Celebrating the Life and Faith
of Mort McMillan

by Jane Hines

On Monday, March 25, 2003, Synod Executive David Snellgrove received the following email from John Kimbirl: “I suspect when you saw this you knew what it was. It is one I didn’t want to have to send. Mort died about 5:25 this afternoon . . . Bob Murphy, Pastor at Trinity, was with Mary and Mort’s sons when he died. Bob said they unhooked Mort from life support about 5:10. When they did the sons put a tape recorder on the pillow beside Mort and turned it on. The first thing out of the recorder was Amazing Grace played by bagpipes. When that was over, Mary asked them if that was all. Their response was : ‘Oh, no, Mother, there is more.’ Next was the sound of a steam locomotive starting up and chugging off with whistle blowing and bell ringing. After a coupe of minutes it faded away and then the song 500 Miles Away from Home came on. Bob said that literally when that was over, Mort took his last breath. When I heard that I thought, ‘That’s the way Mort would want to be sent off.’ ”

Mort McMillan was a man of faith. Evidence of his faith came shining through the sadness of his death at the memorial service celebrating his life. Certain elements of the service had been planned by Mort, himself. The uncertain elements were the things people said, but they, too, illustrated Mort’s abiding faith. The service was held on March 29, 2003, at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Fairhope, Alabama, which was where Mort and Mary had been worshiping, since he had pretended to retire six years ago.

Mort’s Christian faith was a part of everything that he was: Presbyterian preacher; pastor; Southerner of definite Scottish descent; family man loyal to his clan; thespian; lover of trains, especially steam locomotives; scholar and reader of books; story teller; mentor, teacher, and friend; eloquent speaker and formidable foe on the floor of presbytery, synod or General Assembly; servant of the church.

As a Presbyterian preacher, Mort took his task seriously, prepared every sermon carefully and enjoyed delivering them. During the memorial service, one of Mort’s sons said he remembered hearing his dad practice sermons on Saturday, then listening to the perfected product on Sunday morning, and always being impressed with the way they turned out. “I never got tired of hearing him preach,” he said.

Mort liked the pastoral part of being a minister, too. He once said he particularly liked visiting the shut-ins because he always learned something from them. Mort’s pastors at Trinity in Fairhope are Bob and Laurie Murphy. During the memorial service, Laurie said that the children of the church were very fond of “Dr. Mort,” and he always found time to explain things to them. He even met with them after his surgery in January for cancer of the esophagus, sharing, Laurie said, “the fierce parts of his faith, rooted in God’s holy love.” Then she read from Psalms 9, 27, 23, and 40, selected by Mort as a gesture of pastoral care for his family and friends.

Being a McMillan in south Alabama means being a Southerner of definite Scottish descent. For Thomas Morton McMillan, Jr., it also meant being a Presbyterian in the purest sense of the religion of his ancestors. Those with other origins may never understand how Scottish and Southern cultures came together so pleasantly for Mort and Mary, whose families came from the same part of Scotland, more than a century ago. They emphasized the best of both of those worlds in their life together, traveling to Scotland on vacations and study leaves, resonating in their souls to the sound of bagpipes and the sight of soft green hills. They instilled in their sons an appreciation for the heritage they cherished. Those three sons, who spoke so movingly at Mort’s memorial service, were all wearing neckties that were different versions of the same family tartan: the McMillan, the ancient McMillan, and the McMillan hunting.

Going to Louisville Seminary, where he earned both a BD and ThM, was like going “North” for Mort and if he hadn’t enjoyed rising on trains so much, he might never have done it. He graduated from Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College) Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in history and later received a Doctor of Divinity degree there. Mort served as minister at the Atmore Presbyterian Church in Alabama for five years, then seven years with Hunter Presbyterian Church in Lexington, KY. He was with the PCUS Board of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia, for five years and then came to First Presbyterian Church in Tupelo, MS for fifteen years. He returned to his south Alabama roots to be near his mother and father, serving as pastor of the Stockton Presbyterian Church for over seven years. He then served an interim pastorate at Government Street Presbyterian Church in Mobile for two years and in various capacities at Trinity Presbyterian in Fairhope, Alabama, until his death.

John Kimbirl, speaking during the service, remembered that Mort was the only person in the history of the Presbyterian General Assembly who had ever received, not one, but two standing ovations for reports as Moderator of the Assembly Committee on Bills and Overtures, sometimes seen as the least interesting of all the reports. That’s one thing Mort did best: making church and life more interesting for friends, family, church members, and audiences. His son, Wallace, said at the service that people were drawn to his father as to a light, that he danced through life. Mort loved to act in community theater, especially in the role of Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird. Many thought Atticus was based on the character of Mort instead of vice versa.

David Snellgrove, speaking at the service, recalled his first introduction to how Mort had demonstrated his knowledge of the church and its doctrines at a presbytery meeting, completely dominating the discussion. Sometimes labeled a liberal, sometimes called a conservative, Mort went above and beyond all labels, simply expecting Presbyterians to act like true Presbyterians and do everything in a decent and orderly fashion. As one of the most respected leaders in the Presbyterian Church (US), he led the battle in the Southern branch of the church to bring about reunion and become a united PCUSA. Snellgrove told the crowd gathered in Fairhope that he and others remembered when Mort had been approached by a group who wanted him to run for Moderator of the General Assembly. “He considered it carefully and then said he appreciated the honor but that he would not run because, as much as he loved the church, he loved Mary more, and wanted to spend his retirement years with her.”

Mort will always be remembered throughout the Presbyterian Church for the times he was mentor, teacher, pastor, preacher, presbyter, and friend. Messages of condolence have come to his family from all around the country. But it is his family, itself, that is the greatest testimony to the strength of his faith and influence. His loyal and gracious wife, Mary, (whose middle name, after all, is Grace) greeted hundreds of people at the reception in Trinity Hall following the Service of Witness to the Resurrection. She shook every hand, returned every smile and every hug. She is the mother of Mort’s three fine sons, who did their parents proud during the service, sharing the faith and love of their father. They had spent the last three weeks with Mort and Mary, comforting them and then finally ministering to the gathering in Fairhope on March 29, 2003.