William Rush Cromer, Jr., died on March 25, 2015, at the age of 91 at his home in Louisville, Kentucky. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Cromer dedicated his life to the education and training of those entering Christian ministry and tireless service to the Southern Baptist church.

He was a graduate of Miami Edison High School in Miami, Florida, where he was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. He was selected for and attended the Navy V-12 and NROTC programs at Hampden-Sydney College and the University of North Carolina, and served in the U.S. Navy from 1942-1946.

Dr. Cromer received a BA degree from the University of Miami (Florida) and a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Education from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was one of the first graduates of the School of Religious Education at Southern Seminary and was a leader in the field of religious education. Dr. Cromer was a professor at Southern Seminary in Louisville for 41 years, where he was installed as the Gaines S. Dobbins Professor of Christian Education and had the longest classroom tenure of any Christian education professor. He engaged in post-doctoral studies at Florida State University, University of California at Berkeley, Oxford University and Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary and was a visiting professor at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He was the business manager of the Review and Expositor, a quarterly theological journal, for 17 years. Dr. Cromer authored numerous books and articles and was a frequent lecturer and consultant for churches, associations, conventions and workshops.

Dr. Cromer was a past President of the Kentucky Baptist Religious Education Association, the Eastern Baptist Religious Education Association and the Southern Baptist Religious Education Association (SBREA) and held leadership positions with the Case Method Institute of the American Association of Theological Schools. He received the Distinguished Leadership Award from the SBREA at its 1998 annual meeting. In 1983, he was a co-winner of the Grawemeyer Award for Instructional Development presented by Kentuckiana Metroversity.

Dr. Cromer loved to help students as part of his classroom ministry, including being active for many years in the annual Rec Lab program at Lake Yale Baptist Assembly in Florida. He taught thousands of Southern Seminary graduates, and also recruited to Southern Seminary the first woman to earn a doctorate there.

Dr. Cromer served as the Minister of Music and also in some cases the Minister of Education, and his wife, Lois, played the organ and piano, in numerous churches for 30 years, including Third Avenue Baptist Church, Bethany Baptist Church and Shawnee Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, and Miami Shores Baptist Church in Miami, Florida. He was also a long-time member of St. Matthews Baptist Church. Dr. Cromer was a wonderful singer and guitar player, and his bass-baritone voice was reminiscent of George Beverly Shea.

Dr. Cromer loved his family dearly and served as a wonderful role model. He was predeceased by his loving wife of over 50 years, Lois Spencer Cromer, whom he simply adored. He is survived by his children, Bill (Mary), Dan (Lisa) and Brian (Laura), eight grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

Following a private funeral service at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, burial will follow at Cave Hill Cemetery. The family requests that expressions of sympathy be made to the William R. Cromer, Jr. Scholarship Fund at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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