Navigation Back Search

United Methodist University acting president is dead

Oct. 31, 2014 | MONROVIA, Liberia (UMNS)
The Rev. James D. Karblee (second row center) with Bishops John G. Innis and Arthur F. Kulah at the Gbarnga School of Theology in March. Photo by Julu Swen, UMNS
The Rev. James D. Karblee (second row center) with Bishops John G. Innis and Arthur F. Kulah at the Gbarnga School of Theology in March. Photo by Julu Swen, UMNS

The Rev. Dr. James D. Karblee, acting president at United Methodist University, died suddenly on Oct. 29. He was 71.

ELWA Hospital officials certified that Karblee did not die of Ebola.

Karblee, who was vice president for administration at the university, was at work on Oct. 29 and left without showing any sign of illness, according to his assistant Jacob P. Young.

“He was a hypertension person and would intermittently complain about gastro-indigestion problems,” Young said.

Family members said they took Karblee to the hospital after he became weak and unresponsive.

Karblee joined the United Methodist University in 2004 after serving The United Methodist Church in Liberia as director of Connectional Ministries, district superintendent, pastor, chairperson of several boards including Connectional Ministries and Board of Ordained Ministry. 

Julu Swen, a communicator for The United Methodist Church in Liberia, provided this story.

News media contact: Vicki Brown, news editor, newsdesk@umcom.org or 615-742-5469.

Sign up for our newsletter!

SUBSCRIBE
Evangelism
The Rev. Vienna Mutezo (in clerical collar) celebrates an evangelism crusade with United Methodist women in Chiredzi Town, Zimbabwe. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Evangelism crusades enrich spiritual lives in Zimbabwe
Thirty-nine years after southern African country gains independence, United Methodists continue to share the Gospel, especially in remote, impoverished areas.
Local Church
The Rev. F. Thomas Trotter, former head of the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, died July 26 at the age of 93. Undated file photograph courtesy of Claremont School of Theology.

Trotter, education champion, dies at 93
The Rev. F. Thomas Trotter, a champion of higher education for all, laid the foundation for the first United Methodist university on the continent of Africa.
Mission and Ministry
Hemedi Ndjadi, age 17, has been part of the Kindu United Methodist Orphanage in East Congo for three years where he is learning carpentry skills to become a workshop manager. Photo by Chadrack Tambwe Londe, UM News.

East Congo church offers orphans brighter future
The United Methodist Church in East Congo helps orphans navigate difficult time with counseling, education and skills training to help them become self-sufficient.