Obituary of Melvin G. Nida

Date 2013/7/13 1:50:00 | Topic: Obituaries

Dr. Melvin G. Nida, 89, died at his home on Monday, September 21, 2009. Dr. Nida was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, June 4, 1920, the son of Amos William. Nida and Bertha E. Peck Nida. He is survived by his wife, Cynthia Brissey; a son, Larry Nida and his wife, Vicki, of West Milford; and a daughter, Sylvia Nida Worrall and her husband. William, of Marshall, Virginia.
Also surviving him are four grandsons Adrian Nida of Charleston, South Carolina, Shaun Nida and his wife, Stephanie, of Charleston, South Carolina, William Worrall II of Spokane, Washington, and Benjamin Worrall of Blacksburg, VA; stepson, Matthew Calise and his wife, Tiffany Joly, of Baltimore, Maryland; mother-in-law, Nellie Jo Brissey of Salem; four great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents; his wife of 43 years, Jeanett Dickinson Nida; a daughter, Elizabeth E. Nida; two sisters, Lorene Nida Bjurman and Wilma Nida Yoder; and eight half brothers and sisters. He was raised in the Methodist faith but was a member of the Seventh Day Baptist Church throughout his adult life. He served several leadership positions in the Seventh Day Baptist denomination including Conference President, editor of the Helping Hand, a church school quarterly, and professor of religion in their seminary. Dr. Nida was graduated from Dunn County Normal School in Menomonie, Wisconsin, with an elementary teaching certificate. His first position was teaching all 8 grades to 32 students in a rural school in Wisconsin. His teaching career was interrupted by World War II when he registered as a conscientious objector and spent four years in the Civilian Public Service (CPS). He served at a forestry camp and then at mental hospitals under the direction of the Church of the Brethren. He continued his education while serving in CPS and eventually was graduated from Salem College in 1947 and later from Alfred University School of Theology in Alfred, New York. While in Alfred, Melvin served as pastor of the Richburg Seventh Day Baptist Church and was ordained to the ministry in 1950. He earned his Doctor of Theology degree from Ilif School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Nida taught at the Alfred School of Theology and served as the school’s librarian until it closed. During that time he supplied the pulpit of the Troupsburg Methodist Church in New York. He came to West Virginia and taught in the Religion and Philosophy Department at Salem College. During his tenure there he served in numerous faculty positions including a rotation as the Academic Dean. In his retirement he served as interim pastor for the Salem Seventh Day Baptist Church. Two of his avocations were making pottery and flying glider planes. He sold pottery and woodstoves from a shop in his home in Salem and served for a time as Chaplain for the local Civil Air Patrol. He also served as a CASA volunteer and a member of the Randolph Terrace Apartments Board. In addition, he was very interested in researching the genealogy of his family and wrote a fictionalized story of the life of his first ancestor in America. A memorial service will be held 2:00 P.M. Saturday, September 26, at the Salem Seventh Day Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to People’s Hospice, PO Box 1680, Clarksburg, WV 26301, or as a memorial to the Salem Seventh Day Baptist Church, PO Box 72, Salem, West Virginia 26426.



This article comes from Roane County Historical Society, Inc.
http://www.wvroane.org

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