Friends honor legacy of Alexandria minister, artist Henry Blount
When the late Rev. Dr. Henry Blount Jr., former pastor of First United Methodist Church Alexandria and an artist, passed away Oct. 27, 2020, no memorial service was held. It was during the height of the pandemic and gatherings such as these were discouraged to keep COVID from spreading.
On Saturday, Blount's family and friends were finally able to come together and celebrate his 94 years of life and honor his 72 years of ministry. His obituary says he served churches around Louisiana and retired from full time ministry in 1999 at FUMC Alexandria where he was installed as Pastor Emeritus. Though retired, he still served in interim and associate pastor roles.
At the celebration, speakers shared stories of Blount and his late wife Marilyn Speed Blount to whom he was married for 57 years. They had five children.
Their son Stephen Blount spoke about his parents. Musical tributes were performed by the choirs of FUMC Alexandria and FUMC Pineville. Speakers reflected on their friendship with Henry and the impression he made on their lives. Mayor Jacques Roy was on hand to issue a proclamation and Gayle Lucas read proclamations sent by State Sen. Jay Luneau for District 29 and Gov. John Bel Edwards.
“You know, each person is here for a reason this evening. And love may just be that reason. Maybe it was a love for Henry. Perhaps it was the love of his artwork. Perhaps it is the love of our awesome God. Maybe it's the love of giving back, or maybe all of the above. Whatever the case is, I am glad you are here,” said Stephen Blount during the service.
Steve Templin said he and Henry were very close during the last two years of Henry’s life.
“That's a pretty short time in the long life. I wish it was a lot longer. I miss that guy very much,” said Templin as he became emotional. “I've never been closer to another human being. We talked about everything and anything.”
“They were people that you were glad to say, ‘They're my friend.’ Henry and Marilyn Blount were people that had many, many, many best friends,” said Richard Bushnell who became emotional as he recounted his close friendship with the Blounts during the service. “And I like to say I was one of them.”
Henry encouraged Bushnell to join FUMC. He attended services for a couple of years but was not a member. Henry told Bushnell that he was retiring and that he wanted Bushnell to become a member of the church, which he did.
Henry’s obituary states that he was “a man of extraordinary talents.” He was a watercolor artist, ballroom dancer, master gardener, piano player and a “gifted counselor and inspiring public speaker.”
Some of his art is currently on display at FUMC as part of the Tom Peyton Memorial Arts Festival.
“My father absolutely loved this art show. I mean, he would talk about it for weeks and months before it happened each and every year. It's a wonderful thing for him in this entire art community. Even had his art for the last 30 or so years, periodically displayed here, including tonight. And he won a couple of awards along the way,” said Stephen Blount.
Another speaker, Brandi Bell, said that Blount was not only a talented watercolor artist but a gifted teacher on the subject. She took one of his classes at First United Methodist Church Pineville.
“The time and patience that it takes to teach beginners about color, technique, brushes, what to look for in your subject, and tricks in an unforgiving medium such as watercolor is endless,” she said. “He was so good at teaching that we all became immersed in our paintings, forgetting our misgivings.”
Through the class, he brought a love to art that she never thought she had or would ever have.
“He also brought an inner peace to be able to focus on what you were doing right then and there. All worries, kids, work, et cetera, just melted away. It was remarkable. He wasn't just teaching us how to paint. He was imparting to all of us that we didn't need to limit this harmony to art, but to let it overflow in all areas of our lives,” she said.
Henry taught her to take a breath, enjoy and be in the moment and just paint for fun.
His obituary goes on to say, “Henry was a man of humor, joy, wisdom, sensitivity and a boundless love of people (and they loved him back). He showed tremendous compassion, always seeing the good and potential in others, despite their scars or mistakes. Sharing the light of Christ was not a sermon talking point to Henry; it was his life.”
Stephen Blount said his father taught him what unconditional love meant and it’s a lesson he’ll carry with him for the rest of his life.
“He showed unconditional love through his actions, his words, his caring, his compassion. And what it really, truly means to accept and love someone. Even through all of their indiscretions, their problems, and whatever it may be, including their successes and failures,” he said.
Marilyn Blount suffered from dementia, said Bushnell. Donations were taken that would go towards the Alzheimer’s Association.
“My father for me personally, he was my mentor. He was my rock. He was my best friend. He was one of the few people that I knew I could always depend on,” said Stephen Blount.
This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Friends honor legacy of Alexandria minister, artist Henry Blount
