Descendants of George Fenner
Melvin Reid Fenner
[b 18 July 1915 at NYC; d 2 June 2001 at Phoenix, AZ] Melvin earned his B.A. in philosophy from Monmouth College, Monmouth, IL, then earned a bachelor of divinity from the Chicago Theological Seminary (University of Chicago), and became Congregationalist minister. While at the seminary, he met Mary Alice Hall [b 20 July 1919 in Harrisonville, MO; d 3 July 2000 in Phoenix, AZ], daughter of John Robert and Mary B. Hall. Mary was a graduate of the University of Missouri and had also studied at the seminary. They were married 7 June 1941 in Hilton Chapel, Chicago Theological Seminary. In November 1941, Melvin was called to be minister of a Congregational Church in Big Rock, IL, and commuted to classes in Chicago.
He and Mary moved to Ballantine, MT, in 1943, then to Butte, MT, the following year. He was formally ordained on 27 July 1945 at a summer Congregationalist meeting at Red Lodge, Livingston, MT. In 1946, they moved to Calumet Twp., MI, one of the northernmost parts of Michigan’s upper peninsula, where Melvin led the Calumet Congregational Church. In 1948, they moved again, with Melvin taking a position at the Community Congregational Church in Oswego, OR, then in January 1952 near Spokane, WA, where Melvin pastored the Cusick and Usk Congregational churches. In 1953, he became pastor of the Congregationalist church in Dayton, WA, where he led a building improvement campaign, and for part of that time, 1959–1960, was a lecturer in Religion at Whitman College, Walla Walla. This was followed by a brief stint as pastor of a Congregational Church in Toppenish, WA, 1960–1961. Melvin’s father John died in Dayton in 1957. In spite of all the moves, Mary kept in contact with her family in Missouri and would often travel there for visits.
Professor Fenner and Family, 1961.
In August 1961, Melvin was appointed as chaplain and professor of religion at Southern Union College in Wadley, AL, and Mary became professor of speech and drama and was Dean of Women. This was also short-term, as they moved again to Avon Park, FL, where Melvin took a position in the state conference headquarters of the United Church of Christ, then in the fall of 1963 he was interim pastor of the First UCC of Cypress Lake Estates (Ft. Myers, FL) and taught courses on marriage and family at Edison Junior College, while Mary worked in the business office of the college. In April 1964, he opened an office as a full-time marriage/family counselor, concurrent with his duties at EJC. Regarding their time in Ft. Myers, their son Philip later recalled:
We served a UCC Church at Ft. Myers Beach before moving into Ft. Myers proper—that was unforgettable, living in a house literally on stilts on the beach there. The stilts were a full story high and allowed storm surges to pass underneath without harming the house. We “hunkered down” during a storm while we lived there for a full day, as the wind howled all around and sand was blown up through gaps in the floorboards! We had a lot of fun there, we went out and spent lots of time on the beach and in the shallow warm water of the Gulf of Mexico. My brother Douglas ended up being a marine biologist, which all started there on the beach!
In 1965, they moved again, to Belvidere, TN, where Melvin pastored the First UCC and Mary worked as a librarian at the Theological Seminary at the University of the South in nearby Sewanee, TN. They moved back to Ft. Myers in 1968, where he served a Congregationalist church, but by 1969 they had returned to Washington to pastor the Harrington Community Church. In 1971, Melvin became pastor of the First Congregational Church in Monroe, WA. He retired from full-time ministry in September 1975.
After his retirement in Monroe, WA, Melvin and Mary traveled frequently and lived out of a Coachman Travel Trailer. At times, they worked for the trailer parks where they lived. They moved to Arizona in 1977, where Melvin took interim preaching positions in places including Nogales, AZ, El Paso, TX, and Flagstaff, AZ.
David [b 26 Jan. 1945 at Butte, MT] m Linda Brittain on 4 Jan. 1976, had Carla [b 13 Mar. 1981], Margo [b 23 July 1984], and Lydia [30 June 1988].
Douglas [b 15 Dec. 1947 at Laurium, MI] m Deborah Prince.
Philip Melvin [b 27 Aug. 1956 at Dayton, WA] m Candace Blake on 28 July 1984, had twins Trevor and Evelyn [b 22 Apr. 1987].
Mary B. Hall & Mary Alice Hall, courtesy of Philip Fenner.