The Rev. William McCoy Jr., the longtime pastor of Friendship Baptist Church and a theology teacher, died June 23 of congestive heart failure at his Parkville home. He was 80.
Mr. McCoy was born in Greenville, S.C., and moved with his family in 1936 to Washington. He was a 1948 graduate of Cordova High School.
Drafted into the Army in 1951, he served in Korea as a medical corpsman until being discharged in 1953.
After leaving the Army in 1953, Mr. McCoy went to work for the parcel post office that was located on St. Paul Street across from Pennsylvania Station. When the facility closed, he was reassigned to the main post office on Fayette Street where he worked until 1973.
Mr. McCoy received his theological training at the Washington Bible College, and he held a bachelor's degree in church administration from Virginia Seminary and College in Lynchburg, Va., which later honored him with a honorary doctor of divinity degree.
Mr. McCoy was ordained a Pentecostal minister in 1954, and four years later was ordained a Baptist minister by the Rev. Montague Brackett, pastor of Central Baptist Church.
He was assistant pastor at Central Baptist Church until 1967, when he took over as pastor of Friendship Baptist Church on West Mulberry Street.
The church outgrew its building under the direction of Mr. McCoy and in 1988 moved to a new building that Friendship renovated in the 6000 block of Loch Raven Blvd.
Five years later, church members were able to burn the mortgage, said his childhood sweetheart and wife of 59 years, the former Thelma Whitt, a retired Rognel Heights Elementary/Middle School teacher.
"He encouraged everyone to be F.A.T. — faithful, available and teachable — and if I had to describe Pastor McCoy, I would say he was a role model and a father to all of us," said Denise A. Moore, a longtime church member. "He had a leadership style that compelled you to want to become a Christian and helped you have a stronger relationship with Christ," Miss Moore said.
"Whenever he spoke to you, he always said, 'You know I love you,' and then he'd offer spiritual guidance. He inspired members to become disciples," she said.
His preaching style was devoid of "screaming, jumping or hollering," Miss Moore said. "He talked directly to you and the other members. And you walked away from his preaching and teaching feeling as if you had been molded by his message."
Bishop Clifford M. Johnson Jr., pastor of Mount Pleasant Church and Ministries in the 6000 block of Radecke Ave., was a longtime friend who had attended Washington Bible College with Mr. McCoy. "He was a powerful man of God and loved his people," Mr. Johnson said. "He was brilliant when it came to dealing with the Scripture and was an exciting kind of preacher."
Mr. Johnson said Mr. McCoy was able to appeal to both contemporary and more traditional members.
"He could keep the senior people pleased as well as touching the younger members. He was a fierce man of God," he said. "He had a wonderful down-home style of preaching."
In addition to his pastoral duties, Mr. McCoy taught Sunday school, Bible study classes, new members' instructional classes, workshops and street evangelism. He also led religious retreats.
"If you volunteered or he appointed you to a task, he'd sit you down and talk to you about his expectations, but he wouldn't micromanage," Miss Moore said.
Mr. McCoy taught theology and was on the board of New Hope Bible Crusade College and Seminary in Baltimore.
He was also well-known and active in Baptist church circles, said Mr. Johnson.
Mr. McCoy had held various offices in the Baptist Ministers' Conference, the National Sunday School Convention, United Baptist Missionary Baptist Convention of Maryland and the Annual Church Wide Institute.
"His hobby was reading the Bible," his wife said.
Services were held Friday at his church.
Also surviving are six sons, William M. McCoy and Ralph McCoy, both of Baltimore, Lawrence McCoy of Atlanta, Michael McCoy of Minneapolis, and Kenneth McCoy and Eric McCoy, both of St. Paul, Minn.; a daughter, Anita McCoy-Muhammad; four brothers, Charles McCoy of Washington, Davis McCoy of Denver, Marshall McCoy of Thomasville, N.C., and Gary McCoy of West Virginia; three sisters, Joyce Bachananzas of Baltimore, Martha Ann Williams of Washington, and Renetta Hutchins of Capitol Heights; 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.