(blues vocal) was born Marcus Vorner Ingram II in Alabama on 8 April 1935, a son of Marcus Ingram. Blind since birth, Ingram, 71, has nevertheless lived a storied life in the halls of academia as well as the ministry. Born into poverty during the Great Depression, he nevertheless entered North Carolina Central University in Durham in 1954, earning his Bachelor of Science degree in business four years later. The next year, he would seek his master’s degree at Penn State University, which he would earn in 1961. State (Year) SSN issued: Alabama (1961) He was a blind Professor at Miles College, Birmingham, Alabama when he recorded for Soul-O at Birmingham in 1962. Marcus Ingram, age 10, who in 1920 was at Cross Roads, Lauderdale County, Alabama, may have been Marcus’ father. Marcus V. Ingram married in Jefferson County during June 1962. In 1967, at the height of the Civil Rights era, he entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to pursue his doctorate in marketing, which he received in 1971. He was the first blind African-American in the United States to do so. But in the midst of studying for his Ph.D., he felt compelled to follow an additional path, pursuing the ministry as a separate vocation. For more than 30 years, he was a university instructor and minister before retiring in 1998 to devote himself fully as a clergyman. According to Sep 16, 2010 newspaper tribute. He lived in Durham, NC. “Marcus Ingram, 74, had some health problems including asthma and diabetes. At the banquet, he was fine, but later that night he went home and had trouble breathing. Horton said that Ingram was sitting at a table and just leaned over and passed away. http://newhopebaptistchurch-apex.org/history.htm He was pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, at 581 New Hope Church Road, P.O. Box 1198, Apex, North Carolina 27502, near Durham, for many years. He died at home at Durham. Phone Number: 544-1826 He was at 5816 Sandstone Drive, Durham, NC, 27713-1926 (1993) SSN: 423-58-4085 Last Residence: 27713 Durham, Durham, North Carolina Died: 28 Jan 2010 February 2, 2010, Dr. Marcus V. Ingram, Sr., 74, Durham, died 01-28-2010. DURHAM — Funeral services for Dr. Marcus Vorner Ingram Sr., 74, of 5816 Sandstone Drive, will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 581 New Hope Church Road, Apex. Family visitation, one hour prior to service. He was the pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church and public viewing will be held from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m today at the church. Survivors include his wife, Rosetta Mercer Ingram; children, Marcus V. Ingram II, Marcia Harris (Darrell), Michael Ingram and Miranda Ingram; grandchildren, Tia, Darius, Kiera, Shawn and Brandon; sisters-in-law, Willie Pearl Ingram and Phyllis Dodson; brother-in-law, Andre Mercer. DURHAM — The Rev. Marcus Ingram was a man who cared about young people. Blind since birth, the pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Chatham County let the children lead him to the sanctuary because it created in them a helpful spirit. He was a mentor and friend to the youth of his church as they grew up and came to him for advice. So, it was fitting that young people would be the ones to recite the last sermon he gave before his death Jan. 28. The sermon, “What Martin Would Not Want,” was delivered on Jan. 24 and directed to the church youth about what Martin Luther King Jr. would want them to do with their lives. On April 11, the church in the rural Williams Township near Jordan Lake held a youth tribute service that shared Ingram’s story, featured choir selections and a dance, and Ingram’s final sermon. Nine youth and young adults took turns reciting passages from “What Martin Would Not Want” in between audio recordings of Ingram delivering the same sermon about being “in Christ.” In Missionary Baptist fashion, he gave a sermon in the style he has described as “Start low, go slow, come up high, light a fire and then retire.” Kareem Riggsbee, 17, has been a member of New Hope since he was a baby. The East Chapel Hill High School senior said that Ingram was a great pastor and a great friend. He participated in the tribute service because he felt they needed to put it out there. “He could preach the Word,” Kareem said. “I was sad he passed away. He was a mentor to a lot of people. He’d take you out to eat. My mom drove for him. He could tell a story — tell it for days. He could make you laugh, too.” Jada Lillie, 14, a freshman at Hillside High School, recited a portion of Ingram’s sermon and performed a dance during the tribute. “He was funny sometimes, and kind of long-winded,” Jada said of her pastor. “He looked out for you, offered you an encouraging word.” Kareem said that Ingram’s life was a message of inspiration. “It made me feel like, if a blind man can do it, I can. If he can do it, I know I can,” he said. Jada said the same thing — that knowing what her pastor had done reminds her that she can succeed, too. Kareem, Jada and the others donned dark sunglasses to recite Ingram’s sermon because that’s what Ingram wore. The pastor served his flock for 33 years, his first and only church. Ingram was a graduate of N.C. Central University, taught at Miles College in Alabama and then went back to school for his doctorate from UNC Chapel Hill before he answered the call to preach. He was a pastoral candidate at 52 churches before New Hope Missionary Baptist welcomed him. He also taught in the NCCU School of Business until his retirement in 1998. Church member Cecilia Horton, who organized the service, was once Ingram’s students at NCCU. She was a teenager when Ingram came to the church in 1976. “I just thought that he was such a cool pastor — not only could he preach, but he could sing,” she said. When she strayed from the church during her teen years and then came back, Ingram became her spiritual father and mentored her spiritual growth. He also mentored her in her career. His passing was as hard for her as her own mother’s death, she said. She misses him. Horton saw Ingram and his wife, Rosetta, the night he died, after a banquet for the John Avery Boys and Girls Club. Marcus and Rosetta Ingram were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. Marcus Ingram, 74, had some health problems including asthma and diabetes. At the banquet, he was fine, but later that night he went home and had trouble breathing. Horton said that Ingram was sitting at a table and just leaned over and passed away. His death was a surprise to everyone in the church. Ingram was the pastor of Tameka Nicole Bell, 30, for half her life. The tribute service was her way of giving honor to a great man who had a tremendously profound effect on her life and her family’s, she said. He was her pastor, friend and mentor. “He always made himself available to talk to me no matter what time of day or night it was. Dr. Ingram was so approachable, even in my younger days, I never felt intimidated to talk to him about anything,” Bell said. “He had a contagious laugh that would infect you no matter how mad or sad you were. He had a particular chuckle that upon hearing it, you didn’t have to be looking at him to know he was covering his mouth with his hand,” she said. Ingram would introduce Bell as one of his “daughters.” “I always felt that depth of love and genuine concern when interacting with him,” she said. “Dr. Ingram was a man after God’s own heart.” One local church over the weekend welcomed a distinguished leader to its pulpit for a rousing lesson on the challenges that remain in the African-American community as Black History Month 2007 draws to a close. Dr. Marcus V. Ingram, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Apex who on Saturday visited First Baptist Church on Village Drive, is no stranger to challenges. On Saturday, by invitation of Lexington’s Black Enrichment Guild, he brought his experience as an instructor and spiritual leader to the First Baptist congregation, delivering a sermon about persistent challenges and new accomplishments in the black community. “As a people we have overcome many things,” Ingram told the crowd, “but we still have many things to overcome.” Pointing to the recent Super Bowl, which saw two black head coaches competing for the championship for the first time in the history of the sport, Ingram noted that the game was played on the first Sunday of Black History Month. “New accomplishments were made on the day we started celebrating past accomplishments,” he said. In an interview late last week, Ingram talked about the church’s continuing importance to the black community. “I still think that the church is one of the two most significant institutions in the development of black history,” he said, pointing to education as the second. Both institutions can make strides in preventing gang violence and poverty, he said. “I am convinced that the reason young black people join gangs is because they are seeking love,” he said, adding that the church can fill that need if given the opportunity. One of Ingram’s three children, Marcia, is a police officer in Durham who works in gang prevention initiatives. Though gangs are only one challenge the black community faces, Ingram said, all those challenges have a purpose.
BU 19/10; BU 15/ 9