Dr. Bob R. Agee

On Saturday, September 26th, Dr. Bob R. Agee entered into the presence of his Lord and Savior, fully healed and at peace in His presence. He was reunited with the love of his life and wife of sixty-two years, Nelle Hulme Agee, who predeceased him in 2020. After she passed away, Bob said that heaven became even sweeter and he longed for the day when they would be together again.

He is survived by his two daughters Denise Allen (Don) of Jackson and Robyn Hari (Rod) of Brentwood TN. As much as he loved his daughters and sons-in-law, he adored his four granddaughters: Dr. Brooke Eastham (Walker) of Nashville, Dr. Savannah Alderman (Robbie) of Oviedo, Florida, Natalie Gambill (Keith) of Nashville and Madison Kroeber (Reed) of Franklin, as well as his eight great-grandchildren: Palmer, Parks and Owen Eastham; Evie, Lucy and Ava Grace Alderman; Thomas Gambill and Henry Kroeber. He is also survived by his sister-in-law Nancy Nash of Houston, Texas, as well as several nieces and nephews that he loved. His parents, Edwin Leroy Agee & Katie Lou Stewart Agee and his sister, Betty J Nix also preceded him in death.

Bob accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior at the age of 12. He felt God’s calling on his life soon after and was ordained to the ministry at the age of 18 at Beverly Hills Baptist Church (Memphis). He attended Treadwell High School in Memphis, Tennessee and went on to earn his Bachelor of Arts degree from Union University, Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, as well as his PhD in Higher Education Administration from Vanderbilt’s Peabody College. He also received honorary degrees from California Baptist University and Oklahoma Baptist University. He faithfully served churches in Kentucky and Tennessee before serving as Vice President for Religious Affairs at Union University (1976-1982) and President of Oklahoma Baptist University (1982-1998). He served four years as the Executive Director of the Consortium for Global Education. “Retirement” for Dr. Agee included serving as President of the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Schools, Founder and Senior Consultant of Agee, Stewart & Allen Development Services, Interim Vice President for Institutional Advancement and special assistant to the president at Union University, as well as preaching at churches throughout West Tennessee.

He had several published works, including several lesson series for the Baptist Sunday School Board (Lifeway), Faithful Learning and the Christian Scholarly Vocation (2003), The Reason for the Season (2010) and An Unlikely Story: Memories and Reflections on Life’s Journey (2014). He was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame (1999), Union University Sports Hall of Fame (2010), the Union University Family Legacy Award (2019), Tennessee Independent College and University Association (TICUA) Hall of Fame (2020) and the Union University Hall of Honor in 2023.

Above all, Bob was a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather (aka Pop), great-grandfather (aka Big Pop), son, brother, teacher, pastor, disciple maker, mentor and friend. His faith in Jesus Christ was unwavering, and he lived it out daily. He often talked about the “ministry of multiplication”, which was demonstrated by his love and desire to pour into teenagers, college students, young pastors and ministry leaders. His footprint and legacy runs deep and will live on through his family, friends, former church members and students.

The family wants to express deep gratitude to those that provided such loving care in his final months: Lori Henning, Jeremy Myles, Busch McNeil, Dr. Andy Coy, Dr. Kelly Green, Dr. Jason Goolsby and his care team at Beacon Hospice in Jackson.

A celebration of life service will be held on Monday, October 12 at 1:00 pm at the Church at Sugar Creek in Humboldt, TN where Dr. Agee served as interim pastor on two occasions and placed his church membership upon retirement. Visitation will be Sunday, October 11 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at Arrington Funeral Directors in Jackson, as well as Monday, October 12 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm at the Church at Sugar Creek prior to the service. A private family burial will be held at Ridgecrest Cemetery in Jackson, TN.

Pallbearers: Walker Eastham, Robbie Alderman, Keith Gambill, and Reed Kroeber.

Honorary Pallbearers: Charles Baldwin, Carrol Griffin, Ben Matthews, Phil Scott, Joe Bigford, John Cressman, Bruce Replogle, and Ron Smith (deceased) Former students, administration, faculty and staff at Union University and Oklahoma Baptist University. 

 In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider honoring his memory and legacy with a gift to one of the following:

Union University - Bob R. and Nelle H. Agee Endowed Scholarship Fund

Union University - Nelle Agee Art Education Endowed Scholarship Fund

Oklahoma Baptist University - Bob and Nelle Agee Leadership Scholarship Fund

Oklahoma Baptist University – Agee International Study Missions Fund

www.uu.edu/giving/agee

www.okbu.edu/giving/projects/bob-agee-memorial