Michael “The Rev” Halcomb: 1941 – 2016

Michael Paul Halcomb was the unofficial team photographer for the Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes for over a decade, capturing all three of his sons and many other young men on the North Shore Conference gridiron from the late 1980s through the 1990s. Players lovingly referred to him as “The Rev.”

Michael Paul Halcomb was born on November 24, 1941 to Paul and Evelyn Halcomb of Mansfield, IL. He graduated from Mansfield High School in 1959, and attended Wheaton College, receiving his degree in Sociology in 1963. Michael met his wife Bonnie Lou (Ver Steeg) Halcomb at Wheaton, and they married on August 8, 1964.

Thanks in large part to the mentorship of Wheaton College Chaplain Evan Welsh during his college years, Michael felt a strong call to ministry and devoted more than 40 years of his life to serving the cause of Christ in various pastoral leadership positions around the USA. He received his Master of Divinity degree from Bethel Seminary in 1969, and was the Pastor of Chandler Park Drive Baptist Church in Detroit, MI from 1969 to 1973. Michael then served as the Senior Pastor at Salem Baptist Church in New Brighton, MN from 1973 to 1980.

Following his tenure at Salem, Michael accepted a call to become the Senior Pastor at Mayflower Congregational Church in River Hills, WI from 1980 to 1986. During this time, Michael completed his Doctor of Ministry degree from Bethel Seminary in 1983, with his doctoral dissertation on The Use of Metaphor in Preaching published in 1983.

Michael had a tremendous passion for missions, and following his ministry at Mayflower Congregational Church, he accepted a position as the Executive Secretary of Missions for the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches in Oak Creek, WI, where he was responsible for mentoring missionaries and supporting mission fields for the more than 600 NACCC churches around the globe. He served in this leadership capacity from 1986 to 1996, and then served in various interim ministry leadership positions until his retirement from ministry in 2011. Michael is the author of Imprisoned for Christ, the biographical story of Pastor Christo Kulichev describing Christo’s dramatic imprisonment for his Christian faith by the Bulgarian government.

Michael was a lifelong supporter of Wheaton College and served on the Alumni Board from 1990-1994.   He also loved to spend quality time with his family and friends attending Wheaton College events.

Michael was preceded in death by his parents, Paul and Evelyn Halcomb and his brother Larry Joe Halcomb. Michael is survived by his beloved wife of 52 years Bonnie Lou (Ver Steeg) Halcomb, his sons Jonathan, Joel (Sonja) and Jeremy (Amy) Halcomb, and his five grandchildren: Emma, Eric, Brian, Grace and Abby Halcomb, and his sister Charlene (Kent) Durbin.