As the Rev. Karen Dumey approached the podium at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson on Sunday morning, she said there was a "somber" feeling in the church as a "stunned" congregation lined the pews.

The Rev. Grant Gillard, Dumey's predecessor who served as the pastor at First Presbyterian for 25 years, died at age 62 on Thursday in Holden, Missouri.

"I literally sat in my office [on Sunday morning], in my chair, and I was in so much shock, I felt like I couldn't move — I couldn't even think — I just cannot believe that he has died," Dumey said. "I'm so going to miss his friendship, and just knowing he would only be a phone call away if I had a question or needed some help — it was just really a kind of life-changing moment in many ways."

Rev. Grant F.C. Gillard of Jackson stands behind his naturally produced at his stand Thursday, June 10, 2010 at the Cape Girardeau farmer's market.Laura Simon,Southeast Missourian file

Gillard began serving as pastor of First Presbyterian in December 1993 until he retired in 2018, making him the longest-tenured pastor in the church's 150 year history. Gillard was married to Nancy Farris Gillard for over 28 years and had three children: Austin, Claire and Barbara.

"He was a rather quiet, reflective man, a great listener, and, in many respects, I would say he was kind of like 'Jackson's pastor,'" Dumey said. "By that, I mean he was very well-known in the community; he would do weddings for people not associated with the church, and people would even stop him at, like, Walmart, and ask him to pray for them, and he did — so he was very respected and loved in Jackson."

The longtime Jackson resident was also well-known as a beekeeper, keeping around 200 hives in his 25 years in Southeast Missouri at his bee farm, Gillard Honey. He also authored several books about beekeeping.

"He was known in the community as, like, 'the Bee Man.' He kept bees, and he and his wife, Nancy, sold honey at the farmers markets in Jackson and Cape, so, a lot of people knew him through that," Dumey said. "He was just a very kind man — all his life, Grant just really tried to be a good Christian — a man of strong character, a man whose word really meant something, someone you could confide in, someone who was very trustworthy."

In fact, Dumey said she thought this was one of Gillard's greatest strengths — being willing to listen, and creating a safe space where people felt comfortable. It's visible in some of the initiatives he started at the church, Dumey said, which includes the creation of a book filled with stories from members of the congregation.

"Due to his great listening ability, he encouraged the members of the congregation to write down their memories, or life in the congregation, and he had it all put down into a book, so everyone could have these, and it was just such a beautiful idea to come up with," Dumey said. "He was very much one to get you to think about stories of faith, or inspiration, and to share those with others."

Sam Roethemeyer, retired pastor of 26 years at Emanuel United Church of Christ in Jackson, met Gillard around 25 years ago. He said they immediately hit it off.

"We had a good friendship, and I think we hit it off well because our churches work together, and vacation Bible school and our ministry aligns, and, we had a lot of fun with the bees, so it just naturally grew," Roethemeyer said. "I just appreciated the fact of who Grant was, and is, and will always be in my heart — the kind of person who will always inspire me to do things in the respect of other people."

Roethemeyer said Gillard's values of family are one thing he picked up after their quarter-century-long friendship.

"Those were really important values that I learned from him — values of just being able to say, 'Hey, my faith in God and in Christ are important, but my family is important, too, and I want to love them, care for them, be there for them," Roethemeyer said. "He was really an example of faith and family and making friends — establishing friendship and being supportive of those friends. Quite often, if somebody was suffering or hurting, he was the first to offer that word of comfort."

It didn't matter why that person was suffering or hurting, Roethemeyer said, Gillard approached every person he met with open arms.

"That was one thing about Grant — there might be something that happened in a young person's life that they did that maybe we wouldn't, and there's a lot of people in life who would judge, but he never did that," Roethemeyer said. "He would lift up and celebrate that young person's life, or whatever happened in their lives, and celebrate the good things they've done to help others, and to make others' lives better — to lift them up."

Roethemeyer said while attending a confirmation gathering for one of his grandchildren Sunday, as he looked at the altar, he couldn't help but think of his recently departed, long-time friend.

"I thought about all the things we did together, and all the times we ran vacation Bible school, and how we would put displays up and everything, and all of a sudden, that was the moment where Grant just popped into my mind," Roethemeyer said. "I just smiled, and I said, 'Thank you, thank you, God — thank you for a friend.'"