CLIPPING SERVice 1115 HILLSBORO RALEIGH, NC 27603 ~ TEL (919) 833-2079 CAROLINIAN RAlElGti, N.~ OCT 22 92 () ttl Rev. Debnam Speaker For Oak City Church Program Rev. Leotha Debnam, pastor of . '!'upper Memorial Baptist Church, will be the featured spader at the 11 a.m. homecoming/church anni­ versary service at Oak City Bap­ tist Church, 608 Method Road, Sunday. Dr. Debnam is a native of Raleigh and a product of the Raleigh public school system. Dr. Debnam attended St. Augustine's College and upon his discharge from the Army, he completed his studies at N.C. A8tT State Univer­ sity. He completed studies at American University, Washington, D.C.; Shaw University School of Religion and Duke Divinity .Sch ool. Dr. Debnam is a well-known educator and minister who has served on many boards and com­ REV. LEOTHA DEBNAM missions in Raleigh and is cur­ rently a member of the Board of nity Day Care Center. Management of the Estey Han The public is invited to attend . Fou~d a~;c.n and Tuttle C('!!lmu- this service. ­ CUPPING SERVICE 1115 HIllSBORO RALEIGH. NC 27603 ?" TEL . (919)833.2079 CAROLINIAN RALEIGH, N. C. DEC-20-R4 APPRECIATION ADDHESS- TIle Hlv. LIIIIII Dlbnlm, plltor of Tupper Mlmorlal ~IP"lt Church, was Ihe keynote lpelklr at thl Chartel T. Mlrwood PIli 157 apprtCII"ln .",1It IIIId IICInlly. Till Allltlfca. LI.lln IIIId III flrll aChl..I"";I. ..lnII IIInqull In reclnl years 10· honor Ileal selected wlr "lIranl. During hlalpleCh, Rev. DlbaIaa tiId.aI 1111 "cal li the mIIIIItry" during ilia .ar nrvlcl. Hilla veteran of World Warl P08t Hold8 Its Fir8t Annual Award8 Banquet lne Charles T. Norwood Post 157 of the American Legion held its first achievement awards banquet in recent years on Dec. 1 to honor local selected. war veterans. The principal speaker was the Rev. Leotha Debnam of Tupper }\iemorial Baptist Church. A veteran of World War n, Rev. Debnam told of being called to· the minislry during his war service. • Awa rds were presented to Plummer Vines, Sr., William McNair, Louis Dunbar, A.O. Carmichael, George Smith and John T. Moore, Jr. And special certificates were given to World War I veterans Robert Sharper, Millard Peebles, Sr., and Charles G. Irving, Sr. The evening was such a success that Julius R. Haywood, the commander of Post 157, announced that the post plans an appreciaiton ...... ollet once eveD 'i~~~ ____ CLIPPING SERVICE 1115 HILLSBORO RALEIGH. NC 27603 ~ TEl. (919) 833 , 2079 CAROLINIAN RALEIGH, N. c. PASTOR (Continued from page I) 'Debnam said he taught Bible class at First Baptist Church on hnington Street for a number of years and describes his work with Postal Service as a "bi-vocational ministry. I used my secular work to support my family. I lifted the burden .off the church. There re so many churches tha t needed a minister that couldn't afford it. " Profil' His first pastorate was Bethlehem B~ptist Church in Raleigh and lSrst Baptist Church in Smithfield. He 'pastored Oak City Baptist f astor OIurch and First Baptist Church of Clayton at the same time. J)uring Rev. Debnam's 17 years at Tupper, which was where Shaw Uaiversity was organized in 1865 by Dr. Henry Martin Tupper, the ~h's first pastor and first president of Shaw University, many nisters have been ordained and licensed from the church. Rev. Debnam is married to the former Naomi Chavis, also of l&IJeigh, and parents of Gloria Jean, a teacher in Portsmouth, Va.; Elaine,..a housing manager in Mesa, Ariz.; Leotha Jr., with the Postal Service; Malcolm, a corporate manager in Pittsburgh, ; Emily, a businesswoman in Pittsburgh, Pa. and Stephanie. ..,: REV. LEOTHA DEBN SR. •Rev. Leotha. Debnam, Sr., pastor of Tupper Memorial Baptist Church is viewed by the community as a friend and spiritual shepherd , and for years gathered Inspiration for many sermons from the neighborhoods he visited while with the U. S. Postal Service. Rev. Debnam retired from the U. S. Postal Service in 1982 after 28 years of service. Today I he spends most of his time with the ministry. Debnam is a graduate of Raleigh's former Washington High School and attended St. Augustine's College before a tour in the U. S. Army during World War II. He also attended North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro where he received a BS degree in math and tailoring. Later he received a MA degree in cutting and design from American , Washington, D. C. Debnam taught math and tailoring at returned to Raleigh. He also CLlPP' NCI SERVICE 1115 HILLSBORO RAt.EIOH, NC 27603 ~ TEL, (919) 833-2079 CAROUNIAN ~ RAtE!GH, N. C. C»' , ~ ~tto , .vJ- 1) 'smaA 99 ' .4:~J~L.;;I;;'o ; l .J [eV!Leotha, . Debnam Dies" A-GoodMan . BY CASH MICHAELS . _ Staff Writer, , "He was a good man, ~ . go.odJ worker, and he was concerned about the welfare of his people." , -" ' ,Yesterday, the Rev. , ~a ,Debnam Sr., pastor of Tupper Me­ mOrial Baptist Church in Raleigh, ' was laid to rest after funeral ser~ i vices at First Baptist Church on Wilmington Street. Rev. Debnam passed at his home last Friday after an ex­ tended illness. He was 75. Those who knew the Raleigh na­ tive agreed he was a man of great purpose and joy, who was al ways willing to be of service. "Rev. Debnam was a good com­ ..,: munity man," said Dr. John W. fleming, longtime friend and asso­ !iate. ".Edward Glenn, 72, says he's, mown Rev. Debnam for 65 years. ['hey attended the old Washington ugh School together, even though lev. Debnam was a few grades bead. "He's always been a concerned , . lan," said Glenn,sitting on the teps of Tupper, lookin'g at the REV~ DEBNAM (Continued from Ve 1), sign out front that still lists his lifelong friend as pastor. Every week, they would stand outside the church, and just talk: about life and the community. That's what they did last week, and according to Glenn, Rev. Deb­ nam looked fine and never let on if he was feeling bad. "I promised him that I would join his church one day," Glenn re­ ,. flects sadly, sorry that he couldn't keep his promlse before his friend passed. "I lost my buddy." Indeed, the death of Rev. peb­ nam is untimely. As a member of the Board of Management of the Estey Hall Foundation, the body that spearheaded restoration ef­ forts of the hjstoric structure on the Shaw University campus, he was certainly missed at the re­ dedication ceremony Tuesday. "Rev. Leotha Debnam was sup· posed to open this ceremony wit~ prayer t.oday," Dr. George Deb·. nam chairman of the Shaw Uni' versity Board of Trustees, told the large gathering. "Let's all bow our heads in a mo­ ment of silence," he said. Rev. Debnam attended St. Augustine's College, completed his -. --- . ~--~:;~~============~= I'VE LOST·MY BUDDY - This week, Edward Glenn, 72, sat on the ,• undergraduate studies at N.C. A & ' / steps of Tupper Memorial Baptist Church alone. His friend, the pastor, T Stute .University, und did his postgraduate studies at American Rev: Dr. Leotha Debnam (inset), passed last Friday of a prolonged illness. University in Was hington, D.C., !hey had been lifelong friends for 65 years. (Photo-Cash Michaels) Sh;w University School of Reli­ gion, Duke Divinity School, and the Urban Bible College jn Detroit, Mich. He became pastor of Tupper in 1968. Rev. Debnam was also a mem­ ber of the Tuttle Community Day Care Center, the General Baptist' State Convention, the Raleigh­ Apex branch of the NAACP, and the Wnke Baptist Association. He is survived by h is wife, Naomi, six. children, four grand­ children, and three great-grand­ children. * CLIPPING SERVICE J llS HillSBORO RALEI GH. NC 27603 ? TH . (9J9) 833 . 2079 CAROLINIAN RALEIGH, N. C. JUN-06-85 ...•, MODEL alrnlf RIIII yiCA- rICIltty IIIn...· .'iiIt clmmunlly IIld"l IIr Ihllr ICllYI llllllrahip l'1li1 In IhI"lII lilt ......... pallllcil Ind nelll Invlronment " till Rlllllh COIIImunlly. TWI Reh IWII'III reclplentl plctulld II", him 11ft. I,. Rev. LHtIII Dtbum, pal" If Tuptllf IIImerill Church, rICIlYlIII thl .Irtlarllul AWlnllI"n by Dr. J...........Y. 8111Dm: Dr. Will DIYII~""nll Rev. DaYld C. -=..... wHh Ih....... Aw.nI. NEWS & OBSERVER CLIPPING SERVICE RALEIGH, N. c. 11 '6 HIUS80RO RALEIGH. NC 27803 TEL (9 19) 833· 2079 ~b %,D e/ NOV159~ JOURNAl. W1NSTON-sAIV.\ ~ 4)­ NOV 1593, DEBNAM~~I RALEIGH - Rey.P~tQL~t.ha-­ Thil)~-t.llr . , a native of Raleigh, (leparted this life at his home Fri­ day, November 12, 1993. He was a son of LuIa Smith-Debnam and the lale HarTY Debnam, Sr. He was born June 3, 1918. Dr. Debnam was a product of Raleigh public schools, attended Sl. Augustine College, and completed his underl gn!dua.I.e studies at N.C. A&.T St.aUt University. Post graduate studieS were completed at American Uni­ versity-1Jl Washington, D.C., Shaw REY. DR. LEOmA DEBNAM University &hool of Religion; RALEIGH - Rev. Doclor Leolho Duke University DivinIty &hool, Debnom Sr., 0 nolive :of Rolelgh, l dePOrled Ihis IIfe' al home Fridoy,. an~. Urban Bible College in Detro~t November 12, 1993. He wos Ihe son of MiCh: A WWII veteran, he relir , Lulo Smilh·Debnom ond Ihe lole from the " U.S. Postal Service" Horry Debnom Sr. Born June3, 1918, 1982. He was a ' member 'of thll Dr. Debnom wos a producl of Ihe Board of Management of the Esley ' Rolelgh Public Schools, ollended SI. Hall Foundation and Tuttle Com: Augusline's College and compleled munlty.Day Care'Cenler.