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Roy Lamar Cordle, age 82, of Anniston, died Saturday, December 31, 2022. A funeral will be held on Wednesday, January 4, 2023, at 2:00 P.M. at New Haven Baptist Church in Anniston. Reverends George Robinson, Jimmy Harrison, Houston Thomas, and John Copeland will officiate. The family will receive friends at New Haven Baptist Church from 12:00 P.M. until 2:00 P.M. prior to the service. Bro. Cordle was preceded in death by brothers, Larry Cordle and John Cordle, and parents, Malcolm and Novella Cordle. Bro. Cordle is survived by his wife of 57 years, Joan Cordle; daughter, Jacque Cordle Ramey (Shane) and beloved granddaughter, Annalise; brother, Mike Cordle; sisters, Jane Kendrick and Maxine Cordle; and multiple nieces and nephews. Bro. Cordle served for more than 50 years as a pastor, much of that in Alabama. Bro. Cordle was 16 years old when he began to sense a call to ministry. He preached his first sermon in August 1967 at the church where his father served as pastor, Mount Pisgah Baptist in Pell City. He was working simultaneously at a local supermarket, where he worked his way up from bag boy to manager, a job he said God used to prepare him to relate to people. Over those years, God affirmed Cordle’s call to ministry. He earned his bachelor of arts from William Carey College (now William Carey University) in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and bachelor of ministry from Florida Baptist Theological College (now the Baptist College of Florida) in Graceville. He also earned his master of ministry, doctor of ministry and doctor of theology degrees from Covington Theological Seminary in Rossville, Georgia. Bro. Cordle served at a number of Alabama Baptist churches, including First Baptist DeArmanville, Calvary Baptist in Oxford and Louis Street Baptist in Gadsden. He also served at churches in Mississippi and Florida. Cordle also served on the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions and as moderator of Etowah Baptist Association and Calhoun Baptist Association. In 2008, he retired from the pastorate of Riddles Bend Baptist Church in Rainbow City, where he had served for nearly seven years. But five months after moving to Anniston, he accepted an interim pastor position at New Haven Baptist Church which soon transitioned to a full time ministry. He served there five years, then accepted the call to Refuge Baptist Church in Lincoln, which honored his 50 years in ministry in 2017. Bro. Cordle celebrated his second retirement in 2018 while continuing to fill the pulpit as guest preacher at churches throughout the area. Bro. Cordle also felt a strong calling to encourage others to study the Bible and deepen their understanding and faith. For fifteen years, Bro. Cordle taught Adult Bible Education in the Samford University Extension Program for Adults in Calhoun and Etowah Counties. Bro. Cordle was also a Bible professor for the Covington Seminary Extension in Alabama and taught for several years in the Etowah Christian Institute. Bro. Cordle was also regularly called upon to teach January Bible Studies at churches throughout Alabama. Pallbearers will be Rick Hale, Marlon Wages, Tony Bedford, Mike Reece, Barron Dulaney, and Bobby Brasher. Honorary Pallbearers will be Bobby Wages, Shane Ramey, Deacons of New Haven Baptist Church, and fellow pastors. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering at New Haven Baptist Church.

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Bro. Roy Lamar Cordle

July 23, 1940 - December 31, 2022