LifeStoryNet.com

Life Story Funeral Homes®
The exclusive providers of the Life Story Experience

 

Life Story Funeral Homes®
The exclusive providers of the Life Story Experience

Dr. Lee M. Haines, Jr.

December 9, 1927 - August 6, 2016
Noblesville, IN

//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/017/113229/113229-01.jpg

Life Story / Obituary


//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/017/113229/113229-02.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/017/113229/113229-03.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/017/113229/113229-04.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/017/113229/113229-05.jpg
Print

Dr. Lee Mark Haines, Jr. lived a life of great purpose based simply and beautifully on his beliefs. His faith alone was a magnificent thing to see and to know. And known it was, indeed, as the light of Christ around the world. Filled with the Lord’s Spirit, this humble man reached out to the lost and fallen through worship, witness, and loving deeds. Yes, he led the way for countless numbers of people to know Christ and be made new in Him. To know Dr. Haines was to know a lifelong servant of God and the Wesleyan Church.

Think back to the 1930’s. It was the time of the Great Depression, a time of desperate hardship and poverty. People found themselves unable to put food on their families’ tables. Eventually, the New Deal provided relief and recovery began. This was the time during which young Lee Haines grew up along with his two brothers and three sisters. It was a difficult time in America. In spite of it all, Lee and Anna Haines, Sr. were filled with joy in Marion, Indiana, when they welcomed their newborn son, Lee Jr., into their family on the 9th of December 1927. Little did they know then that their son would grow to be a giant of a man who would bring great goodness to countless numbers of people around the world.

Lee gained a lifelong helpmate when he met a wonderful girl named Maxine. They celebrated their love for each other in a wonderful ceremony of devotion and commitment on June 7, 1948, at Fairmount Wesleyan Church. Their life together brought them two beautiful children, a son, Mark, and a daughter, Rhoda.

It has been said pastors and teachers are named as one and the same. As they care for the flock they are also teachers. This was most certainly true of Lee Haines, Jr. as he did all the things a good shepherd would do for a flock. Lee fed his flock with the knowledge of scripture, leading them along the path to Christ. He did this as he ministered throughout Indiana, along with his wife, Rev. Maxine Haines, in churches in Peru, Rush County, Jonesboro, and at the Eastlawn Wesleyan Church in Indianapolis.

Lee shared his faith also as a teacher, specifically as a college professor at Marion College, now Indiana Wesleyan University. What does it mean to be a teacher? Of course credentials, knowledge, and intelligence. To be a great teacher, though, one must show kindness, compassion, empathy, and faith. Dr. Haines was all of that and more as he helped build lives, making things better and improving life in and outside the classroom. He built community in Christ, is what he did, and did it all with joy in his heart and love for all who those whose lives he touched.

Does a man who dedicates his life to ministry and teaching have time to do more? Oh yes, Dr. Haines surely did! He found great satisfaction in being a champion for women in ministry and was not shy about making gender equality and women’s empowerment part of his mission. In addition to that, Lee was a consummate church historian. He found it fascinating to study and interpret the past and was an expert at recording detailed information about the church. This goes right along with his being an author, too. It takes a keen mind to focus on recording history, let alone the desire and discipline to write about it. Dr. Haines had this talent and applied it well, becoming an expert author and editor of the Discipline of the Wesleyan Church.

This man named Dr. Lee M. Haines, Jr. was born to live the life he led and the work he performed for the Wesleyan Church. He served as General Secretary of Education and the Ministry from 1980-1988 and as General Superintendent from 1988 to 2000. He also held several leadership roles at Wesleyan World Headquarters. Dr. Haines work took him around the world. He and his wife traveled extensively as they ministered together in Wesleyan Churches and missions on six continents.

Now the earthly life of Dr. Lee M. Haines, Jr., spanning almost nine decades has ended. This man, blessed with humility, brought great intellectual capacity and accomplishment to his service to Jesus Christ. His children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will cherish their memories of him forever, knowing he loved them dearly. For all those who knew him through his ministry, he leaves a legacy which will live into eternity. His fellow General Superintendent, Dr. Earle Wilson adds, “He was a good man, faithful to the end. His words do, indeed, follow him.”

Dr. Lee Mark Haines, Jr., 88, Noblesville, went to be with his Lord at 8:09 p.m. on Saturday, August 6, 2016, at Prairie Lakes Health Campus. Survivors include his son, Mark (Connie) Haines, Bay City, Michigan; daughter, Rhoda (Stephen) Sommer, Cumberland; grandchildren, Nicole (Eduardo) Haines Toledo, Kristen Haines, Katie (Aaron) Miller, Windie Herring, Cindie Lidel, Rebecca Collins, and Melissa DePas; several great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; sisters, Juanita Morris and Patricia Haines, both from Florida; and brother-in-law, Jay (Carol) Shockey. In addition to his wife and parents, Lee was preceded in death by two brothers and a sister, Cora Westin.

Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. on Friday, August 12, 2016, at Fall Creek/Trinity East Church, 11721 Olio Rd., Fishers, IN. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 13, 2016, at College Wesleyan Church, 200 E. 38th St., Marion, IN, with Dr. Earl Wilson officiating. Additional visitation will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. prior to the service at the church. Burial will follow at Estates of Serenity. Memorial contributions may be made to the Lee M. and Maxine L. Haines Ministerial Scholarship at Indiana Wesleyan University, 4201 S. Washington St., Marion, IN 46953.

Arrangements are entrusted to Needham-Storey-Wampner Funeral Service, North Chapel, 1341 N. Baldwin Ave., Marion, IN 46952. Online condolences may be made at www.nswcares.com.

//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/017/113229/113229-02.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/017/113229/113229-03.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/017/113229/113229-04.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/017/113229/113229-05.jpg