John Edward Chandler

The Rev. John Edward Chandler, beloved husband, father, friend, pastor and teacher, died January 19, 2018 in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.  He was born in 1927 near  Peterman, AL to John T and Ida Downs Chandler.  He attended school in Monroeville, AL until the 9th grade, when he dropped out of school to support his large family due to his father’s disability. In 1949, he married his life partner and help-mate, Sylvia Craft.

The prayers of his wife, along with a life-threatening illness, led him to Beulah Camp Meeting where he was wonderfully converted on July 9, 1954. When God later called him into ministry, he completed his GED, his B.A. at Asbury College, and his M.Div. at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY. During his years of ministry in the Methodist Church, he served churches in in Graefenberg, KY, Newton, Louisville, Pine Grove-Beulah, Mobile, and Butler, AL and Pensacola and Niceville, FL.  He retired as Senior Pastor of the Niceville United Methodist Church (Crosspoint) in 1998, but stayed on staff as a counselor.  He loved preaching, teaching and living God’s Word, and seeing lives transformed through the grace of God.  He had a heart for mentoring young pastors and helping them obtain education through Asbury University and Asbury Seminary.

Ed Chandler is survived by his wife of 68 years, Sylvia, and by his three children, Wanda (Roy) Pumphrey, Sharon Junco, and John Chandler; three grandchildren, Cara Pumphrey (Angelo) Miller, Graham (Amy Audetat) Pumphrey, and Danielle Chandler; great-grandchildren Lillian, Hannah-Elaine, Aaron and Eliora Miller, and Reid Pumphrey. He is also survived by siblings Marguerite (Harold) Morris, Tommy (Ann) Chandler, Roger (Nancy) Chandler, Cecil (Delores) Chandler, sisters-in-law Rachel Chandler and Bonnie Chandler, and a host of nieces and nephews.  He loved and prayed for them all. He was preceded in death by his parents and by his brothers Woodrow, Brady, Marcus and Troy Chandler.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, January 22, 2018 at Crosspoint United Methodist Church, Niceville, with visitation at the church at 10:00 a.m.  Internment will be at 2:00pm on Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at Excel Cemetery, Excel, Al..

In lieu of flowers, gifts are suggested to The Asbury Seminary Foundation, 3027 Fellowship Lane, Pace FL 32571.

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