Rev. Elmer Cleveland Painter

A coal miner’s son, he was born to the late Lawrence and Maggie Painter, January 20, 1928, in Beards Fork, West Virginia. As a big believer in education, he received numerous degrees, including multiple graduate degrees, from a diversity of institutions: Piedmont Bible College, where he was a member of the founding class, Guilford College, and Southeastern Seminary. “I never knew you weren’t supposed to like school,” said Rev. Painter, who went from a one-room elementary school in Gauley Bridge, West Virginia, to graduate studies at Duke Divinity School.

He married the late Frances Bowman Painter, whom he lovingly called “Frankie Jean,” in 1948. They were married for fifty-six years and, following Rev. Painter’s nomadic and curious nature, lived in cities across the Southeast, including Wilmington, Winston-Salem, Chattanooga, and Miami, before retiring in Lynchburg, where they attended Thomas Road Baptist Church. After his wife's death, he moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where he became a member of The Church at Argyle.

Rev. Painter worked as a pastor and teacher, and founded Pine Valley Baptist Church in Wilmington. He also taught at Tennessee Temple University and Liberty University.

But he was the proudest of his family. Of his wife, he said, “Frankie was the best mother. She was the family’s coach, and I was the cheerleader.”

Rev. Painter is preceded in death by his wife, a son and a granddaughter. He is survived by five children and their spouses: Karen and Leonard Parker, Lynchburg, VA; Richard and Donna Painter, Jacksonville, FL; Rebecca and Coba Beasley, Marianna, FL; Leslie and Jordan Evans, Florence, SC; and John Mark and Fleming Painter, Nashville, TN; thirteen grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Rev. Painter once said, “I have the best family. Everything in my life I have received in spite of me.” His family would like to differ with that last claim. Rev. Painter’s favorite exclamation to celebrate his family was “Glory!” Today, his family wants others to know of the glory of his achievements.

Funeral services will be held at Whitten Timberlake Chapel in Lynchburg, Virginia, on Monday, July 16, at 12:00 p.m. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Worship Arts Ministry at The Church at Argyle, 6823 Argyle Forest Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL, 32244.