LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (ABP) — Tom Logue, who led Baptist Student Union work in Arkansas for more than three decades and in retirement was founding coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Arkansas, died March 6 after an illness.
Tom Logue
|
Logue, 88, was a veteran of World War II who early in his career worked as citywide BSU director for Memphis, Tenn. After earning bachelor's and master's degrees from Baylor University, he earned a Ph.D. at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, studying under the legendary Baptist ethicist T.B. Maston.
As BSU director for the Arkansas Baptist State Convention from 1955 until his retirement in 1987, thousands of students were influenced by his friendly demeanor and emphasis on treating everyone with dignity.
During the 1957 integration crisis at Little Rock Central High School, Logue led students at the annual BSU convention to adopt a resolution favoring integration, just weeks after the Arkansas Baptist State Convention declined to address the topic at its own annual meeting.
The statement, supported by 400 students with just one vote in dissent, read, "We believe that the Christian position in the matter of race relations includes the teaching and example of Jesus regarding the equal worth of all individuals and abstaining from and discouraging violence in the settlement of any differences."
After retiring from the state convention, Logue continued to minister as a conference speaker and an author. In 1990 he received the Brooks Hays Memorial Christian Citizenship Award, given by Second Baptist Church in Little Rock for a lifetime of service. Hays, a Second Baptist member, was an Arkansas congressman who lost his seat in 1958 over his stance in the integration crisis and who served during the same period as president of the Southern Baptist Convention.
In 1991, Logue accepted a part-time job as founding coordinator of CBF of Arkansas, a state affiliate of the national CBF that formed the same year. He held the post 14 years before retiring Dec. 31, 2004, following the election of Ray Higgins as the state group's first full-time paid coordinator.
Higgins remembered Logue as "a unique leader and dear friend" and a "beloved role model in the lives of college students."
Logue was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Ethel, and two sons. Survivors include a daughter, Louise Logue of Little Rock, and a son, Tim Logue of Hillsboro, N.C.
Funeral services were held March 9 at Second Baptist. Burial was at Forest Hills Memorial Park. Memorial gifts may be made to Second Baptist Church, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Family Home, the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Central Arkansas or Heifer International. An online guestbook can be found at http://www.rollerfuneralhomes.com/guestbook.asp?page=guestbook&id=19718&locid=17
-30-
Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.