The Rev. Rex Humbard, dead at 88, had local ties

Former evangelist Humbard had local ties

ATLANTIS, Fla. — The Rev. Rex Humbard, a former itinerant preacher whose televangelism ministry once reached more parts of the globe than any other religious program, died Friday, a family spokeswoman said. He was 88.

Humbard died of natural causes at a South Florida hospital near his Lantana home, family spokeswoman Kathy Scott said.

Humbard had preached in Youngstown and his brother, the Rev. Clement Humbard, was the former pastor of Calvary Temple in Austintown.

In 1979, 15 former Calvary Temple members filed a $350,000 lawsuit against Clement Humbard, claiming he and other illegally solicited money from them.

“He was the ultimate role model in showing love and caring about other people over and above himself,” grandson Rex Humbard III said of Rex Humbard.

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