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The Rev. John Anson "Jack" Mote, 91, a retired Elder, died from pancreatic cancer at his home on Camano Island, Wash. Oct. 4, 2011.  Memorial services will be Oct. 29 at Stanwood UMC in Stanwood, Wash., and Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. at Lovely Lane UMC in Baltimore.

He completed seminary at Duke Theological Seminary and began his ministry at Calvary Methodist Church in Washington, D.C., in 1951. Over 59 years of ministry he served many churches: Perry Hall-Salem, then Salem, 1953-1958; Caroline Street until 1963; Brookland and Shepherds of the Streets from 1963-1966, then Brookland until 1971. He was responsible for integrating Brookland. From 1971-1973, he was appointed to Christ UMC in Landover Hills; from 1973-1976, to Wesley Freedom. In 1976, he moved to A.W. Wilson Memorial and retired after a heart attack in 1985. He continued serving as Minister of Visitation in the Baltimore area. His final retirement was in 2000. Alzheimer's disease began to rob him of his faculties.

In high school he was the lead singer in a cowboy band, "The Roosevelt Rangers," which performed weekly on the local radio station. He also sang in a male quartet and became a music major in college. He graduated from Western Maryland College and went to St. Nazaire, France, to do relief work with a Quaker Transport Unit.

Mote felt called to the ministry after Pearl Harbor was attacked. He lost his effort to be classified 4-E, to be assigned to a Civilian Public Service Camp, and was inducted into the Army Aug. 8, 1942. All five Mote brothers served in the military during WWII. He protested many regulations in the military, as well as being a conscientious pacifist, and was given a "discharge without honor." Fifty-four years later through the repeated intervention of a friend, who wrote letters on his behalf to senators, congressmen, the head of the NAACP and the Dept. of the Army, he received his honorable discharge.

Active in civil rights, he and his daughters attended Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963. He also marched with Dr. King in Selma, Ala.

Mote is the author of two self-published autobiographical books, a children's book and a book of poetry. He enjoyed river rafting, playing a euphonium in a band, and riding a dog sled.

Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Maxine Mote; daughters Debbie Rice of Baltimore, Karen Wilson of Camano Island and Susan Smith of Mebane, N.C.; and three grandchildren.

Condolences may be sent to Maxine Mote, 581 Westview Court, Camano Island, WA 98782.

Memorial gifts may be made to Lovely Lane UMC, 2200 St. Paul St., Baltimore, MD 21218; or to the Heifer Project, 1 World Ave., Little Rock, AR 72202.