On Tuesday, May 16, Franklin Memorial Library hosted local Author, Leonard Quick, M. Div. with a book signing to promote his new book, “A Brief Study Guide for the Book of Revelation.” In the May 10, edition of The Blade, a story was released about Quick, his book, and how he overcame the many adversities life threw at him with hope and grace. This week, we would like to share his complete, inspirational story, in hopes that it will lift someone’s spirits and remind them to remain steadfast in whatever they dream to pursue, because Mr. Quick is proof that if you believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.
Leonard Quick was born on December 22, 1928, to Norman and Lucille Ward Quick. He was the third of eight children and grew up as a farmer’s son on the outskirts of Midville near Scott’s Store.
From a very young age, Quick learned the importance of hard work which gave him a sense of self discipline that has stood the test of time. He knew how to run and operate a tractor long before he ever received his driver’s license because all the other young men who helped his father on the farm were off fighting in World War I, so cultivating became his first responsibility.
“Every day when I got off the school bus, Daddy knew how long it took me to get a bite to eat then head to the field and take over for him. We grew and picked a lot of cotton, soybeans, and peanuts,” Quick explained.
Quick began attending school when he was in the first grade at the rural Midville Schoolhouse. This was during a time when Midville was a hub town between Swainsboro and Augusta. He explained that back in those days they only offered an education to students from first grade to eleventh grade, but the simplicity of it is what made it so special. Today, the old schoolhouse sits vacant across from his home, but the memories remain well and alive with him forever.
“I enjoyed going to a small-town school. I graduated in 1948 with 8 students,” he said with a smile, as he reflected on those days.
Like most southern children, he also became a member of his family’s church, Historic Bark Camp Church, in the late 1940s. Bark Camp is a renowned piece of southern history that was established in 1788 and is a historic staple to not only our side of the pines but to all of Georgia. In November of 1953, Quick was ordained as a Baptist minister of Bark Camp. Although the sights and sounds of regular worship on Sunday mornings no longer radiate the grounds of old Bark Camp Church, Rev. Quick was the driving force who organized the restoration of the historical Church and breathed new life into it again.
“I was baptized there,” he said with a smile. “After my retirement and moving back home, I saw the condition of the cemetery and the church, and the restoration process soon began.”
It was through his time at Bark Camp that his purpose began to unfold without his realization and the road to it became straight and narrow. After graduating from high school, Quick enlisted in the military and explained that although he loved Burke County and the adjoining counties, like Emanuel, he wanted to see the world. So, in January of 1948, Quick met with a school recruiter who offered him a job in Tokyo to serve in the occupational forces. After graduation, he began training in California and on June 17, 1948, he was sworn into the Army.
“I served two years in Japan and when I came back to the states, I finished up my three years,” he explained. “I tried to stay around here but there just wasn’t much to do here for a man like me. I tried farming but my crops failed, and it just didn’t work. I honestly believe that - that was God’s way of telling me that I needed to get out of here so that my life could begin.”
With that inclination, Quick left his small hometown for the hustle and bustle of the city. He moved to a suburb community of Atlanta known as Forest Park and began working as an Army vehicles inspector where he repaired the vehicles for the North Korean War. It was during this time that on one Sunday afternoon in February of 1951, he received a knock on his door that ultimately changed his life for the better from that point forward.
“I heard a knock at the door and this young lady who lived up the street from me had sent word that she’d like to meet me,” explained Quick. “Her name was Betty Burkes, she was as pretty as she could be. As soon as I opened the screen door and let her in on the porch, I knew right then that she was going to be my wife. I knew then that the reason my crops failed was so I could be there on that porch in Atlanta in that moment with her. She was my reason for being.”
After their introductions, Burkes invited Quick to her church, describing it as “the best church in the whole county.” He told her that he would love to become a part of their church family and asked when she would allow him to take her. That evening, he got dressed in his Sunday best and picked her up to take her to church. The rest is history.
“I was 22 years old when I came to know the Lord,” he said through reminiscent eyes. “I had gone to church my entire life, but it was just traditional, no one had helped me understand how to truly know him before that time. I had head knowledge but not heart knowledge of what it means to be a Christian and what our Lord came to this Earth to do and live out to demonstrate for us. It was the moment I met Betty that my walk with the Lord became real. After only 7 months of dating, we felt strongly that we were meant to be so on September 2, 1951, we got married.”
After a year of marriage, Quick was working for Atlanta Civil Service and had begun to struggle. This is when he really began to focus on his faith. His friends, who were teenagers and young adults, began to ask him if he ever felt that the Lord was trying to use him for something greater or if he had ever considered becoming a Pastor. Quick explained that just the thought alone, frightened him to his core.
“It was scary. I said, ‘No!’ Then my church in Forest Park began to sense the same thing so the Pastor and Deacons talked to me and said, ‘Brother Leonard, we believe that the Lord's hand is on you, and he’s got a special job for you to do. Just stay open, you don't need to be uptight about it. We aren’t putting pressure on you, but you just need to stay open to the Lord and if he’s calling you to be a Pastor, you’ll know it,’ and that was absolutely true!” he said.
Following this higher calling, in 1952, Quick and Betty moved to Macon, and he enrolled at Mercer University to receive training. During this time, the Quicks had two children, Terry and Glenda. After graduating from Mercer in 1956, Quick was called to a little church in Lovejoy, so they decided to move once again. This is also when they welcomed their third child, Earl, to the family.
“Betty and I and our three little children moved to Lovejoy so that I could pastor for one of the sweetest churches. We established many lifelong friendships there, especially with my Chairman of the Deacons, Truitt Cathy, and his wife Jeanette, who were the founders of Chick-Fil-A. They were just precious down-to-earth people, and I was honored to get to know them when they were just starting out,” explained Quick.
After spending two years in Lovejoy, Quick decided to go to seminary school to complete his degree, so they loaded their three small children up and traveled to the Southeastern Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Around 1960, Betty gave birth to their fourth child, Gerald, and Quick's priorities began to change.
“I had to drop out a couple semesters when we had our little boy, Gerald, so I could help and encourage Betty and be with her during that time,” he said.
In the Spring of 1964, Quick received his Master of Divinity Degree, M. Div., and graduated from the Southeastern Theological Seminary. He pastored for 50 years in different areas around the world, including Brazil where he spent two “wonderful” years, and right here in Emanuel County. Quick has spread the word and love of God throughout the walls of many local churches within our community as well as the hearts of many hopeful Christians, including Bark Camp Church in Midville, Summertown Baptist Church, Bishops Chapel, Hines Baptist, and many others.
After retiring, Quick began losing his vision, however his faith never wavered and his passion for doing the Lord’s work never ceased. In 2019, even after becoming totally visually impaired, Quick felt compelled to write a novel on the Book of Revelation. His goal was to educate those who not only knew very little about the Bible or the Christian faith, but to also educate those who have followed Christ faithfully for decades.
“The truth of the matter is I wrote this book after I went blind,” explained Quick. “I didn’t know where to start but the Lord knew where to start.”
With guidance from above, and the help of many supportive loved ones, Quick spent approximately four years writing A Brief Study Guide for the Book of Revelation, all without physically seeing a single word. When asked what motivated him to write a book on the chapter from the Bible that discusses the apocalypse more than any other chapter, Quick gave an insightful explanation:
“Everyone is afraid of it. But when I really got to reading it, I realized that it has the most hope in it,” he shared with a smile.
In 2021, the love of his life and the woman who started it all, his wife, Betty, went home to be with the Lord. September of that year would’ve marked 70 years of their beautiful life together.
“She was a precious lady and was truly a Pastor's wife. She played the piano and felt the calling for me to be a pastor just as I felt the calling to be one,” explained Quick.
In his 98 years, Quick has lived a life full of love, family, and community. The lives that he has touched are innumerable, and his impact on the communities he served in is immeasurable. He is a shining example of what it means to live with a Servant’s heart.
“I’m the most fortunate man on the planet,” Quick said with a smile. “I just love life. I have truly had a very rewarding life.”
