Rev. Richard Harold Lindsey, Jr., known to his friends as Dick, died peacefully with family by his side on a bright, crisp morning in Charlotte, NC, on Monday, December 11, 2023. In his long and rewarding life, Dick could claim many titles – school athlete, army veteran, church minister and counselor, loving husband, and treasured father. But to the very many people who knew and loved him, he was always just Dick, and to his family, Grandad.
He was born in Newport News, Virginia, on March 31, 1946, to Richard Harold Lindsey, Sr and A’Woods Devereaux Lindsey, and spent most of his childhood in Spartanburg, SC, where he attended Pine Street Elementary School, Evans Junior High School, and then Spartanburg High School where he excelled as a student-athlete before graduating in 1964. He went on to study psychology and play football at Davidson College, and it was there that he met and fell in love with Nancy Neal Rogers who studied at nearby Queens College.
Dick graduated from Davidson in 1968 and then served as an officer in the United States Army Medical Service Corps, stationed in Heidelberg, Germany. For two years he and Nancy continued a long-distance courtship. They married in Spartanburg on June 6, 1970. After four years’ military service, he resigned his commission and entered Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA.
He graduated in 1975 with a Master of Divinity degree, and later that year was ordained and installed at West End Presbyterian Church in Roanoke, VA. This marked the beginning of 36 years of continued and committed Christian ministry, serving first in Roanoke for over six years, and then accepting a call from Southminster Presbyterian Church in Chesterfield County, VA, where he served the community for almost 30 years. Not only was he a devoted minister, but also, he was a loyal friend and confidant to those he served both inside and outside of the church.
Dick retired from the ministry in 2011, having served almost half his life in Christian service, and he and Nancy moved to Charlotte, NC. There they began another new chapter in their lives, relishing being close to their daughter, Beth, and her young family, and making many new friends at First Presbyterian Church.
Throughout his life, Dick was a loving, outgoing, and gregarious man, forever curious and embracing of those he met. He especially loved outdoor experiences through church adventure camps which he and other minister friends led for high school students. His times of canoeing, rock-climbing, caving, and camping were some of the highlights of his life, often in the company of his dear friend in the outdoors, the Reverend Rockwell “Rocky” Ward. Even in his last years, Dick was often seen in the mornings, walking or cycling in the neighborhood, chatting with whomever he met.
Dick and Nancy enjoyed a true and loving marriage and partnership that lasted 53 years. In their retirement they traveled across the US and abroad, and felt forever blessed by their three children Beth, Drew, and Kate, who were a source of constant joy and pride. Nancy was by his side at the very end.
Dick is survived by his wife, Nancy; their three children, Beth Lindsey Thompson and her husband, Lee of Charlotte, NC, Drew Lindsey and his wife, Marta of San Francisco, CA; Kate Lindsey Lambert and her husband, Olly of St. Leonard’s-on-sea, England, and five beloved grandchildren, Ben and Sam Thompson, Helena and Elise Lindsey and Finnegan Lambert. He is also survived by his brother, Gray D. Lindsey and his wife, Jana of Dunwoody, GA as well as numerous loved nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sister, Ann Lindsey Clarke of Columbia, SC.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM on Monday, February 19, 2024, at First Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC. The family will receive friends following the service at the church. The service will be livestreamed at: https://firstpres-charlotte.org/watch/ for those unable to attend in person.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be offered in memory of Dick to First Presbyterian Church, Attn: TV Ministry, 200 W. Trade St., Charlotte, NC 28202 (https://firstpres-charlotte.org/give/) or Memory and Movement Charlotte, 411 Billingsley Rd., #103, Charlotte, NC 28211 (https://www.mmclt.org/donate/).