D. Stanley Coors

D. Stanley Coors

1 August 1889 - 6 March 1960


Bishop D. Stanley Coors

Bishop D. Stanley Coors, head of the Methodist Church's Minnesota Area since 1952, died March 6 in his St. Paul home.

He had been in poor health for some time, but seemed to be gaining strength and had resumed some of his normal duties after suffering a recurrence of a serious systemic blood ailment in December.

Had he lived until July, the 70-year-old bishop would have retired at the Noth Central Jurisdictional Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan, his native state, where he served 35 years as a Methodist pastor before his election to the episcopacy in 1952.

A funeral service was held in St. Paul on March 9, with four bishops participating. Bishop Edwin E. Voigt, Dakotas Area, was in charge, assisted by Bishop Charles W. Brashares, Illinois Area, and president of the North Central Jurisdiction College of Bishops; Bishop E. Gerald Ensley of Iowa Area; and Bishop H. Clifford Northcutt, Wisconsin Area. The service was attended by some 200 ministers.

The second service was held March 11, at Central Methodist Church, Lansing, where Bishop Coors had served for fourteen years as pastor, prior to his election to the episcopacy in 1952.

Bishop Marshall R. Reed, an intimate friend and college classmate, was in charge. Bishop Richard C. Raines of the Indiana Area spoke in behalf of the Council of Bishops; Dr. William W. Whitehouse, spoke in behalf of Albion College, where Bishop Coors was both an alumnus and served as trustee for many years. Dr. William H. Helrigel, pastor at Hastings, spoke in behalf of the members of the Michigan Conference. Bishop Reed paid his own tribute to his long-time friend and colleague. The scripture lesson was read by Rev. Russell R. King of Petoskey and Dr. Paul Morrison, Lansing Central, offered the prayer.

There were over 100 ministers present. They sang "Hark, Hark My Soul," as a processional hymn, filling the choir seats in the chancel and the front seats of the sanctuary. The congregation and ministers sang "For All the Saints Who From Their Labors Rest." Mrs. Mary Toy Yard rendered the solo, "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth." Dr. Cyril Barker, minister of music, presided at the organ. Burial was in the family plot at Evergreen Cemetery, Lansing.

As an outstanding pastor in Michigan, he was elected to six General Conferences, heading his conference delegation five times. He was also a delegate to the Uniting Conference, to four North Central Jurisdictional Conferences and to the Methodist Ecumenical Conference in Oxford, England, in 1951.

Bishop Coors was vice-president of the denomination's Board of Temperance and a member of the Board of Missions and the Commission on Promotion and Cultivation.

He was a past president of the National Temperance League of America and the Minnesota Council of Churches. He was a trustee of Hamline University in St. Paul and other church-related institutions.

Born in Pentwater, Michigan, Aug. 1, 1889, Bishop Coors was graduated from Albion College in 1914 with Phi Beta Kappa honors. His alma mater bestowed the honorary doctorate in divinity upon him in 1931. He earned the bachelor of divinity degree at Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, N.J., and the master of arts degree from Columbia University, New York.

His pastorates included: Ferry, Mich., 1911; Roosevelt, New York, 1916-18; Plainfield Avenue Church, Grand Rapids, Mich., 1918-23; Burton Heights, Grand Rapids, 1923-25; First Church, Kalamazoo, 1925-34; Central Church, Muskegon, 1934-38; and Central Church, Lansing, 1938-52.

He is survived by his wife, the former Margaret Havens, and a son and two daughters: Robert S., Milwaukee, Wis.; Winifred (Mrs. Matthew S. Van Keuren), La Mesa, Calif.; and Lucile Marie (Mrs. Harvey W. Lynn) of Lansing.

Surviving also are the bishop's two sisters - Mrs. B.F. Lamb of Columbus, Ohio, and Mrs. D.M. Snell of East Lansing.

- Michigan Annual Conference minutes of 1960, pp. 196-197

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