April 8, 1929 — May 30, 2023
Glennon Balser (94) was born on April 8, 1929 to Brinford (Buck) Balser and Elsie Ramsey Balser in Greenbrier County, W.Va. Most young men went to work in the coal mine, but Glennon pursued high school education by daily train in Spencer, W.Va. During that time, he sang in a well-known quartet with his mom and dad.
Glennon later answered the call to ministry and pursued a degree in theology with a minor in music at Aurora University. Two years later, he finished seminary at Naperville University. He also received training in counseling during his early years of pastoring. Glennon met his wife, Jean, at an AC church camp in W.Va. They have three children. Jean died at the early age of 59. He met his current wife, Betty, while serving as interim pastor at the Princeton AC Church in W.Va.
In his 55 years of ministry, he pastored AC churches in Columbus, Ohio; Clendenin, W.Va.; Lenoir, N.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Wilmington, N.C.; and Mechanicsville, Va. He served as interim pastor in Princeton, W.Va., Monroe, N.C. and North Tazewell, Va. In many of those churches, he was also the choir director. Glennon joyfully served as president of Advent Christian General Conference for 13 years and served on many conference and regional boards.
He and his wife, Betty, retired to Abingdon, Va. in 2018. He is survived by four children, Sandra (David) Carpenter, Mark (Tina) Balser, Nancy (Johnny) Young, and step-daughter, Kathy (John) Wilkinson; seven grandchildren, Wesley (Andrea) Carpenter, Meredith (Matt) Broadway, Emily (Josh) Hostetter, Valerie (Doug Friedrich) Young, Daniel (Brittany) Balser, Lindsey (Drew) Alexander, and John Riley (Audrey) Wilkinson; and 11 great-grandchildren, Aidan, Benen, Ellard, Elias, Huntley, John Barrett, Kaeler, Lillian, Nevin, Olin, and Vera. He is preceded in death by his parents, Brinford (Buck) and Elsie Balser; his brother, Preston Balser; his first wife, Jean Balser; his grandson, Aaron Balser; and his great granddaughter, Ansley Carpenter.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Leadership Resource Fund* at Advent Christian General Conference, PO Box 690848, Charlotte, NC 28227 or online at https://weblink.donorperfect.com/LeadRes
*Glennon grew up with few material resources. By the Holy Spirit’s power, he overcame enormous obstacles to complete his pastoral education. He would be pleased to know that future AC pastors have access to education and training.
