Rick Blue
February 6, 2026

Rick Blue, 87, of Greenville, stepped into the presence of His Lord and Savior on Friday, February 6.

Born to two absent/uninterested parents, Rick found himself on his own at the age of 14. After hitchhiking from Stephenville to Odessa, he was invited to church where he heard the Gospel and received Jesus as his Savior. The trajectory of his life, as well as his eternity, was radically changed. It wasn't long until he surrendered his life to become a minister of the Gospel. He met Sharon Barlow in church, and they married on July 19, 1957. They had three children: Amy (who passed away in 1979), Phil and Paul.

Rick proudly served his country in the U.S. Army at Camp Hanford in Washington, where he served as a Senior Radar Operator, reaching the rank of E-5, in the 83rd Artillery Missile Battalion.

Rick's pastoral ministry included starting the Bay City Baptist Church in Bay City, Texas; Pastoring the Southwest Baptist Church in Huntsville, Alabama; and Pastoring the Lamar Baptist Church/Family Fellowship in Greenville, Texas, where he served as Pastor for 30 years, retiring in 2004. After retiring as a Pastor, he served as a special assistant to the President of Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri for 4 years.

Rick and Sharon moved back to Greenville permanently in the Spring of 2017 and immersed themselves back into their home church (Family Fellowship) and taught an Adult Bible Class.

Rick is survived by his wife Sharon; his sons Phil and his wife Cinda, and Paul and his wife Lynn; along with 7 grandchildren (Lacy Almedia and husband Frank; Rae Elliott and husband Brian, Samantha Magee and husband Jordan, Rikki Blue and fiancé John Allison, Brooke Blue, Parker Blue and wife Abigail, & Alyssa Blue); 6 great-grandchildren (Bill & Judd Almeida, Maddie Elliott, Redmond and Bo Magee, and Laynie Blue); and an entire church family that will forever remember him for being a man of God and a man of God's Word.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at 4:00 p.m., Thursday, February 12th, at Family Fellowship Church.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Missions program at Family Fellowship, making it possible for people throughout the world to know the Jesus that changed Rick's life.



Obituary Provided By:

Coker-Mathews Funeral Home

5100 Interstate 30 (at US-69)
Greenville, TX  75402

www.coker-mathews.com

903.455.4110