Rev. George O. Elgin

The Reverend Dr. George O. Elgin, 78, of Clovis, Ca joined his Savior on Monday, September 10, 2012 following a long struggle with cancer. He was supported through his struggle by the caring hands of many health professionals and the open arms of family and friends. The family expresses our deep gratitude to Dr. Dexter Estrada for his compassionate commitment to George's battle with cancer. His final days were spent in the loving embrace of his family.

He was born on October 16, 1933 in Willett, PA to the Rev George O. Elgin Sr. and Clara Marie (Calhoun). The marks of the Depression were to remain with him throughout his life, leading to his enduring love of ice cream, Western movies and novels. He was deeply concerned about the welfare of his fellow man.

Dr. Elgin believed in the power of education to complement faith in personal actualization. Education became a cornerstone of his ministry. He was educated at Waynesburg College with a B.A. in Sociology. He continued on to attend Wesley Theological Seminary earning a Master of Divinity, while beginning his career in ministry at Nineveh PA. He furthered his education at Long Island University, while also attending Chaplains school, he earned a Masters of Science and Education. Rev. Elgin was awarded a Doctorate of Ministries from San Francisco Theological Seminary.

He taught Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, and Religion as an adjunct professor. He also taught classes on a number of theological themes, in addition to personal growth, and organizational development. Dr. Elgin and his wife Lucy enjoyed conducting retreats on dream analysis and interpretation as well as marriage enrichment.

The Reverend Dr. George O. Elgin was a decorated veteran who served over 20 years in the United States Army as a Chaplain. His service included tours of duty in Germany, Vietnam, and multiple locations throughout this great country to which he was dedicated. Following his retirement from the military, Dr. Elgin continued to serve the Church for many years as a Methodist Pastor, first in the Rocky Mountain Conference, and most recently at Academy Methodist Church. Dr. Elgin focused his ministry on helping people through education and leadership to fulfill their mission to make the world a better place. At Clovis United Methodist Church he led many popular seminars and workshops on inspirational and thought provoking subjects. Dr. Elgin's passion for justice, particularly for children, led him to work as a Mediator for the Madera Family Court Services.

In his retirement, at the prodding of his children, Dr. Elgin became an author when he published a concise view of his theology and perspective in "Rational Christianity". In his book he separated himself from the current theme of religious separatism and extols tolerance and cooperation with the many faiths of the world. He exemplified this by his participation in and promotion of the Clovis InterFaith community.

The enduring theme of Dr. Elgin's life was to leave the world a better place, he achieved this through his ministry, teaching and outreach. He will be profoundly missed. While in this world he provided spiritual and practical leadership for many who were touched by his lifelong service to a higher power.

Dr. Elgin opened each sermon with the blessing "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it..."

Rejoice always!

He was unfortunately, preceded in death by his loving grandson, Craig.

He is survived by his devoted wife, Lucinda Elgin (Fisher), of 55 years; and five children, Susan, Chandra, David, Eric and Aaron. He enjoyed the wholehearted love of his surviving grandchildren, Elisabeth, Alexander, Brian, Jackie, Kathryn, Margaret, Kathleen, Sean and Jared, and his great-granddaughter Lily. He is sadly missed by his faithful dog Pebbles.

Visititation will be held at Memorial United Methodist Church of Clovis on Thursday, September 13, 2012 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

A Funeral Service will be held at Memorial United Methodist Church of Clovis, on Friday, September 14, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. Interment to follow at Fresno Memorial Gardens.