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Dr. Albert L. Reese Jr. passed away on July 28, 2024, after an extended illness.   Dr. Reese will be privately interred on July 31, 2024, in Oak City Cemetery in Bainbridge, Georgia.  A memorial service for Dr. Reese will be held at 11:00 am. on September 6, 2024, at First Presbyterian Church in Bainbridge with Rev. Stephen Webb and Rev. Robert Quirig officiating. The family will greet friends immediately following the service.

     Born in Ocala, FL, in 1931 to Albert and Louise Reese, Al grew up in Lake City, Florida, where he was active in high school sports, the Boy Scouts of America, and First Presbyterian Church. He graduated from Columbia High School in 1949, and earned a bachelor’s degree from Davidson College in 1953 and a Master of Divinity degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in 1956. He served Presbyterian churches in Alabama and Florida until 1969, when he enrolled at the University of Florida to pursue a doctoral degree in the Social and Historical Foundations of Education. During this time, he also served as an interim minister at various churches in Florida. After graduating in 1973, he began teaching graduate students at Georgia State University in Atlanta, while continuing to serve various churches in Georgia. He re-entered the ministry full time in 1979, serving at the First Presbyterian Church in Bainbridge until 1991. During his tenure there, Al was a co-founder of the Habitat for Humanity chapter of Bainbridge-Decatur County. Al often stated that his most significant time as a minister was working on the integration of all public facilities in Haines City, FL, as a member of the First Bi-Racial Committee in Florida, appointed by then-Governor LeRoy Collins. Over the course of his career, he was also a strong proponent of the ordination and installation of women and LGBT people, and the 1983 union of the Presbyterian Church (USA). After his retirement in 1991, he continued for nearly two decades serving as an interim minister in churches in Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi.

     In the summer of 1953 while working as the student minister of the Murray Hill Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville, FL, Al met Carolyn Godwin. They were married in December of that year, with Carolyn accompanying him back to Columbia Seminary. They had four children together: Michael Allen (spouse Amy Reese), Mary Louise (Bob Shell), Susan Godwin (Brown Moseley), and James Duey (Yannick Chevalier), and subsequently eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Carolyn died in 1990 of ovarian cancer. During his tenure as interim minister of the First Presbyterian Church of Pensacola, FL, Al met Helen Holmes; they were married in October 1991. Helen and her first husband Tom had four children: Carolyn (spouse John Moorman), Laura (Jeff Rutledge), Linda (Jay Heidenreich), and Tommy (Christine Holmes),

ten grandchildren, and fourteen great-grandchildren. Helen passed away in October 2023.

Al spent the entire 60 years of his ministry working for justice and peace in his beloved South. Active in the Civil Rights Movement and social justice causes over the past 70 years, he still found time to be a vital part of the growth and success of each generation of his family, while also being an active golfer, fisherman, and hunter. In addition to being survived by his four children and four step-children, their spouses, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, Al is survived by his sister Ann Chesnut (spouse Wesley), his sister-in-law Dawn Godwin, and a number of nieces and nephews.

   The family requests that those wishing to honor Al send memorials to his beloved First Presbyterian Church, Pensacola, 33 E. Gregory Street.  Pensacola, FL. 32502, or Stewards of Lake Seminole- 8121 Clearwater Drive, Donalsonville, GA. 39845

     Online condolences may be made at www.coxiveyfuneralhome.com.  Cox-Ivey Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.