Former Baylor School golf coach the Rev. Henry King Oehmig
photo by Baylor School
Only our good friend King Oehmig could script so well his own funeral two years prior to his death, having a touch of American Negro spiritual, hall of fame R&B soul and tradition Christian hymns all in the same hour and pull it off without a hitch.
Thanks to soloist Nikki Ellis’ big time renditions of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” to open and Curtis Mayfield’s ”People Get Ready” near the end, a standing room-only audience at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church downtown Chattanooga Friday afternoon were glad they came to participate in “A Celebration of the Life of The Rev. Henry King Oehmig D. Min.” (June 19, 1951-May 23, 2015).
Whether it was fly fishing, getting up and down from tough lies at the British Amateur, leading Baylor golfers to another state title or encouraging those who would listen to reach out with the Lord’s blessing and mercy to those less fortunate, he did it all with a passion few possess.
And how appropriate that the Rev. Oehmig had us sing five verses of “Jesus shall reign where’er the sun” and eight verses of “For all the saints” as he followed the Lord’s leading to the best of his being from day to day from Sewanee to Jackson, Miss. to Cartersville, Ga. among other stops along the way of his life’s pilgrimage to touch as many lives as possible in thirtysomething years of ministry.
A few laughs, some hugs and tears and greetings of old friends as many came from several states away or from Lookout and Signal Mountains, Hixson and Fort Oglethorpe, home of The Church of the Nativity, where he served as the priest.
Fellow Sewanee seminary graduate The Rev. Michael Carlisle said, “King delighted every minute he spent in helping those who were sore, hurting and hungry as if he had just been to The Masters and won it.”
The 63-year-old Lookout Mountain native, who was raised in an upper middle class lifestyle and played a rich man's game, for years looked out for those not as privileged and was instrumental in forming the first Habitat for Humanity organization south of the Mason-Dixon line in Chattanooga in the early 1990s.
“King had the ability to see what we couldn’t,” said the Rev. Carlisle. “His eyes made us see a world we did not know existed.”
How befitting as he cast and re-cast last Saturday on the waters of north Georgia in his last day of fly fishing on this earth, it was a symbol of his life of being a fisher of men with eternal ramifications for the King of Kings whom he served.
And, oh, how he did serve.
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net