The founder of the American Family Association (AFA) and the American Family Radio network, Rev. Dr. Donald Ellis Wildmon, has died.
He passed away at age 85 on December 28 in Mississippi, United States, following a battle with lewy body dementia.
His obituary read in part, "The soft-spoken minister from a small-town church in Mississippi launched a far-reaching ministry that inspired millions to join their voices together on issues of ultimate consequence to our nation’s future — life, marriage and family, religious freedom, public policy, justice, and more.
"Under his visionary leadership, AFA developed a broad range of resources, strategies, and media outlets aimed at promoting Christian values in all areas of public life."
Tim Wildmon, son of the deceased has paid tributes to his father. After 33 years of being president of AFA, the late Wildmon handed over to his son in 2010 who is still occupying the position till date. He said his father "was a man with great conviction and vision."
Tributes have continued to pour in for Wildmon as the governor of Republican Mississippi, Tate Reeves praised his legacy.
He wrote on X, "His impressive legacy of Christian ministry will live on for many years to come.”
When he was alive, Wildmon wrote 22 books and received many awards including the 2017 National Religious Broadcasters Hall of Fame Award.
He was born in 1938 in Dumas, Mississippi, and in 1964, he became an ordained United Methodist minister after serving in the U.S. Army from 1961 to 1963. He received his Master of Divinity from Emory University's Candler School of Theology in 1965.
He served various churches in Mississippi and Georgia before he left to found the National Federation for Decency in 1977, which later became the AFA.
In 1991, he founded the paramount American Family Radio network, which quickly expanded to almost 200 radio stations.
He and the chairman of Free Congress Foundation, Paul Weyrich, founded the Arlington Group, a coalition of conservative Christian leaders that ensured to form its consensus goals concerning marriage, abortion, and judicial appointments within the Republican Party in 2002.
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