Dean Lincoln Minton Sr.

When Dean Lincoln Minton was a boy, he wanted to be a preacher, a doctor, and a pilot when he grew up. He said he would be a doctor during the week, fly his airplane on Saturday, and preach on Sunday. Mr. Minton became an ordained Baptist minister, joined the U.S. Air Force and served as a chaplain for 25 years followed by a 16-year second career as a physician assistant. He passed away Wednesday, March 23, in his home at Southminster retirement community. He was 87. Born August 13, 1928, in North Wilkesboro to Dewey and Beatrice Minton, Mr. Minton lived a life of national and community service, but also was devoted to his family. He married Patsy Ruth Hawkins in 1950, a union that lasted 57 years through her passing in 2007. A graduate of North Wilkesboro High School, Mr. Minton attended Mars Hill Junior College before earning his Bachelor of Arts (cum laude) at Wake Forest University in 1951. He received a Master of Divinity from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, where he also served as Director of Ministry to Public Institutions for the Louisville Area Council of Churches. He was called to the pulpit of Moravian Falls, North Carolina, Baptist Church and Elizabethtown, North Carolina, Baptist Church, and then served as Minister of Christian Education at Mars Hill Baptist Church. While in Mars Hill, Mr. Minton joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve in 1958, commissioned as a First Lieutenant. He was promoted to Captain and brought on active duty in 1961. His Air Force service took him to assignments in Hunter AFB, Georgia; Stead AFB, Nevada; Ankara, Turkey; Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona, where he was promoted to Major in 1968; Eielson AFB, Alaska; Wurtsmith AFB, Michigan; McGuire AFB, New Jersey, where he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1974; RAF Lakenheath, England; and Keesler AFB, Mississippi. He retired from the Air Force in 1981 as a Lieutenant Colonel. Mr. Minton initiated his second career by attending the Physician Assistant Program at Wake Forest University's Bowman Gray School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, graduating in 1983. He worked as a physician assistant for the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Bowman Gray, and then as a physician assistant and family therapist for the Winston Center for Psychotherapy before moving to Charlotte in 1988 to work as a physician assistant and family therapist for Mecklenburg Psychiatric Associates and for Jey Pillai, M.D. In 1992 he worked as a physician assistant for the Department of Psychiatry at Carolinas Medical Center until he retired in 1999. Mr. Minton's community service continued even after his second retirement. He and Mrs. Minton were active members of the Myers Park Baptist Church. They were ardent supporters of the Charlotte Knights, serving as members of the fan advisory council, the Knights of the Round Table, and Mr. Minton also provided chaplain services to the team. After Mr. and Mrs. Minton moved to Southminster, he conducted weekly Bible studies in the community's Health Care Center, served on the Life Enrichment, Religious Activities, Communications, and the Christmas Fund committees, and provided photography and webmaster services for the residents. Mr. Minton is survived by three sons and their wives, Dean "Deano" Lincoln Minton Jr., a Caricature Artist, and his wife, Mary, an associate in Cartoons by Deano, in Panama City Beach, Florida; John Wallace Minton, a Flight Simulator Technician with Federal Express, and his wife, Judy, a registered nurse at Pediatrics East, Inc., in Memphis, Tennessee; and James Eric Minton, a Writer and Editor, and his wife, U.S. Air Force Colonel (Ret.) Sarah J. Smith, a Department of Defense consultant with LMI, in Clifton, Virginia: Five grandchildren, David and his wife, Juliet, in Lafayette, Indiana; Dan in Charlotte, North Carolina; Kelly in Seattle, Washington; Jonathan in Brooklyn, New York; and Ian in Anchorage, Alaska: two great grandchildren, Leo and Emilia, in Lafayette, Indiana: and two brothers, Blan and his wife, Carol, in Asheville, North Carolina; and Nick and his wife, Cheri, in Arlington, Massachusetts. A service to celebrate his life will be held at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at Myers Park Baptist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina. The family will receive friends following the service. Memorial gifts to the Southminster Community Fund and the Myers Park Baptist Church. 3/29/2016 02:00 PM Celebration of Life Myers Park Baptist Church 3/29/2016 03:00 PM 05:00 PM Visitation Myers Park Baptist Church