Russell Babcock

The Rev. Russell L. Babcock, 90, of Grove City passed away Saturday in the Grove City Medical Center following a two-year illness.

Russell was born on April 6, 1924, in Grove City to the late Frank E. and Emma McDougall Babcock.

He married Jeanne L. Patterson on Sept. 7, 1946.

Russell was a graduate of Grove City High School, Class of 1942.

Following high school, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II for four years. He was aboard a landing craft on Omaha Beach on D-Day.

Returning home after the war, he was educated and graduated from Grove City College in 1949.

Russell began his career in business at the First National Bank of Fredonia. After a year of working for the bank, he was recruited by the R.D. Werner Co. of Greenville and became the credit manager for the corporation.

Also, Russell was licensed as a minister in 1953 and became fully ordained as a Methodist pastor following graduation from Oberlin College Seminary in Oberlin, Ohio, in 1967. Russell served churches in Jamestown, Hermitage, West Middlesex, and Erie, retiring in 1989 as a Methodist pastor in the Methodist Conference while serving the Methodist Church in Slippery Rock.

Returning to Grove City with his wife to live for their retirement, Russell served many congregations in the area until 2012.

Survivors included his wife, Jeanne at home; his three children, Pamela Patton and her husband Douglas, of Sugar Land, Texas, Ed Babcock and his wife, Deb, of Woodbine, Md., and Dave Babcock and his wife Cheryl, of West Middlesex; his foster daughter, Donna Skakalski and her husband, Stanley, of Jamestown; his foster son, Kenneth Maxwell and his wife, Barb, of Grove City; his 10 grandchildren, and his 14 great-grandchildren.

In addition to his parents, Russell was preceded in death by his grandson, Jason Patton; his sister, Alyce Dunn, and his brother, Harold Babcock.

Babcock — Visitation hours for the Rev. Russell L. Babcock, who passed away Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014, will be from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at theCunningham Funeral Home, 306 Bessemer Ave., Grove City.Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Grace United Methodist Church, 210 S. Broad St., Grove City, with burial in Millbank Cemetery, Fredonia.Memorials in Russell's memory may be made to The Grace United Methodist Church, 210 S. Broad St., Grove City, PA 16127.