The Reverend James H. Middleton, 95, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and pastor to all he met died on December 17, 2021 at his home in Peoria, Illinois under hospice care.  Jim is survived by his daughter, Janet Middleton, his grandson Dan Middleton (Jeannette) of Kansas City, Missouri, and his granddaughter Carrie Middleton (Michael Stewart) of Joelton, Tennessee.   Jim was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years,  Dorothy,  and his son, Don,  who died of pancreatic cancer in 2020.

Jim was born in Rochester, New York on June 3, 1926 to George and Reba Middleton.  Jim graduated from West High School in Rochester in 1944. He then entered the United States Army. He saw service in WWII overseas in Austria, Belgium, and Germany. He received two battle stars and  was also awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge. Upon his discharge from the Army he enrolled at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania from which he graduated in 1950 with a B.A. degree.  He then entered Colgate Rochester Divinity School from which he graduated in 1953 with a B.D. degree.

In 1951 he  married  Dorothy Taylor who was truly the love of his life and they enjoyed a marriage of 65 years.  The word togetherness described their life together. They traveled the world visiting all 50 states and 23 foreign countries.  Family trips to the National Parks were a highlight for them. Everything Jim accomplished as a minister was enhanced and made more significant by the fact of Dorothy being at his side.

Jim's pastoral journey began in 1953 when he was ordained at Calvary  Baptist Church in Rochester, where his father was pastor for 35 years,  and accepted his first pastorate at the First Baptist Church of Wilson, New York. From there he was called to become pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Princeton, New Jersey.  This was a new church and under Jim and Dorothy's leadership a comprehensive and constructive church program was introduced to the congregation and the church grew and was able to build a completely new church building. During his years in Princeton Jim also served as chaplain to the Baptist students at Princeton University. During his stay in Princeton he greatly enjoyed the student side of ministry and when  Wayland Academy,  a  co-educational private school in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin,  invited him to become Dean of the chapel and minister to the students he accepted the call and served as the first full-time chaplain at Wayland Academy.  When the First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor, Michigan invited Jim to become their Senior Pastor in 1961 he accepted the call and at  the same time the American Baptist Denomination asked him to serve as Chaplain to the Baptist students of the University of Michigan. He served in those capacities until 1968. From there he was called to be Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Glens Falls, New York where he ministered until 1975. At that time the First Baptist Church of Peoria invited him to become Senior Pastor of that church and he served in that capacity until 1988.

Upon retirement in 1988 Jim began service as an interim pastor. He served 26 churches  through the years. Jim was a frequent speaker at colleges and universities.  In  1977 Jim was invited to be preacher on the Layman's Hour, a national radio program sponsored by the American Baptist Men of the United States. He also was a platform preacher at several sessions of the American Baptist Churches of the United States.  It is somewhat interesting in that so far as is known Jim was the only American Baptist Church pastor to serve as Minister Emeritus at two American Baptist Churches at the same time. Those churches were the First Baptist Church of Peoria and the First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Although completely dedicated to his pastoral service Jim found time for other interests. He was an inveterate reader who made a practice of reading six books at a time covering various fields such as theology, philosophy, psychology, current events and biography. He had a tremendous love for sports,  in his younger days as a participant and all through his life as an avid spectator. When asked what were his favorite sports his reply was baseball first, basketball second, football third and hockey fourth. In Peoria Jim was a dedicated supporter of Bradley basketball and a longtime season ticket holder along with Dorothy. A major hobby of Jim's was to do latch hook rugs. We cannot begin even to estimate the number of such rugs he made. A somewhat interesting fact is that Jim hooked a   6 ½'  x  9 ½'  rug of The Last Supper which today hangs  over the stairway to the balcony of the First Baptist Church of Peoria.

One of the most interesting and important occurrences in Jim and Dorothy's life came in 1985 when they were invited to serve as part of the North American Baptist Peace Fellowship trip to the Soviet Union. The trip occurred at precisely the moment when President Reagan had called the Soviet Union "the evil empire " and President Gorbachev had just assumed the leadership of the Russian nation.  It was with some degree of tension and trepidation that Jim and Dorothy set out on that journey which would take them to the cities of Moscow, Leningrad,  Petrozavodsk, and Orel. In all of the main cities they visited they were enabled to meet with what where known as the Russian peace committees. Their discussions with those committees were frank and open . One woman member of a peace committee told them very frankly that the Russian people believe Americans have violence in their bloodstream. Jim and Dorothy  were able to ask them to at least consider that many Americans were just as peace loving as they were. An unforgettable experience took place outside the Baptist Church in Moscow when members of that church surrounded them with hugs and kisses and gifts of various kinds. One member of that church thrilled them by crying out, "We'll see each other in heaven."  Jim had the opportunity on that trip to preach at four of the cities visited and together Jim and Dorothy worshiped on Easter Sunday at the Eastern Orthodox Church in Moscow. They both agreed that was a never to be forgotten moment of worship and international togetherness.

Throughout Jim's years of ministry his preaching was grounded in God's love for the world, God's love for all of humankind and Christ's call to serve one another. He was a powerful and thought-provoking preacher.  We celebrate his ministry and his life. His life was a life well-lived and he was a man who was well-loved by family and friends. We say to him, "Well done thou good and faithful servant."

A Memorial Service will be at 11:00 am Saturday, February 26, 2022 at First Baptist Church of Peoria.  Visitation will be from 5:00-7:00 pm Friday, February 25, 2022 at the church.  Deiters Funeral Home & Crematory in Washington is serving the family. Memorial contributions may be made to First Baptist Church of Peoria.