Liberia: 80, A Major Milestone for Minor 

It is no small feat to reach 80 these days. Even the Holy Bible attests to it in a kind of lamentation, as it says in Psalm 90: “The days of our lives are seventy years, and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow…” But for Ambassador Charles A. Minor, it has been truly a journey full of God’s goodness.

And that was his recurring theme last weekend as he took a knee in thanksgiving on Sunday, July 3rd, at the First United Methodist Church on Ashmun Street.

Accompanied by his immediate family — his wife, Comfort, of over 50 years, children Charles II and Marcia and niece Roberta and scores of friends, well wishers and fellow congregants, it was also a deeply reflective moment for Minor, “for it has not been easy, but God is good,” he said.

Minor, a former Liberian Ambassador to the United States of America, has contributed immensely to the growth and development of his country, “I feel happy and grateful to God for keeping me alive to celebrate 80 years on earth,” he said while thanking members of the First United Methodist Church and others.

Minor’s birthday coincided with the ongoing bicentennial anniversary celebration of the First United Methodist Church.  As a seasoned diplomat, Ambassador Minor’s attributes of hard work, integrity, discipline, and patriotism made him leave enduring legacies in the Liberian diplomatic service. His contributions to the overall well-being of Liberia, both as a technocrat and an elder statesman, cannot be overstated.

He expressed gratitude to God that he is still healthy at 80 years old — an age, he says, “is only a number." At a grand evening dinner held in the ballroom of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex, the guest list comprised his few remaining contemporaries as well as a wide range of generations, reflecting the impact he has had on the lives of many over the years. 

Speaking to the Daily Observer, the son of the celebrant, Minor, II, described his father as a God-fearing, hardworking, and accommodating person who is always supportive and loving.

According to the younger Minor, his father always challenged him and his siblings sometimes, which he said was good for their upbringing. But he acknowledged that his father is not only for him and his siblings, “but also for cousins, uncles, aunts, and people who he always came across and was there for them.”

As part of Amb. Minor’s 80^th birthday anniversary, he presented to the United Methodist Church a mammoth multi-purpose building for J. J. Roberts Elementary School in Grand Cape Mount County and a library named in honor of his late daughter, Charlyn Esi Minor. 

“We’re hoping that it can be used wisely because my late sister was someone who was passionate about young children and education,” said Charles Minor II. “We hope that the school and library will cater to people in the vicinity and its surroundings.”

According to him, the building was constructed by his father as a way of giving back to the school and church, in memory of “Esi”, as she was affectionately called.

In his goodwill message, the senior Pastor of the First United Methodist Church, Dr. Julius Y.Z. Williams, I, thanked God for the celebrant’s life and advised the people to imbibe his virtuous qualities, live lives worthy of emulation, to receive God’s blessings.

Born on July 3, 1942 to a Methodist pastor, and Mrs. E. B. Minor, Charles briefly attended the Booker Washington Institute. Later, he attended the College of West Africa, where he earned a high school diploma. He then graduated from the University of Liberia and went on to pursue education in management and finance in the United States of America.

As a student, he was involved with youth and religious organizations such as the Methodist Youth Fellowship in Sinoe County, from whence he hails — and later in Monrovia, the National Student Christian Council, of which he was general secretary, and the National Youth Council, of which he served as president.