Bengaluru: An American missionary, who taught in a theology college in India and co-authored the book “The Christian clergy in India,” has died. Doctor Hunter P Mabry was 82.
The Roankoe Times, www.roankoe.com, reported that Mabry, a teacher, sociologist and missionary, passed away July 9 in his home country after a long struggle with chronic radiation damage to his intestinal tract.
Mabry taught and guided for 25 years hundreds of students to become pastors and theologians under the sponsorship of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries (GBOGM) at the United Theological College (UTC) in the southern Indian city of Bangalore (now Bengaluru).
He joined the UTC after earning his doctorate in Sociology of Religion and Social Ethics at the Boston University School of Theology in 1969.
After completing his Bachelor of Divinity course at the Candler School of Theology (Emory University) he served as a United Methodist Church missionary in the Philippines from 1959 to 1963.
Among the several books he wrote are on Christian Ethics –an Introductory Reader, Social Structure and Social Roles, Manual for Researchers and Writers, and Capital Punishment: A Faith-Based Study.
According to the Roanoke Times, after his retirement from the GBOGM in 1996, he devoted much of his time and energy to voluntary work.
He was one of the founders of the Virginia Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Justice and of the Augusta Coalition for Peace and Justice;
He also participated in social justice-related organizations like Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
The teachers and students of the UTC have condoled Mabry’s death and recalled his profound influence on the college and its community.
Mabry is survived by his wife Esther Galima Mabry, a son and a daughter and their families.
A memorial service is schedule on 16 July at the Jesus the Redeemer Church, Roankoe, Virginia in the United States.