Remembering Mr. Leonard "Tee" Younger

From all of the pastors, class leaders, and members; past and present, who were blessed to have known Mr. Leonard Younger during his earthly lifetime; we can all say without a doubt, that he was indeed special! Mr. Younger was truly a man of God. He was unwavering in his Christian beliefs and he really loved his church family. His leadership, devotion, dedication, steady fast love and understanding of what was needed to be done, to keep the doors or our small church opened, was "measureless". No member was more committed than he was. Even as his health began to decline; he still kept moving forward. He was always the very first to arrive at the church every Sunday. He was there for each Sunday school and regular church services. He would always make sure that everything was done correctly and on time. He could not, or would not, stand by and allow division of any sort to take place among us, and continually taught us how to love and respect one another. Over the course of his life, he served on every board within the church, and was and exceptional mentor and leader.

Mr. Younger and the late Mary Hudson started the St. John AME annual BBQ more than 25 years ago. It was an event that he loved doing. He would always tell us that selling tickets and socializing with all the people in and around Dunklin County and the city of Kennett, brought him great joy, even when he could no longer walk around, or had very little strength left in his body, he still had the power in him to see to it that the job got done. When we members would go out to all the different places he had previously sold tickets to throughout the years, all we had to do was "mention" his name and no one would refuse us. It is needless to say that our church family will miss him. He will always and forever be in our thoughts and minds. His spiritual love and guidance will be carried on by St. John AME. We loved him, but our God loved him best. And the Lord has called him home.

As a church family, we will continue the annual BBQ that he loved and worked even harder to fulfill his one dream of enlarging our church community building. The name on the building in the future will be the Leonard T. Younger Community Center, as a fitting memorial to one of God's finest humanitarians.

From the membership of St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church in Kennett, Mo.