GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Pastor Leonard Gant, who has served the Grand Rapids community for years, died Tuesday at 97.

Gant has led the Gospel Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Grand Rapids for 64 years. His family said as the oldest living African American Baptist pastor in the city, Gant was a “pillar among pillars.” They said he impacted many lives and lived his life for God.

“He was first of all a family man, he was a man of God,” Janice Rostic, who serves at Gospel Temple Missionary Baptist Church, said. “Great intelligence, smart, loved helping other people and serving the Lord. And that’s what he did until the end.”

A visitation will be held Friday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and his funeral will be Saturday at 11 a.m., both at Messiah Missionary Baptist Church at 513 Henry Ave. SE in Grand Rapids.