Rev. Earnest Brazill served Tacoma

Not many people work until they're 90, helping and nurturing many, many people along the way.

The Rev. Earnest Brazill, longtime pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Tacoma, had that life.

When he died Friday (Sept. 1), he left behind a neighborhood full of people who called him "Dad" because he was there for them during tough times.

The Rev. Brazill, 90, died in a Tacoma nursing home where he had lived since having a stroke in June. Until then, said his daughter, Maxine Miller of Richmond, Calif., he was doing things for others.

The Rev. Brazill was a small man, 5 feet 5 and slight. Acquaintances were often awed at his energy and at the steadiness of his direction.

"He has always helped someone," Miller said. "He would tell my mom and me, `That's what I'm here for. God seems to have that plan for me.' "

He kept a wallet full of $1 bills, she said, so he'd always have something to give needy people.

"He was a little man with a big heart," Miller said.

Not only did he work in the community to try to cut crime, the Rev. Brazill became a father figure for many kids, often getting them out of detention and giving them jobs at the church and instructions about life, said the Rev. Gregory Christopher, who took over as pastor at Shiloh at the end of last year.

The Rev. Brazill also helped mentor and nurture young ministers, including Christopher.

"He kind of really took us under his wings. He taught us how to be men and loved us," Christopher said. "He knew what was lacking in a lot of families, and he tried to be that."

Born in Albany, Ga., the Rev. Brazill graduated from a seminary in Texas. He came to Tacoma in 1949, said his daughter, and worked in construction. A year later, he moved to Bremerton, where he worked in the shipyard and pastored at Sinclair Baptist Church.

He needed two jobs, Miller explained, because he had two children in college.

In 1955, the Rev. Brazill moved to Tacoma to pastor Shiloh Baptist Church in Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood.

He was a past president of the North Pacific Baptist Convention and past president of the Tacoma Ministerial Alliance.

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by his wife, Lily Brazill of Tacoma; a son, Nathaniel Brazill of Maple Valley; four grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

A service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Tacoma.

Carol M. Ostrom's phone message number is 206-464-2249. Her e-mail address is costrom@seattletimes.com.