Paul E. Puckett

Rev. Paul Etheridge Puckett, Sr., passed away on Tuesday, October 20, 2015 . He was born on January 5, 1923 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was preceded in death by his wife, Martha Louise Roberts Puckett (1994), his daughters, Elaine P. Lancaster (2012) and Frances Lisbeth “Beth” Puckett (1968) and is survived by his son, Paul E. Puckett, Jr., and his grandchildren, Hillary S. Puckett, Darby G. Puckett, and William Todd Cowart. He was the long time Minister of Music of First Baptist Church, Bartow, was active in the Bartow Lions Club, a volunteer in the public school system, founder of Character Education, and served as the minister of music of several churches in Polk County after “retiring” from First Baptist Church in 1986. He led the singing for numerous Polk County Retirement and Nursing homes and was an honorary member of the Florida Baptist Church Music Conference. He and his wife, Martha, composed several church anthems including Talk About Jesus and a Christmas Carol, Carols Sing which is in the Southern Baptist Hymnal. In 1988, he and Martha were recognized in Nashville by the Southern Baptist Convention as “Musicians on Mission”. One of five children, he began singing when he was a young boy, played the violin, enjoyed boxing and tennis, and graduated as Valedictorian of his Senior Class. He was a Yeoman in the US Navy from 1942-1946 and received his Bachelors in Business from the University of South Carolina. Visitation will be held Sunday October 25, 2015 from 2:00- 3:00 P.M. at the First Baptist Church, 410 E. Church St, Bartow. Funeral services will follow at 3:00 P.M. at the Church, followed by his burial next to his wife and daughters at Wildwood Cemetary in Bartow Florida. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Beth Puckett Memorial Fund for the Foreign Mission Board c/o First Baptist Church or to First Baptist Church, Bartow.