John C. Campbell

Longtime Abilene teacher and organist Dr. John Campbell died Wednesday, March 4, 2009, at his home after battling cancer since last summer. A memorial service for Dr. Campbell will be held at First Baptist Church Saturday, March 7, at 2 p.m. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at The Hamil Family Funeral Home, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road. John Coleman Campbell was born July 1, 1935, in Hereford, Texas, to the Rev. Coleman and Ida Jones Campbell. He grew up in small towns where his father was a Baptist pastor and graduated from Polytechnical High School, Fort Worth. He then came to Hardin-Simmons University to study music. John began piano study with his mother at the age of eight. His father acquired a two-manual and pedal Estey reed organ for their church, and Campbell began playing the organ in church at age thirteen. When he was seventeen and a student of Marion Douglas Martin, he won a high school piano concerto competition in Fort Worth. Coming to Hardin-Simmons University in 1953, Campbell studied piano with Dr. Thurman Morrison and organ with Dr. T. W. (Jack) Dean and Edward Wetherill. He also served as organist for university chapel services and accompanied the concert choir, as well as faculty and student performances. He was also a member of the Cowboy Band. During this time, he served for two-and-a-half years as organist of the First Baptist Church of Abilene. Upon graduation from HSU with majors in both piano and organ, Campbell entered the U.S. Navy and for five years served as a pilot on an aircraft carrier. He then entered the University of Oklahoma where he studied with Mildred Andrews while earning the master of music degree. During this time, Campbell was organist and music assistant at First Baptist Church, Oklahoma City, where he met Lillie Spurgin, a graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University with a degree in sociology. Lillie and John were married June 25, 1966, at First Baptist Church, Oklahoma City. Campbell taught for three years at Berea College, Kentucky. After two years, he took a three-year leave of absence to do residence work on his doctorate at Eastman School of Music and also to study abroad. At Eastman, Campbell was a graduate assistant in the school's Practicum Musicum, where he studied with Russell Saunders. He was awarded the Performer's Certificate in Organ and performed Norman Dello Joio's "Antiphonal Fantasy" with the Eastman-Rochester Symphony Orchestra. During the academic year 1969-1970, Dr. Campbell received a German government grant from the Deutscheakademischeraustauschdienst for organ study with Professor Doktor Michael Schneider and harpsichord study with Hugo Ruf at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Cologne. Dr. Campbell joined the faculty of the School of Music at Hardin-Simmons in 1971 while Dr. T. W. (Jack) Dean was dean. Concurrently, he became organist at First Baptist Church in Abilene and has served with six different full-time ministers of music, as well as several interim directors. At HSU, Dr. Campbell was professor of organ and church music and university organist, playing for some chapel services and for official ceremonies of the school. His primary teaching areas were private organ and piano studies, music theory, and church music. He also accompanied and supervised the recording of School of Music performances. He officially retired in 1999, but continued to teach part-time through the spring of 2000. During his tenure at Hardin-Simmons, grants from the Cullen Fund for Faculty Enrichment offered Dr. Campbell opportunities to attend conventions, to participate in seminars in Paris and Northwestern Germany, and to play concerts in Western Spain. Dr. Campbell has been the organist for The CenturyMen, an international singing group composed of Baptist ministers of music from the entire Southern Baptist Convention, and accompanist for the Singing Men of West Texas, a similar group of West Texas ministers of music. Dr. Campbell was a consummate musician who loved performing outstanding organ music but never took his talents lightly. He knew from whence his gifts came and always attempted to give all of the credit to God. He was also a very gifted accompanist and greatly enjoyed that aspect of his years of experience with various soloists, as well as choral and instrumental groups. He is survived by his wife, Lillie, and by his sons, Dr. Russell Campbell and Matthew Campbell, both of Carrollton. He is also survived by his sister, Wanda and husband, Dr. Larry Baker of Phoenix, Arizona; his brothers David Campbell and wife, Ann, of Nacogdoches; and James Campbell and wife Kay of Nashville, Tennessee. He has two living uncles, Dr. Ray and Melva Jones of Birmingham, Alabama, and Durward Jones of Amarillo. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews and cousins galore. Memorials for Dr. Campbell may be made to Hospice of the Big Country, 4601 Hartford, Abilene, TX 79605, or Hardin-Simmons University School of Music Foundation, Box 16230, Abilene, TX 79698. Obituary and Guest Registry online at: www.HamilFamilyFuneralHome.com.