Fee, George A.
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Fee, George A.
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G E 0 R G E
AL E XAND E R
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F E E
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-oGeorge h lexander Fee was born in Geor getown,
Ont ario, July 1, 1858, but one generation re moved
from County Caven, and a long line of Royal Irish
Fusileers.
Orphaned of his mother too soon to
know her, but not too soon for her to forever bind
him by prayer to the heart of God, he was mothered
by his older sister, who became the wife of the
Reverend J. B. Goss of Fli nt, l. ichi gan.
For a
ti me he lived with an aunt in New York and then
bec ame a helper on lake steamers, a fter which he
helped his father clear l and in rur a l Michigan for
a home.
Thus he came to manhood with little
academic schooling , but finding new life in Christ
he hungered for the best thin gs and became an av id
and lifelong student.
At twenty-six he married Frances Anne Partrid ge,
of Flint, took her to a farm home, and then with her
answered the divine ur ge into the Methodist mi nistry.
He was sent to Whitt emore, in the wo ods, salary $200,
with four points for pre aching, covering a corduroy
and tr a il circuit of fort y miles.
Four children
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shared this very re a listic itinerancy: Robert M.,
who resides in Ann Arbor, Michi gan; Eva, who ma rried
Hervey N. Roys, of Detroit; Amy Lois, who married
Pearce Lewis of Ferndale, and one who is de c eased.
After t wo years at Whittemore this frontier
pastor was appointed to Standish in 1893; then t wo
years at Gaylord; three a t Fourth ;.venue Church,
Bay City; three at Cl ayton, where they entered the
t wentieth century; four at Addison; then from 1906 to
1911 at
~ a rlet te,
whe re a bles sed reviv a l and much
fruit f rom persona l evangelism gave hi m much joy.
Following t wo year s at Cass City; thre e at Asbury
Church, Detroit; then a pastorate a t St. Cl a ir
Heights, Detroit, and nomina lly retired in 1919.
After he retired he made his home whe re shepherdless
churches needed le adership - and served as pastor,
North Detroit, then in turn Cl a renceville and Keego
Harbor while living at Farmin gton, and Palmyra from
his home in Adri an .
Mr. Fee 's mi nis t eri a l l a bors were c har ac teri z ed
by a conscientious , painstaking thorou ghness which
a l ways ensures success.
\ibile never neglecting any
part of a p as tor' s duties, his work among c hildren
and young people esp ecia lly engaged his careful ,
devoted interest.
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It was a world of beauty in · whi ch this pure
souled man lived, and he loved it all, not for a
moment blind to the trails of sin or failure of
human nature and its woes.
These lured him not to
sin or failure, but to a ministry to both, with a
gospel of cleansing and deliverance through the
mercy and power of the Saviour Christ whom he had
found in the country church and was knowing better
a nd loving more with every passing year.
folks re ga r dless of race and color.
He loved
He loved great
poems, among them the hymns of the church univers a l,
and a ll wor thwhile books; and almost passionately
he loved the pi ctures painted by the hand of God in
l andsc ape and sky.
His long cwoUits at week-ends ,
and endless pastora l journeys daily, were adventures
- now with the changing seasons, in the bea uty of
the hills and fl ashing waters, under blue or le aden
skies ; or l ater in t he moving human streams of city
streets.
He loved de arly hi s own home.
with him was no form a l thing.
Family worship
It was then the
children's minds were stored with the choicest
cha pters, psalms and hymns.
On the circuit his
youn ger da u ghter memori z ed with him the poems of
n ature.
Yet this ma n of lov e feare d not rough
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fi ghting for righteousness.
i gan owed him much.
Prohibition i n Mich-
A full ri ch life was t hat
which ended a bruptly May 17, 1927.
His first
money bought him a "Life of Lincoln," and like t h is
first of his heroes he stor ed well a good mind.
Yet he ne ver lost perspective, keeping close to
folks and human need, and close to the world of
n ature and the life of gro wing thin gs.
It was his
beloved gard en in which the summons c ame to hi m,
co mmanding his presence in the Father's House .
"Not much dross in the gold of that Irishm an,
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wrot e one Methodist pre acher to another of a
brot h er mi n ister beloved of both .
Now that t he
one of whom that was written h as heard the 'bne cle a r
call" and p assed bey ond t h e bourne of time and
pl a ce, one t hi nks of George Alexander Fee as findin g
himself by the very bea ut y of his soul quite at
home with the Lord.
Fee, George A.