








































Memorials


56

MEMORIALS

Roger Loyd (1946-2022)
Roger Loyd was born in 1946, in Lubbock, Texas. He spent his first 
ten years on the farm, first in Texas, then in New Mexico. Thereaf-
ter, he grew up in “small-town America” of the Texas Panhandle. 
His childhood was filled with outdoor play and competition with 
his three brothers, and neighborhood friends.

Roger was an ordained clergy in the United Methodist Church, a 
devoted Divinity School librarian, choir member, teacher, mentor, 
and friend. Roger received his B.A. in English from McMurry Uni-
versity in 1968, his Master of Theology (now M. Div.) from South-
ern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology, in 1971, and 
his Master of Library Science from the University of North Texas 
in 1982.

He served as a United Methodist pastor at Forest Hill United 
Methodist Church in Amarillo and Christ United Methodist Church 
in Levelland, Texas, and as campus minister at the Wesley Foun-
dation at Texas Tech. In 1980, he became a theological librarian 
in Dallas, serving as Associate Director of the Bridwell Library at 
Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology, from 
1980-1992, and as Librarian and Director of the Duke Divinity 
School Library from 1992 until his retirement in 2012. He provided 
counsel and caring mentorship to numerous theological librar-
ians through the American Theological Library Association (Atla). 
He also once livened up the Atla meeting in Dallas by bringing a 
live armadillo. In retirement, he served as Chair of the Theologi-
cal Book Network Board, helping to bring educational resources to 
seminaries across the world, including a 2014 trip to Ghana.

Roger was an active member of Duke Memorial UMC for 30 
years. He was a passionate advocate for justice and missions, serv-
ing on the missions’ team and as coordinator for Families Moving 
Forward, where he worked tirelessly to support families experi-



   57

encing homelessness in Durham. In addition, he provided sermon 
support to his pastors, chaired the History committee, and led the 
digitization of the church historical records.

He treasured leading backpacking trips and hiking in 
the mountains of New Mexico and Colorado, spending sum-
mers at Ceta Canyon Methodist Camp, and playing guitar 
while singing with friends and family around a campfire.   
A long, tall Texan, Roger enjoyed planting a garden, eating a lot of 
peaches, and going to Duke football. He was equally comfortable 
playing basketball in the backyard as he was in the world of aca-
demia and theological librarianship.

Mary Ellen Scott (1926-2022)
Mary Ellen Scott was born in Hutchinson, Kansas in 1926. She 
graduated with honors from Sterling College in 1947, where she 
was a champion debater, homecoming queen, president of the stu-
dent body, and majored in piano. 

Upon graduation, she married Harold Scott, a recent graduate of 
Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary and Sterling College alum-
nus, moving with him to his first congregation in Richmond, Kan-
sas, where she was able to work as a piano teacher and focused on 
the job of raising a family of three sons. The family subsequently 
moved to Des Moines, Iowa, and Santa Ana, California, as Harold 
was called to new congregations, and finally to Pittsburgh in 1958, 
where he joined the faculty of Pittsburgh-Xenia Seminary (now 
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary). In the late 1960s, she earned a 
degree in Library and Information Science from the University of 
Pittsburgh. She then joined the staff of Pittsburgh Theological Sem-
inary library, where she was supervisor of cataloging for many 
years, and briefly served as the library’s interim director. 

After her retirement, she worked on a voluntary basis as the 
library’s archivist. One of her most important accomplishments 
there was the organization and documentation of the records of 
the United Presbyterian Church of North America, a branch of the 
Presbyterian family dating back to the 17th century that had cre-
ated Pittsburgh-Xenia seminary and merged into the much larg-



58    ANNUAL Y E ARBOOK

er Presbyterian Church. She was esteemed as a deeply believing 
Christian who was also accepting of the variety of human paths in 
this world. She faithfully served in the spiritual and community 
life of the churches where Harold was pastor. Her kind and gentle 
disposition earned her the love of all who knew her.

Lily May Williams (1952-2020)
Lilly May Williams died on Nov. 22, 2020, in Stevensville, Michigan. 
She was 68 years old. She was born in Jamaica, on February 25, 
1952.

Her professional career included being an accountant at West 
Indies College and as chief accountant at Andrews Memorial Hos-
pital. She also served as chief accountant, then assistant treasurer 
for a combined tenure of 15 years for the West Indies Union Con-
ference of Seventh-day Adventists. 

In 1993, she accompanied her husband, Oswald, to Berrien 
Springs, Michigan, where he was a student at the Seventh-day Ad-
ventist Theological Seminary. Lilly continued denominational ser-
vice at Andrews University in 1994 as a bookkeeper/accountant in 
the James White Library. In 1996, following the untimely death of 
her husband, Lilly comb ned single parenting with graduate edu-
cation and successfully completed her Master’s degree in account-
ing at LaSalle University, two years later. In 2002, Lilly began her 
18 years of service at Adventist Frontier Missions, where she inter-
faced with donors and missionaries in the field. She later rejoined 
the James White Library at Andrews University where she worked 
as a periodical associate for the past 11 years.

Lilly enjoyed gardening, especially growing flowers, cooking 
and watching cooking shows, and all good things Jamaican. She 
had a close relationship with God and never lost faith as she walked 
through the various valleys of life and death. Lilly is survived by 
two sons: Oswald and Matthew; two sisters an a brother.


