Mickey Starling
reporter3@greenepublishing.com
I never had a negative encounter with Pastor Octavious Tookes. I met him many years ago and I remember being greeted with a big hug and a smile that lit up the room. His walk with the Lord never needed preaching or public recognition because it was obvious. There was a lingering presence of sweetness that remained like a favorite fragrance whenever I encountered this gentle man of God. Pastor Tookes died suddenly on Thursday, Dec. 17, after contracting COVID-19. Tookes served as a chaplain with the Florida Department of Corrections and pastor of Revelation Missionary Baptist Church, in Madison.
I covered a variety of stories for Tookes over the past three years. It wasn't hard to get a story from him because he was always doing something for others. When the Bahamas were ravaged by Hurricane Dorian in August of 2019, Tookes helped organize a relief effort that sent a large truckload of supplies to the hardest hit areas. Unlike other supplies that sometimes never reached those in need, Tookes saw to it that his efforts were successful because he worked directly with the Bahamian residents who distributed the supplies. Another favorite memory took place a few years ago while waiting with Tookes in a drug store. He happened upon a young lady who gave him a hug and then caught him up on how her life was going. When Tookes left, she began talking to anyone who would listen about what a huge difference he had made in her life when she was going through a very difficult time.
We leave this earth with nothing more valuable than the impact we have on others. It was clear to me that Tookes had laid down his life for this young lady, serving as a bridge between despair and hope. The Bible tells believers that it is Christ in them that is the hope of glory. Tookes made sure not to keep the living hope of Christ to himself. If you spent any time with him, you felt it.
In this week's Madison County Carrier, my final article for Tookes’ is published. When I concluded getting the details from him, he finished the conversation as he always did: "God bless you and your family." As a family, Madison County has been blessed by the life and work of this dear man. While he can never be replaced, we can imitate him just as he imitated Jesus. We can decide that the needs of others are more important than our own. We can choose to love freely and unselfishly, even if it means getting in the trenches of someone's despair and loving them out of that hole. If we are genuine in our faith, it is what we will do. No one had to tell Tookes to do that. It was his mission, and he has completed his portion of it. I will deeply miss this beautiful soul. As Christy Adams put it so simply, "he was the real deal."