Arthur Maxwell Field

Arthur Maxwell Field, 91, of Blacksburg, Va., died on September 5, 2010 at Kroontje Health Care Center. In addition to his parents and a sister, he was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Ruth Webb Field. He is survived by one sister, Ann Dudley Lalley, of Lutherville, Md.; three children, Ann Field Alexander (and Michael) of Christiansburg, Arthur Maxwell Field of Bloomington, Ind., and Katherine Field Jensen (and Carlo) of Tavares, Fla.; two grandsons, Michael Van Cleave Alexander (and Sarah) of New York, N.Y., and Peter Barton Alexander (and Krista) of Durham, N.C.; one great-grandson, James Barton Alexander of New York; and a niece and three nephews.
Art was born on January 14, 1919, in Washington, D.C., and spent his childhood in Rochester, N.Y., and Winchester, Va. He graduated from John Handley High School in Winchester and Hampden-Sydney College, where he won the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award and was a star student. He earned an MA in History from the University of Virginia and graduate degrees in divinity from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond. After World War II he and Ruth studied Chinese at Yale in preparation for mission work but were unable to go to China because of political unrest there.
A Presbyterian minister, Art served churches in Lewisburg, W.Va., Charleston, S.C., Knoxville, Tenn., and Hampden-Sydney, Va. He held leadership positions with the Presbyterian Church in Richmond and Atlanta. In the 1970s Hampden-Sydney College awarded him an honorary doctorate.
Art and Ruth took early retirement in 1976 and moved to Koinonia, a Christian community near Americus, Ga., where they lived until Ruth's death in 2001. During his years at Koinonia, he served as interim pastor of churches in Americus, Camilla, and Dawson; he edited These Days, a magazine of daily devotions published by the Presbyterian Church; and he managed a stamp project that raised thousands of dollars to combat world hunger. He moved to Blacksburg after Ruth's death.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 11, 2010 at 2:30 p.m. at Northside Presbyterian Church in Blacksburg, with the Rev. Linda Dickerson officiating. A private internment of ashes will follow at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Christiansburg, with the Rev. Phyllis Spiegel officiating. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the charity of your choice or Bread for the World (www.bread.org).
Online condolences may be sent by visiting www.hornefuneralservic.com.