Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
RES-2020-064 <br /> <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> <br />RESOLUTION HONORING AND REMEMBERING <br />REVEREND ROBERT E. SEYMOUR <br /> <br />WHEREAS, Reverend Robert “Bob” Seymour, a community leader, activist, pastor, advocate for aging <br />services, servant to those less fortunate and a resident leading the way for diversity, equity and <br />inclusion in our community, passed away on October 11, 2020 at the age of 95; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, Reverend Seymour was known for his life of service to the people of Orange County; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, Reverend Seymour was born in Greenwood, South Carolina, completed his <br />undergraduate degree at Duke University, a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School and a Ph.D. <br />from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, Reverend Seymour and his wife, Pearl, came to Chapel Hill in 1959 where he served as <br />the first pastor of the Olin T. Binkley Memorial Baptist Church, which under his guidance became a <br />church committed to social justice and inclusion, and with Bob as a champion for social justice, Binkley <br />Church was one of the first interracial congregations in NC that challenged racial segregation; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, Reverend Seymour was compassionate and an advocate for those less fortunate in our <br />community, and from that passion helped organize the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service in 1963 <br />and served as its first president; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, Reverend Seymour was an advocate for affordable housing, serving an instrumental role <br />in helping start Orange County Habitat for Humanity, and in honor of his service, the first building in <br />the Crescent Magnolia senior community was named the Beloved Community in honor of him and his <br />life’s work of pursuing justice and fairness in Orange County; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, as Reverend Seymour was entering his retirement with 30 years of service at Binkley, he <br />was appointed to the Orange County Advisory Board on Aging, and quickly became an advocate for <br />aging services, serving on the Orange County Task Force for Senior Needs in Southern Orange <br />County and becoming the guiding force in the inception, planning and design of a new senior center; <br />and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, in 2005 the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted to name the new <br />senior facility on Homestead Road in Chapel Hill the “Robert and Pearl Seymour Center” in honor of <br />the Seymours for their dedication and commitment to serving the older adults in Orange County; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, in his retirement years Bob continued to be a prolific writer, including publishing Aging <br />Without Apology: Living the Senior Years with Integrity and Faith and “Whites Only” A Pastor’s <br />Retrospective on Signs of the New South; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, Bob’s love for people, his boldness, generosity, and compassion for others will be greatly <br />missed; <br /> <br />NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, on behalf of the residents of <br />Orange County, express our deep appreciation, gratitude and respect for the services rendered by <br />Reverend Robert E. Seymour to the County and beyond over the course of his lifetime and honor him <br />for his service. <br /> <br />This the 20th day of October, 2020. <br />_________________________________ <br />Penny Rich, Chair <br />Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />3