Terry Mai
Obituary Published in the Dallas Morning News on 1/28/2009
Terry Mai, 61, went to be with his Heavenly Father on the morning of January 26, 2009. He was born October 22, 1947 in Russell, Kansas. He proudly served in the United States Army from 1971 to 1976. God gave Terry one of the great bass baritone voices of our time. He had a voice that was known around the country. Terry performed in such places as the Honolulu Symphony in Hawaii. His critics rated him as one of the best bass baritones to appear on the islands in the past ten years. He performed in Washington, DC at the Kennedy Center, and he toured with an opera company from Charlotte, North Carolina touring the United States where he made seventy appearances in various notable performance centers throughout. He performed at Casa Mañana in Fort Worth, Texas. Terry sang frequently at the Temple Emmanuel in Dallas, Texas and did a single performance of Handel's Messiah at Tyler Street United Methodist Church. His final performance before moving on to become worship leader at Water of Life Church was to direct and perform in Bill Gaither's Alleluia at the First United Methodist Church in McKinney, Texas. Terry was in a class of students at Fort Hays University that had special talents, with one student moving on to become a member of the Buddy Rich Band. He performed along side well known performers including Van Johnson. Terry also performed what was said to be one of the best performances of The Music Man. He was a former choir director at the First United Methodist Church in McKinney, Texas. God took Terry with these abilities and taught him to worship God in Spirit and truth and follow Him. He was the worship leader for Water of Life Church since it was chartered in 1980 and became a minister of the gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ and ministered for twenty-nine years and experienced the power of God in his life as well as his whole family. Terry did not receive any pain medication after he went home from the hospital, and even at the hospital he told them he didn't need it. It was the power of God on him. God sustained Terry through it all. Terry fought and prayed himself into Heaven. He is survived by his wife, Kathy and his three girls, Candace, Ashley, and Rachel whom he taught to believe God and walk in the gospel in everything they do, and have a relationship with the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He is also survived by his Dad and Mom, Vernon and Zelda Mai of Russell, Kansas, his sister Kimberly Cockerill and family of Scott City, Kansas, and his brother Barry Mai and family of Marion, Kansas.
A service was held for Terry on Thursday, January 29, 2009, and the audio from that service is available here.
