Obituary: Riley Eubank

Riley EubankRiley W. Eubank Jr., 91, a former pastor, pastoral counselor and educator, died June 13 in Austin. He was pastor of Seventh and James Baptist Church in Waco, Woodlawn Baptist Church in Austin, Webb Baptist Church in Arlington, Pawnee Baptist Church in Pawnee and University Heights Baptist Church in Stillwater, Okla. While in Austin, he was pastor-adviser to the Baptist Student Union at the University of Texas, where also held the Townes Bible Chair and became close friends with fellow pastors Browning Ware, Carlyle Marney, Blake Smith, Dick Lear and Hardy Clemons. One of his proudest achievements was desegregation of Seventh and James Baptist Church. He was vice chair of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission, and the commissioners visited the White House for a briefing by President Lyndon Johnson on the pending Civil Rights Act of 1964. He was a trustee of Baylor University and Hillcrest Hospital, a member of the BGCT Executive Board and a co-founder of the Waco Pastoral Counseling Center. Later in his ministry, he focused on pastoral counseling education and care, interning at Memorial Baptist Hospital in Houston and the Institute of Religion. He moved to Columbia, S.C., where he was director of clinical pastoral education at South Carolina State Hospital and then director of CPE and pastoral services at Baptist Medical Center and also supervised chaplaincies in Easley, Aiken, Greer and Summerville, S.C. He was passionate about servant leadership, books, travel, fishing, camping, art, music, and deep and abiding friendships. His wife, Wynelle Brown Vickrey, preceded him in death. He is survived by his son, Dean Eubank; daughter, Nancy Eubank Lewis; stepson, Larry Vickrey; stepdaughter, Raelynn Vickrey Olson; four granddaughters; three great-granddaughters; and his sister, Eleanor Tuck. A memorial service will be held at First Baptist Church in Austin July 9 at 1:30 p.m.