Church and Ministry Founder

Bro. R.A. West

March 12, 1947 - July 6, 2002

 

Senator proposes renaming stretch of US Rt. 52 after evangelist

By MANNIX PORTERFIELD, Beckley Register Herald

     CHARLESTON - While his firstborn son was confined to a wheelchair with paralysis, R.A. West abandoned a lucrative job with the railroad to embark on a higher calling.

     Before his untimely death almost two years ago in a motorcycle crash, West launched a radio-television ministry that spread across 80 foreign countries.

     Honoring his life, the Senate is considering a resolution to rename US 52 from Taylorville Road in his native Mingo County to Horsepen Mountain the "R.A. West Highway."

     At the behest of Majority Leader Truman Chafin, D-Mingo, who sponsored the legislation, the matter was referred to the Rules Committee.  --

   Slick hair dangling across his forehead, and bathed in sweat, West delivered fiery sermons in what the resolution calls "unquestioning faith and religious fervor ... spreading a constructive and positive message to millions of human beings."

    West had forsaken job-provided medical benefits despite his son's health when he left his job as a fireman for the Nortforlk and Western Railroad, "evidencing his unshakable religious faith," the resolution states.

     "In spite of his national and world acclaim, R.A. West never abandoned nor distanced himself from his humble origins, not from his beloved Varney, Mingo County, nor from his family and friends and parishioners," the resolution states.

     West became "one of the most respected, unofficial ambassadors of this state," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. while governor, recognized this, the resolution said. ---

     The evangelist died July 6, 2002, in a motorcycle crash a short distance from his home, drawing some 2,000 people to what the resolution called "the largest ever" funeral in southern West Virginia.

    Mourners even came from foreign lands, paying homage to his "message of peace, love and faith ... his towering spirit and his dedicated fervor in sharing his religious faith," the Senate measure says.

    The resolution directs the Division of Highways to erect signs at both ends of the portion of the highway to bear his name, identifying it as "the R.A. West Highway."