Missiologist Alan Neely Dead at 74

By John Pierce

RALEIGH, N.C. — Longtime missions professor Alan Neely died May 14 at his home in Raleigh, N.C., after an extended illness. He was 74.

Neely taught missions at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., (1976-1988) and Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey (1988-1996). He was a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Seminary. He earned a Ph.D. in philosophy of religion from the school near his childhood home in Fort Worth, Texas.

Neely also earned a Ph.D. in Latin American studies from The American University in Washington, D.C. As Southern Baptist missionaries, he and his wife Virginia taught at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Cali, Colombia, S.A. (1963-76).

Neely was active in the formation of the Alliance of Baptists and was a prolific writer. After returning to North Carolina in retirement, the Neelys were active members of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, where his funeral was held May 18.