Fred Lunsford photo courtesy of BaptistPress
Reverend Fred Lunsford was born on March 7th, 1925 in Marble, North Carolina. Until he passed, he lived about two miles from where he grew up. He grew up during the Great Depression and went to school in a little one room schoolhouse called Vengeance Creek School. He went there for two weeks before moving to the school in Marble. Eventually, he moved to Andrews High School where he graduated in 1943. They grew almost everything they had to eat at their family farm. He recalled that it could be rough but that they never went without when it came to food. Fred was drafted into service in 1943 after he graduated high school during World War II. He went to Fort Knox, Kentucky where he completed his basic training. He returned home to marry his sweetheart Gladys Greene and then returned to his deployment overseas three days later where he was gone for eighteen months. Fred participated in the Battle of Normandy and Battle of the Bulge. He came out of the military on November 16th, 1945. God called him to preach shortly after his return. He announced his call when he was 24 in 1949. In 1950 he became the pastor of Little Brasstown Baptist Church and pastored there for fourteen years. He went on to become a missionary for the Truett Baptist Association for twenty-six years. He retired from missionary work in 1990 when he was sixty-five years old which is when he began work preaching revivals. Fred continued his evangelistic work and prayer ministry until he passed on March 1, 2025.
—Taylor Cook
Taylor interviewed Fred Lunsford for her thesis work on Granny Bell. Mr. Lunsford talks of his relationship with Granny Bell, but also shares some of his own story of growing up in the Marble section of Cherokee County.
Mr. Lunsford is famous in our area for his work in churches and missions. I’m so glad Taylor interviewed him! I never knew he had such a strong connection to Brasstown.
Tipper
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