Transcription of obituary published in the Minutes of Conference
ARTHUR EDWIN ROWE: born in the Derbyshire mining village of Newton on 13th March 1903 of a strong Primitive Methodist family. He worked underground on the night shift for five years. A dedicated teacher of the senior boys’ class encouraged him to go to her home in spare daytime hours where he could read her books and converse. She led him to local preachers’ studies and to candidate for the ministry.
In 1927 he went to Hartley College, of which he was always immensely proud, and he was ordained in 1932. He served with devotion in the following circuits: Cambridge, Harrow, Hitchin, Gateshead (East), Gateshead (West), Newcastle upon Tyne (Heaton and Wallsend), Loughborough, Leicester (South), Southwell, Newark, Driffield, Melton Mowbray, and on retirement settled in Melton Mowbray.
He read widely, benefiting his sermon preparation and giving him the ability to share his faith meaningfully with others. The great feature of his ministry was the pastoral care and oversight of his flock, described by some as exceptional. He loved to be in the homes of his people and particularly those where help and care and counsel were needed. He had a high standard of integrity, which was part of his life, and was something he also expected of others. It gave him courage and enabled him to stand firm in difficult situations. He was a good and wise administrator who always patiently weighed the views of others against his own opinions.
He took great delight in the beauty of God’s world, had a lovely singing voice and a throaty chuckle which was indicative of his keen sense of humour. Throughout his ministry he was ably and fully supported by Molly, his wife, whom he married in 1933. He suffered a long debilitating illness at the last, yet the light in him was never dimmed. He was lovingly supported by his daughter and son, Janet and Timothy, and his wife Molly who so tenderly and selflessly cared for him right through to the end.
He died peacefully in his sleep on 27th January 1989 in the eighty-sixth year of his age and the sixty-second year of his ministry.
Family
Arthur was born on 13 March 1903 at Newton, Derbyshire, to parents Albert Rowe, a coal miner (1911), and Mary Ann Brown.
He married Kathleen Mary Hilton (1908-1995) in the spring of 1933 at Leicester, Leicestershire. Birth records identify two children.
- Janet M (b1942)
- Timothy H (b1945)
Arthur died on 27 January 1989 at Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.
Circuits
Hartley
- 1928 Cambridge
- 1930 Harrow &c
- 1932 Herts & Beds Mission
- 1933 Hitchin
- 1935 Gateshead E
- 1939 Gateshead W
- 1942 Newcastle Heaton
- 1945 Loughborough
- 1949 Leicester Hinckley
- 1952 Leicester S
- 1954 Southwell
- 1967 Newark
- 1959 Driffield
- 1963 Melton Mowbray
- 1967 Melton Mowbray (S)
References
Methodist Minutes 1989/68
W Leary, Directory of Primitive Methodist Ministers and their Circuits, 1990
Census Returns and Births, Marriages & Deaths Registers
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