Rev. H.O. Kneeland, longtime pastor in South Memphis, dies at 90
Dr. H.O. Kneeland Jr.,the longtime pastor at Union Valley Baptist Church, died Sunday. He was 90.
"He truly will be missed," Renee Kneeland-Wells, his daughter, said. "From family members to church members."
Kneeland was the son of a Baptist minister and grew up near Bartlett. He was Union Valley's pastor for 59 years and retired in 2019.
"It's been a blessing from God that we are still here," Kneeland said in a 2015 interview with The CA about his impending retirement. "And it's time for me to retire, but I have other aspirations. There are other mission fields. There's still a lot of work to do."
Kneeland started at Union Valley in 1960 following five years as pastor at two smaller Baptist churches. His start coincided with the growth of Union Valley's congregation.
"Everybody was excited to know him, a man of his power of voice." said Hazel Moore, a Whitehaven community advocate and a longtime member of Kneeland's church. "He had a powerful voice and was a wonderful singer. He could sing so well, everybody wanted to hear him preach and sing."
Kneeland "meant so much to South Memphis," Moore said. He lived there as well as preached there and the overpass that carries East McLemore over I-240 is named after him.
"He was a caring person," Moore said. "If a person was sick, (if) they needed support, I really admhim for being that kind of person. It didn't have to be a member of the church, he was just a caring person."
As a minister, Kneeland acted as a father figure to many in his congregation and gave many people their start as ministers.
"He fathered a lot of other people, in the way of mentoring them, counseling them," his grandson, Major Sims, said. "He was a pillar to the community."
One of the men he mentored, Dewayne Benton, was later ordained: as a minister by him.
"Everywhere I go, whoever I fellowship with, I tell them, look listen, 'Reverend Kneeland always taught us this: 'You've got to get out there and get the people,'" Benton said. "You can't expect people to hear the music from the street."
Kneeland was one of three longtime, influential South Memphis pastors who have died in recent years. Dr. James Netters, pastor of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church in Westwood, and the Rev. Samuel Billy Kyles, pastor of Monumental Baptist Church, died in 2020 and 2016, respectively.
"He was looked up to as a high standard," Sims said.
Kneeland had eight children and "a host of grandchildren and great-grandchildren," Sims said. In addition to his biological children, he also took in and raised two of his nieces.
"He's been a great man," Sims said. "A lot of people know him, a lot of people admire him, and a lot of people look up to him, love him and respect him and looked up to him as a father figure, as a counselor, a mentor and a man of the cloth."
This story will be updated with services for Rev. Kneeland.
Gina Butkovich covers DeSoto County, storytelling and general news. She can be reached at 901-232-6714.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Rev. Kneeland dies at 90: Longtime pastor in South Memphis
