Dr. Wilbur Harold McBride

Dr. Wilbur H. McBride was born in Tennille, Georgia on September 11, 1934. He passed away on November 12, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. Wilbur was the son of Allen King and Mable Alvina McBride. He entered the United States Air Force in 1954, and served for 20 years before retiring as a Technical Sergeant. His duties included serving as a military policeman, a training instructor for new recruits, and a weapons quality assurance non-commissioned officer. His career took him to assignments in several states, as well as overseas to Okinawa, Germany, and Thailand. While stationed in Germany, McBride came to know Christ as his personal Savior while attending a November 1969 Thanksgiving retreat near Heilbronn. That decision altered the course of his life. Upon his retirement from the Air Force, Brother Mac (as he liked to be called) entered Tennessee Temple Schools in Chattanooga, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in ministry in 1978. The same year, He began serving as missionary-pastor of the Open Door Bible Baptist Church, ministering to U.S. military personnel. In more than 22 years as a foreign missionary, Pastor Mac served military churches in Weierhof, Zweibrücken, Ansbach, and Landstuhl, all in Germany. Pastor McBride was honored with a Doctor of Divinity degree from Trinity Baptist College in 1993. Upon returning to the United States in 1999. McBride served as the Military Field Administrator for Baptist Missions to Forgotten Peoples, assisting new missionaries in fulfilling the Lord's will for their lives.

Dr. McBride is survived by his wife of 61 1/2 years, Dorothy Virginia Phillips McBride; daughters Sharon E. Howard of Maryville, Tennessee and Katherine Wood of Nanzdietschweiler, Germany; his son-in-laws Ronnie Howard and Gilbert Wood; his brothers William Russell McBride and Anthony McBride; six grandchildren Jason, Karin, Christopher, Audra, Andrew, and Keith; and eleven great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, November 18, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at Temple Baptist Church. The family will receive friends on Friday, November 17, 2017 from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Hardage-Giddens Riverside Memorial Park and Funeral Home. Burial will be held on Monday, November 20, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. at the Jacksonville National Cemetery.

HARDAGE-GIDDENS RIVERSIDE MEMORIAL PARK AND FUNERAL HOME, 7242 Normandy Boulevard, is serving the family.