wfn.org | UMNS# 610-Edmund Robb Jr., prominent United Methodist

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Edmund Robb Jr., prominent United Methodist evangelist, dies 

Dec. 22, 2004	 

By United Methodist News Service

A memorial service was held Dec. 17 in Marshall, Texas, for the Rev. Edmund
W. Robb Jr., former chairman of the board of the Good News evangelical caucus
and a life trustee of Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky.

Robb, 78, who had been in declining health, died Dec. 14. "Ed Robb was a
close friend, a colleague in renewal and one of the greatest United Methodist
leaders in 50 years," said the Rev. James Heidinger of Good News, who added
that the denomination was stronger because of his ministry. "All of us who
knew him have been enriched by his life and ministry.

A clergy member of the Northwest Texas Annual (regional) Conference, he
served as a local church pastor and then as an approved evangelist of the
United Methodist Church. In 1989, he was one of 40 Methodist leaders honored
for outstanding achievements in Christian evangelism. He received the Denman
Evangelism Award from the Foundation for Evangelism in 1996.

Robb and the Rev. Albert Outler established A Foundation for Theological
Education, which helps young scholars obtain degrees from graduate schools
and then teach in United Methodist seminaries and colleges. Called the John
Wesley Fellows, some 100 scholars have participated in the program. His son,
Edmund W. Robb III, senior pastor at the Woodlands United Methodist Church in
the Houston area, is now in charge of the foundation. 

He helped found the Institute on Religion and Democracy in 1980 and was a
life member of the boards of Good News and the Mission Society for United
Methodists. In honor of his life and ministry, Good News established the
Edmund W. Robb, Jr., United Methodist Renewal Award in 2000.

In addition to his son, Robb is survived by his wife of 57 years, Martha
Hegler Robb; four other children - Julia Robb, Laurie Hubert, Sara Purcell
and James Robb; 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

News media contact:  Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

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United Methodist News Service
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