Dick Blount

Dick Blount, 85, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, October 22, 2013, at Lenoir Nursing Home after a long battle with heart disease. He was born June 25, 1928, in Fulton, Missouri, the son of the late Dewey and Faye Blount and brother to the late Robert (Bob) Blount. On August 27, 1948, he was united in marriage to Emma Sue Bishop. He will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his children: Jack Blount and his wife, Cindy, of Dallas, Texas, and Mark Blount and his wife, Janice, of Columbia, Missouri, Susan Gemming and her husband, Craig, of Columbia, Missouri; and daughter-in-law, Dr. Robin Blount of Columbia, Missouri. He is survived by eight grandchildren: Kelley (Blount) Krohnert and husband, Paul of Atlanta, Georgia, Jackson Blount and wife, Alicia of Park City, Utah, Lucas, Jacob and Nathan Blount of Columbia, Missouri, Jennifer (Gemming) Self and husband, Zac, of Austin, Texas, and Nicholas and Jeffrey Gemming of Columbia, Missouri. He is also survived by three great-grandchildren: Andrea Krohnert, Madelynn Gemming, and Charlotte Self. He was preceded in death by his wife, Emma Sue Blount; son, Charles Richard Blount II; granddaughter, Connie Michelle Blount; and great-grandson, Callaway Maddox Blount. Dick was a passionate and dedicated Pastor of the United Methodist Church, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend. He was married for 63 years to his lovely wife Sue and spoke joyfully during his last days of knowing that he would be with her in heaven. Dick was a devoted Christian who deeply believed in the love and grace of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. He was active in the church as a youth and was asked, appointed and served as a Methodist pastor of two small churches in Bowling Green and Eolia, Missouri when only a sophomore at Westminster College. Reverend Blount spent his life as a compassionate champion for equal rights, and his accomplishments were recognized with the Columbia Values Diversity Award he received in 2011. He began his public leadership in the early sixties to reduce racial tension and promote equality during America's civil rights movement, and he served in many roles including the chairman of the Commission on Human Justice of the Metropolitan Inter-City Agency, Kansas City, Missouri. He helped create and manage the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program in Missouri to provide food and healthcare to pregnant women and infants, he served as the President of the National Association of WIC Directors, and he was frequently a speaker in Washington DC on WIC. Reverend Blount was an outspoken leader for the acceptance and understanding of homosexuals in both church and society and a founding father in the Open Door Ministry at Missouri United Methodist Church. Visitation will be at 1:00 p.m. at the Missouri United Methodist Church in Columbia, Missouri on Thursday 24, 2013, with funeral services following at 2:00 p.m., officiated by Reverend Amy Gearhart. Interment will be at Callaway Memorial Gardens in Fulton, Missouri, following the service. Memorial contributions may be made to Missouri United Methodist Church for the United Methodist International Orphanages. Online condolences may also be sent to the family at [email protected] or [email protected].