Rev. David Herbert Long

The Rev. David Herbert Long of South County Road 67, between Midland City and Echo, died Wednesday morning, Sept. 19, 2007, in the Dale Medical Center. He was 78. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007, in the Holman-Headland Mortuary Chapel with the Rev. Jeff Lunsford officiating. Burial will follow in the Christian Hill Congregational Cemetery, between Midland City and Echo. Military rites will be conducted at the graveside. The family will receive friends from 5 until 7 p.m. Friday at the mortuary in Headland. Flowers will be accepted or memorial contributions may be made to ones favorite charity. The Rev. Long was born and reared in the Christian Hill Church community, son of the late Rev. Nathaniel Alvah Long and Alice Snell Long. He was a graduate of Midland City High School and later served as a chaplains assistant in the U.S. Navy. After completion of his military service, he enrolled in Piedmont College in Demorest, Ga., where he received a bachlor of science degree in education. The Rev. Long furthered his education at Bangor Theological Seminary in Bangor, Maine, where he received his masters of divinity in theology. The Rev. Long formerly served as pastor of churches in Alabama, Maine and Ohio before returning to Demorest, Ga., to become the chaplain at Piedmont College. He also served the First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Memphis, Tenn. He retired in 1993 as the pastor of the First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Bonne Terre, Mo. The Rev. Long returned to the family home place in the Christian Hill community of Dale County in 1996. He was a member of the First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Bonne Terre, Mo. Among his many accomplishments, the Rev. Long was a co-founder of the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association in Memphis, Tenn. He was a former member and president of the Bonne Terre Rotary Club where he received the Paul Harris Fellow Award. The Rev. Long was on the Board of Directors of area hospitals in Memphis and Bonne Terre. He was the founder of Helping Hands Ministry and President of Ministerial Alliance in Bonne Terre. Reverend Long served as a volunteer for many local organizations and was awarded the Piedmont College Alumni of the Year in 2001. The Rev. Long was preceded in death by a grandson, Robert Randall McDonald Jr.; a son-in-law, Charles N. Dillner; a sister, Grace Long Davis; five brothers, Don Long, N.A. Long, Sam Long, Neil Long and Max Long. Surviving relatives include his wife, Betty Ledbetter Long, Midland City; two daughters, Wanda Long McDonald and husband, Randy McDonald, Memphis, Tenn.; Vicki Long Dillner, Memphis, Tenn.; a brother, John L. Long and wife, Mary Louise Long, Fort Worth, Texas; three sisters-in-law, Verlie Long, Jacksonville, Fla.; Joyce Long, Echo; Martha Long, Echo; a brother-in-law, Hillie Davis, Canton, Ga.; two granddaughters, Kimberly McDonald Walters and husband, Rob Walters, Boulder, Colo.; Emily Dillner, Memphis, Tenn.; a great-granddaughter, Ella Grace Walters, Boulder, Colo.; numerous nieces and nephews. Holman-Headland Mortuary, (334) 693-3371, is in charge of arrangements.