W. F. Pratt, of Jackson, Mississippi; and the Rev. Luther L, pastor of Ingleside Methodist Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. There are five grandchildren. Rev. Mr. Booth’s passing, in Baton Rouge, March 25, 1947, was unexpected and a distinct shock to his friends as well as to his family. It is not given to us, his friends and fellow-workers and loved ones, to know the breadth and depth and height of his life; nor shall we know until we too have reached the fullness of the Presence in our eternal home. But we can even now sense our heavenly Father’s commendation of him in these immortal words: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” Yea, he was deeply spiritual. A fellow pastor once said of him, “He has the spiritual qualities of a. bishop.” He was greatly used in God’s Vineyard, known as the Louisiana Conference, where for forty-three years he gave himself gladly and without reservation. Fifteen of these forty-three years were spent in the New Orleans District, and thirteen in the Baton Rouge District. The writer knew him in DeRidder, Louisiana, while he was pastor there. There he directed her life into special service, first as a deaconess in the homeland and, later, as a missionary to Africa. More than this one person was led into a definite and larger field of service. His was a joyous service as well as a deeply sympathetic one. He spoke to men’s hearts, not by eloquent oratory but by sympathetic sincerity and the love of Christ, which constrained him at all times. His last pastorate was at Elizabeth, Louisiana, and his passing was a real grief and loss to his members. Such a life as his cannot cease, we know that he is continuing his loving service unhindered, and that he awaits with eagerness the homecoming of his loved ones and his friends. |
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| Source: Journal of the Louisiana Conference of the Methodist Church, Pages 102-103, 1947 by Eliza Iles Harris. | |
