By Owen Boss
Staff Writer
NORTHAMPTON - A longtime pastor of the former First Baptist Church will be posthumously honored as a pastor emeritus, during a worship service Sunday at 10 a.m. at The First Churches of Northampton.
The late Rev. Donald A. Fonda Jr. was pastor of the First Baptist Church on West Street from 1971 to 1986. Two years later, the church combined with the First Church of Christ and the two became known as The First Churches of Northampton, operating at 129 Main St.
Fonda died in October while celebrating his 70th birthday during a vacation to Italy with his wife, Jeane.
His accomplishments while pastor at First Baptist Church included helping create the Hampshire Interfaith Task Force for people with special needs and acting as coordinator of the Decisional Training Program at the Hampshire County Jail. "During the service we are going to have several people pay tribute to the impact of his ministry and how it is still affecting our church today," said the Rev. Peter Ives.
"The decisional training program he helped to found still continues at the Hampshire County Jail today and the work he did with special needs people still continues at our church."
The service will take place at 10 a.m.
Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com
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