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7 <br /> With Bob doing much of the behind the scenes work, a County bond was proposed and passed <br /> to build a state of the art senior center. In 2005 the Orange County Board of County <br /> Commissioners voted to name the new senior facility on Homestead Road the "Robert and <br /> Pearl Seymour Center" in honor of the Seymours for their dedication and commitment to serving <br /> the older adults in Orange County. In 2007 the Seymour Center opened and has served a <br /> diverse population for the past 13 years. Until the COVID pandemic, Bob visited the Center at <br /> least once a week for exercise class and a weekly massage. He was very proud that the Center <br /> was a place that everyone, regardless of socio-economic status or race, was welcomed. <br /> Reverend Seymour will be remembered for loving people; for being compassionate and <br /> generous; and for his boldness when needed. Bob was a prolific writer, which became even <br /> more of a passion in his later years. He published several books including Aging Without <br /> Apology: Living the Senior Years with Integrity and Faith and "Whites Only"A Pastor's <br /> Retrospective on Signs of the New South. <br /> Reverend Robert "Bob" Seymour leaves behind a legacy of service; many friends; and is an <br /> example of a life well-lived with meaning and purpose. He is survived by his children, Frances <br /> and Rob, their spouses, and several grandchildren. <br /> Kristen Smith-Young, a close Seymour family friend, read the resolution: <br /> RES-2020-064 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> RESOLUTION HONORING AND REMEMBERING <br /> REVEREND ROBERT E. SEYMOUR <br /> WHEREAS, Reverend Robert "Bob" Seymour, a community leader, activist, pastor, advocate <br /> for aging services, servant to those less fortunate and a resident leading the way for diversity, <br /> equity and inclusion in our community, passed away on October 11, 2020 at the age of 95; and <br /> WHEREAS, Reverend Seymour was known for his life of service to the people of Orange <br /> County; and <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 <br /> Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland; and <br /> WHEREAS, Reverend Seymour and his wife, Pearl, came to Chapel Hill in 1959 where he <br /> served as the first pastor of the Olin T. Binkley Memorial Baptist Church, which under his <br /> guidance became a church committed to social justice and inclusion, and with Bob as a <br /> champion for social justice, Binkley Church was one of the first interracial congregations in NC <br /> that challenged racial segregation; and <br /> WHEREAS, Reverend Seymour was compassionate and an advocate for those less fortunate in <br /> our community, and from that passion helped organize the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service <br /> in 1963 and served as its first president; and <br /> WHEREAS, Reverend Seymour was an advocate for affordable housing, serving an <br /> instrumental role in helping start Orange County Habitat for Humanity, and in honor of his <br /> service, the first building in the Crescent Magnolia senior community was named the Beloved <br /> Community in honor of him and his life's work of pursuing justice and fairness in Orange <br /> County; and <br />