Obituary of Chaplain Lt. Col. Bobby Midgette

Bobby Gray Midgette went to be with our Lord on February 18, 2024. Bobby was born in Small, North Carolina, on February 16, 1938, and was raised by his mother, Tiny Anne Smith, and his maternal grandparents, James Henry Smith and Cora Mae (Cox) Smith. To help support his family, Bobby began working in the cotton and tobacco fields around Small when he was eight years old, which built a strong work ethic in him that stayed with him throughout his life. After graduation from Aurora High School in 1956, Bobby served in the United States Air Force until 1960. While stationed in Illinois, Bobby fell in love with his wife, Donna Mae McFall. Bobby and Donna felt called to the ministry, so he went on to attend college at Olivet Nazarene College and then to the Nazarene Theological Seminary, Kansas City where he earned a Master of Divinity in 1968. Between 1962 and 1967, Bobby and Donna became the parents of four children – Tamara, Timothy, Benjamin, and Catherine.

After his ordainment as a minister of the Church of the Nazarene in 1970, Bobby launched and built Samuelson Road Church of the Nazarene in Rockford, Illinois, before becoming pastor of Faith Church of the Nazarene in Urbana, Illinois. Bobby felt the call to minister to soldiers and to spread God’s Word throughout the world and joined the United States Army in 1974. In the US Army, Bobby was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas (where Bobby and Donna’s fifth child, Steven, was born in 1976); The Presidio, California; Seoul, South Korea; Fort Wadsworth, New York; Fort Monmouth, New Jersey; Schofield Barracks, Hawaii and Fort Jackson, South Carolina. While serving in the Army, Bobby lived out his calling to minister to soldiers through a variety of roles such as Post Chaplain, Chaplain to the Army Corp of Engineers for Polynesia and Micronesia, Marriage and Family Counselor, and an Instructor at the US Army Chaplain’s School.  Bobby retired from the U.S. Army in 1992, having attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. After his military service, Bobby continued God’s calling as Pastor at Greenville Community Church in Greenville, North Carolina, Head Chaplain at Pitt County Memorial Hospital, and he led the building of Faith Church of the Nazarene in Lugoff, South Carolina. Bobby retired from full time pastoring in 2010. Bobby continued to serve part time in ministry at Shepherd Church of the Nazarene in Lexington, South Carolina until 2020, when he began caring full time for the love of his life, Donna.

Bobby enjoyed singing. He was classically trained, and his children especially enjoy recalling family sing-alongs on road trips. He passed on his love of music to his children. He loved his wife immensely, even writing a book about their courtship and marriage titled "True Love Through All Seasons" in 2020.

Bobby Gray Midgette is survived by his wife of sixty-four years, Donna Midgette; his brother, Framan Edwards; his sister, Rosa Hill; his children, Tamara Davis (Keith), Timothy Midgette, Benjamin Midgette (Charlotte), Catherine Sanders (Michael), and Steven Midgette (Heaven); his grandchildren, Erin, Jill, Daniel, Willa, Owen, Camron, McKenzie, and Callum; his great-grandchildren, Anthony and Aria.

Funeral services for Bobby Gray Midgette will be held 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, February 27, 2024, at Shepherd Church of the Nazarene in Lexington, South Carolina. Visitation begins at 9:00 a.m. Burial is at Fort Jackson National Cemetery at 12:00 p.m.