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Email: capthenryl@comcast.net

Captain Walter H. (Henry) Lovelady was born on his grandparent’s farm in Prattsville Arkansas in 1938. His father was a Baptist minister and they moved to various locations in Arkansas several times throughout his childhood.

After graduating from Benton High School in 1956, he attended Arkansas Technical College until 1959 when he joined the Navy. He spent most of the next four years in San Diego California with some time in Portland and Yokosuka. It was during this time that he met his future wife, Ferol.

When his Navy tour was completed, he went into the ministry and attended the Little Rock Missionary Baptist Seminary, receiving his Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate in Bible Languages.

Henry spent the next 10 years as a minister at several churches in Arkansas and during this time he obtained a Bachelors Degree in History and a Master’s Degree in Social Agency Counseling. Then he decided to return to the U.S. Navy to serve as a Chaplain, attending the Chaplain’s School in Newport, Rhode Island.

Henry served on the U.S.S. Canopus (AS-34), a submarine tender stationed in Charleston. He finished his active duty time serving as a Chaplain at the Naval Weapon’s Station Chapel in Goose Creek, and finished his service to our country at the Naval Reserve Center in Charleston and Raleigh, NC.

Starting in April, 2003, Henry had the unique opportunity to serve as a civilian chaplain at the Charleston AFB. While this was unprecedented, the base was shorthanded and the troops and their families needed support.

Captain Lovelady’s military career spanned 40 years and he went from E-1 to O-6. He continues to minister to the needs of the military and civilian community by counseling, performing weddings, assisting in funerals and preaching. He also spends time gardening, hunting and fishing.