Gentle and kind come to mind when one thinks of Sam Cappel, who pastored Presbyterian churches for nearly 60 years and served as a Navy Chaplain during the Korean War. Sam died in Covington, Louisiana on Monday, January 2.

Sam missed the first General Assembly, but came into the PCA from the PCUS in 1974 while serving as pastor of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, which remained in independency for several more years.

Born in Alexandria, Louisiana in 1925, Sam started college at LSU but soon went into the Navy during World War II as a Navy pilot, flying F6F fighters. After the war, he returned to and graduated from Louisiana Tech in Ruston, LA in 1948, and that summer married Mary Ann Dendy, daughter of Dr. Henry Dendy – pastor of the Weaverville, North Carolina Presbyterian Church which was the original home of the Presbyterian Journal. Dr. Dendy and Dr. Nelson Bell (Billy Graham’s father-in-law) were among the founders of the magazine in 1942. Needless to say, Sam was part of the ‘Concerned Presbyterian’ movement for many years before the PCA was formed.

Sam attended Columbia Seminary in Atlanta, graduating in 1951 and immediately ordained by Holston Presbytery of the PCUS and was commissioned as a U. S. Navy Chaplain where he served for two years during the Korean conflict.

In 1953, Sam was called as pastor of the Princeton Presbyterian Church in Johnson City, TN which was then a young, growing congregation in the area (the church remains an active congregation in the PCA today). In 1955 he moved to North Carolina to serve as pastor of the Mebane Presbyterian Church where he remained until 1964.

His next stop was his first trip to Knoxville where he served as Senior Pastor of the large, western-suburban Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church where he remained for seven years, but along with his wife, Mary Ann, developed strong, lasting relationships.

He then served two years at the Carrollton Church in New Orleans, but in 1973, when the PCA was formed and the Carrolton Church made no movement to leave the PCUS, he moved to Atlanta to the Westminster Church where he pastored from 1973 to 1977. He then moved on to follow his close friend, Kennedy Smartt, at the West End Church in Hopewell, Virginia – the church from which Pastor Bill Hill left in 1958 to form the Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship and was pastor there until 1983. (Author note: I got to know Sam during those years we were part of the old Mid-Atlantic Presbytery.)

Sam’s last Senior Pastor role was in Tyler, Texas and pastor of Fifth Street Presbyterian Church, and in 1987 and in his 60s he decided to move to the role of Pastoral Care in which he so greatly excelled. He served in that position at First Church, Macon, Georgia until 1993 when he and Mary Ann returned to Knoxville and took a similar position at Cedar Springs. In 1997 he moved to Honorable Retired status and was elected as Pastor Emeritus of the church. While he was not on the official rolls, his pastoral presence, including being a regular greeter, continued as long as his health allowed.

He is survived by his wife, Mary Ann Cappel and his three children, Mary Ann Tyson (Married to PCA pastor Bill Tyson of the Westminster Church in Fort Walton Beach, FL); Dr. Sam Cappel, a management professor (and author) currently teaching at Southeast Louisiana State University; and Rev. Bob Cappel, currently pastoring an EPC congregation in DuBois, PA, and their spouses; as well as 10 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.

The funeral has been set for 11:00 am Thursday, Jan. 5, at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church with his son-in-law Bill Tyson officiating. His body will be interned at the Old Cedar Springs Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the World Missions Offering of Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church. The family will receive friends on Thursday from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. at the church.

Online condolences may be left at the Rose Mortuary at www.rosemortuary.com