Rev. Charles Osborne Moyer

Published 5:00 am Tuesday, September 16, 2014

    Services for Rev. Charles Osborne Moyer will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. at the Church of the Mediator in Meridian. The Rt. Rev. Duncan Gray III and The Rev. Dr. Helen Tester will be officiating. Burial will be at Forest Lawn in Meridian with Robert Barham Family Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

    Father Moyer, 97, of Meridian, died Sept. 14, 2014, at North Pointe Health and Rehabilitation Center.

    Born to Eldred Eugene Moyer and Emma Love Filler Moyer in 1917, the family moved to Houston, Texas in 1921, where he was raised. He Married Alice Pearl Stephenson in 1940.  Father Moyer worked for Houston Power and Light, Ford Motor Company, and was assistant organist and choir master for Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, Texas. He was also employed by Warren Oil and Gas Company during World War II, building a natural gas pipeline from Mexico to a steel smelter, which was essential to the war effort.

    He was ordained to the priesthood on Feb. 2, 1955. He served in six churches: St. James Church, Greenville; Palmer Memorial, Houston, Texas; Christ Church, Holly Springs; Church of the Mediator, Meridian; St. Columbus Church, Jackson, and retired, joining the staff at St. James Church in Jackson.

    Father Moyer had a very interesting background in show business and acting. He appeared in the television miniseries North and South, playing a minister, and again in Beulah Land, portraying –  you guessed it – a minister. He also enjoyed performing at New Stage of Jackson’s Summer and Smoke, playing a doctor. In Meridian Little Theatre’s production of My Fair Lady, he played Colonel Pickering, and in the Sound of Music, he was Baron Elberfeld.  The whole family was in the movie Home From the Hills, which starred Robert Mitchum.

    Survivors include two daughters, Pamela Roberts of Memphis, Tenn. and Cheryl Farmer and her husband, Jerry, of Meridian; three grandchildren, Timothy Beale and wife, Misty, of Memphis, Tenn., Renee Farmer Bailey and husband, Scotty, of Meridian, Trevor Roberts and wife, Kristy, of Memphis, Tenn.; five great-grandchildren, Ashley Beale, Krista Beale, Brody Roberts, Shelton Bailey, and Madeline Roberts; one great-great-grandchild, Carol Jean Shelton; niece, Donna Stephenson Gostecnik and husband, David, of Austin, Texas; two nephews, Clyde Stephenson and wife, Pam, of Humble, Texas and Joel Stephenson and wife, Jo Ellen, of Dallas, Texas.

    He was preceded in death by his parents, Eldred Eugene and Emma Moyer; wife, Alice Moyer, and granddaughter, Phyllis Adienne Farmer.

    Pallbearers will be Timothy Beale, Trevor Roberts, Scotty Bailey, Shelton Bailey, Bob Harmon, Michael Baker and Brody Roberts. Honorary pallbearers will be his name sakes Charles Osborne Moyer Peel Sr. and Charles Osborne Moyer Peel Jr.

    In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to St. James Church Jackson, The Church of the Mediator, Meridian, or Blair Batson Children’s Hospital in Jackson.

    Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. prior to the service.