Harold Bertram Knox

The Reverend Harold Bertram Knox, age 87, longtime resident of Birmingham, Alabama, died at his residence in Clay, Alabama on Friday, May 27, 2016. Mr. Knox is survived by his sons David Evans Knox of Clay and John Andrew Knox (Pam) of Athens, Georgia; grandchildren Douglas Hill Robinson III of Birmingham and Larissa Kathryn Robinson of Nederland, Colorado; grandson Evan Daniel Knox of Athens, Georgia; and nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Henry Julian Knox and Eleanor Elizabeth Green Knox, siblings Margaret Goggin, Robert Knox, Hazel Horton, and James Knox, and his beloved wife of 54 years, Virginia “Bede” Evans Knox.

The Reverend Knox, who was known as “Bert” growing up and as “Harold” in adulthood, was born in Rockville Centre, New York on January 25, 1929. He grew up as the youngest of five children, interested in magic tricks and playing the violin. He attended Riverside Elementary School through fifth grade. His family moved to Memphis, Tennessee in the summer of 1939, selling their sleds only to be greeted by the record-breaking cold and snow of Memphis the next January. In Memphis, he attended Snowden Elementary and Junior High, and graduated from Central High School in 1946. His family’s church in Memphis, Idlewild Presbyterian, was influential in his spiritual development and his later calling.

After attending Memphis State College for two years, Harold transferred to Vanderbilt University and graduated in the Class of 1950 with a major in history and political science, reflecting a lifelong love of history. While at Vanderbilt, he sang in the Men’s Glee Club and belonged to the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Harold enrolled at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Kentucky and began classes in September 1950. In the spring of 1952 he was approached by his classmate, James B. Wilbanks of Birmingham, about a fieldwork position in north Alabama, serving five rural churches in the Tennessee Valley as student pastors. The two of them served this parish of churches into the fall, traveling by train each weekend from Louisville to Decatur, Alabama, on Friday night, returning each Sunday night to Louisville. The pastors of Huntsville Presbytery decided to ordain Jim and Harold early, before their graduation from seminary. The two young seminarians were ordained on November 3, 1952 at the Rock Spring Mitchell Memorial Presbyterian Church, Mount Hope, Alabama. They both graduated from Louisville Seminary as part of the centennial class of the seminary in 1953. Harold and Jim became close friends for the rest of their lives. Harold’s first wedding as a pastor was joining Jim and Sarah Wilbanks in marriage. The two pastors baptized all of each other’s children.

Harold accepted his first call to First Presbyterian Church in Russellville, Kentucky in 1954. The young, underfed new pastor immediately attracted the attention of the church’s next-door neighbors, the Evans family, particularly Bede. Many family dinners later, Harold and Bede were married on July 21, 1956, forming an inseparable ministry team for over a half-century. Their first son David was born the next June.

The Knox family lived in Russellville for nine years, with Bede working at the family newspaper while Harold served the growing church. Harold served as moderator of the Western Kentucky Presbytery in 1959-60 and the moderator of the Synod of Kentucky in 1960-61, turning the first spade of dirt for the new Louisville Seminary campus in the latter role. In the Russellville community, he was a Rotary Club member, an officer in the Junior Chamber of Commerce, and served on a governor-appointed advisory committee.

In May 1963, Harold was installed as pastor of Five Mile Presbyterian Church in the Killough Springs neighborhood of northeast Birmingham—the same church that his friend Jim Wilbanks had served as a temporary supply pastor in 1949-50. Harold served Five Mile for nearly 36 years as pastor, one of the longest pastorates in a Birmingham Presbyterian church since “Brother” Bryan. One man said that the Rev. Knox’s sermons were better than his pills, so he threw his medicine away! Another parishioner swore that every once in a while she saw a halo around his head when he preached. An energetic pillar of the Five Mile church captured his unhurried, calm manner by saying memorably and with a bit of frustration, “He is as slow as mud!” “Very deliberate,” the good Reverend amended her assessment, imperturbably.

In addition to serving Five Mile, Harold served Inglenook Presbyterian Church for nearly nine years, preaching twice every Sunday from 1968 until 1977. In 1977 Inglenook (founded in 1821) and Five Mile (founded in 1841) merged, a highlight of his pastorate. The Fellowship Hall was constructed at Five Mile in 1981, and major renovation of the historic Old Sanctuary (built in 1880) during his time as pastor. He oversaw year-long celebrations for the 125th and 150th anniversaries of Five Mile, and authored a definitive history of the church for Five Mile’s 170th anniversary in 2011. He preached thousands of sermons, conducted 302 funerals and uncounted marriages, sang in the choir for decades, and was the heart and soul of what he always referred to as “the life of the church.”

Harold also served the larger church in his new city, state and region, becoming moderator of Synod in 1968-69 and stated clerk of Presbytery from 1969-73 and from 1983-2005—a quarter-century of service as the regional church body’s chief parliamentarian. He was a charter member of the Association of Stated Clerks, Presbyterian Church (USA) and the go-to person in the Presbytery for advice on PC(USA) polity for decades. He served in leadership positions at the Presbytery or Synod level in six different decades in Kentucky and Alabama. He also served as Commissioner to the General Assembly in 1960, 1968, and 1989.

As in Russellville, Harold also found time to serve his community. For over 20 years he was a member and leader in the Huffman Eastern Area chapter of the Birmingham-founded Civitan International.

Harold was honorably retired on March 1, 1999 by the Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley, and elected Pastor Emeritus by the Five Mile congregation. He and Bede remained a part of the congregation the rest of their lives.

Harold’s dedication to small-church ministry, along with his significant contributions to Presbytery work, earned him the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2001.

In March 1965 Harold, Bede, and David welcomed John into the world. David and John both followed his example of church leadership, becoming PC(USA) elders and, in David’s case, choir director at Five Mile from 1981 to the present. To be his son was and is a rare privilege, to live and work and play with a universally respected and beloved man who preached the Word—and who was always as good as his own word.

Burial was May 29 at the Five Mile Presbyterian Church cemetery. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 18, at Five Mile Presbyterian Church, with Sharon Eich and Felix Yarboro officiating.

The family would like to thank caregivers Angela Huff, Adrienne Huff, Carolyn Milton, Lisa Hayes, Spencer & Associates In-Home Care, and St. Vincent’s Home Health and Hospice.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Five Mile Presbyterian Church, 1137 Five Mile Road, Birmingham, AL 35215; or to Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Office for Institutional Advancement, 1044 Alta Vista Road, Louisville, KY 40205-1798.