The Rev. Hancell G. Bankester, 75, a native of Robertsdale and a resident of Vicksburg, Miss., died Monday, Oct. 13, 2008 in a Vicksburg hospital.
He graduated from Robertsdale High School and served in the U.S. Army. He graduated from Howard College, now Samford University, and the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and attended the University of Alabama and the Lexington Theological Seminary in Lexington, Ky.
He served churches in Alabama, Kentucky and Mississippi. At the time of his dath, he had been pastor of the First Christian Church in Vicksburg since 2001.
He was preceded in death by a son, Terrell Brent Bankester, hisparents, Artemas and Gertrude Bankester, and a brother, Clinton Bankester.
Survivors include his wife, Lois Johnson Bankester of Vicksburg; two daughters, Brenda Donald and Carleen Singletary, both of Madison, Miss.; sister, Ruth Skaggs of Daphne; two brothers, Edward Bankester of Bay Minette and Merrill Bankester of Loxley; three granddaughters and one grandson.
Services were held Thursday, Oct. 16 in Vicksburg. Burial followed in Ridgeland, Miss.
