Rev. Walter B. Haynie of Nocona honored as HPU Distinguished Alumnus

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Rev. Walter B. Haynie was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of Howard Payne University during HPU’s annual Alumni Awards Banquet. He is pictured riding in the HPU Homecoming Parade.

BROWNWOOD , TX (10/10/2013)(readMedia)-- Rev. Walter B. Haynie, retired pastor of Montague County Cowboy Church in Bowie, was honored last week by his alma mater, Howard Payne University, during the university's annual Homecoming celebrations. He was recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus during the Alumni Awards Banquet on Friday night and was featured in the Homecoming Parade on Saturday morning.

Rev. Haynie was 11 years old when he left school to help support his family. He joined the Navy as a young adult and served in the Pacific Theater in World War II. After the war, Rev. Haynie met and married Marian Jo Dolby, started a family and began working for the railroad. During this period of his life, he surrendered to the ministry. His pastor recommended that Rev. Haynie attend Howard Payne College. With a sixth-grade education, he came to Brownwood, took the VA entrance exam and made a 98, earning his GED. He was accepted into the university in 1949 and graduated with honors in 1952 with degrees in Bible and sociology and minors in English and Greek.

Rev. Haynie went on to pastor several churches in Texas and one in Oklahoma. After the death of his wife, he later married Clara Shults and together they helped start the Montague County Cowboy Church in Bowie. He retired from the church in April 2010 at the age of 84. Rev. Haynie and his wife have completed mission trips to Afghanistan and Honduras and are currently working to create a jail and after-jail ministry in their area to help people get back on their feet and learn about Jesus. The couple has seven children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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Founded in 1889, Howard Payne University is a Christ-centered academic community dedicated to excellence by developing and equipping the whole person for intellectual inquiry, personal and professional integrity, and service to God and humanity.

Located in Brownwood, Texas, HPU offers a full array of undergraduate programs and a limited number of graduate programs in a traditional residential academic community. The university also offers selected undergraduate and graduate course work by electronic means and at extended learning centers in El Paso, Texas, and New Braunfels, Texas. HPU maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio, which contributes to the university's reputation of being "a place where everybody is somebody."