CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Pamela Lee Walker Blume, wife of longtime N.C. Baptist pastor and ministry leader K. Allan Blume, died early Monday, Aug. 5, following a courageous battle with cancer for more than 12 years. She was 72.

While she supported and served alongside her husband, Allan, for more than 50 years in ministry, Pam also made her own impact in Baptist life in a variety of leadership roles she held at the local, state, national and international levels.

“Pam was the most gifted and talented person I have ever known,” Allan Blume said. “She got to serve in a lot of different areas. God used her, and she made an incredible impact on a lot of people through the years.”

The Blumes first met in 1970 while Allan was a student at Carson-Newman College and preached a youth revival at Pam’s home church in the Tidewater region of Virginia. They married two years later in 1972 and moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where Allan attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Pam was active in the churches Allan pastored in Texas, Oklahoma and North Carolina and later supported him when he became the editor of the Biblical Recorder in 2011. During interviews with various churches through the years, Allan says Pam often left a positive impression on people.

“Twice during my ministry with Pam sitting in the room, two different search committees have said, ‘We’d like to have you, but we really would love to have Pam,’” Allan Blume said.

In the churches Allan served, Pam frequently utilized her musical gifts by singing in the choir or playing an instrument. She also made strong connections and cared for members of the congregation.

“She was super friendly, and I think that’s one of the things that endeared people to her,” said Ashley Allen, a former staff member with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina who now serves as assistant to the president and assistant professor of women’s ministries at Southwestern Seminary. “She made people feel comfortable around her, she was approachable and she was funny.

“Pam had a really good sense of humor, and she always had a smile on her face. She was just a warm-hearted person who loved and cared well for people.”

Pam Blume was part of the team that helped Ashley Allen launch a brand new women’s ministry through the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina in 2009 known as “Embrace.” Ashley Allen led the ministry for nearly 12 years until 2021 and said during that time Pam became “not just a ministry partner, but one of my closest friends.”

Through the Embrace women’s ministry, Ashley Allen witnessed the Blumes’ heart for missions, evangelism and discipleship firsthand. Pam served in a variety of capacities with Embrace, which included planning annual mission trips and events.

In 2011, Ashley Allen and the Blumes joined a missions team that traveled to Moldova to establish a formal partnership between the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and the Baptist Union of Moldova. The team consisted of a number of N.C. Baptist and Southern Baptist leaders, which included the late Bobbye Rankin, whose husband, Jerry, had recently retired as president of the International Mission Board (IMB).

Ashley Allen, Pam and Rankin traveled throughout Moldova, speaking to women in local churches for an entire week. Ashley remembers how Pam developed an instant connection with pastors’ wives in those churches.

“She was able to connect with them because she knew what their experiences were like,” Ashley said. “Even though she didn’t know the language, she could still minister to them, she connected with them and they enjoyed her.”

In addition to Moldova, Pam also participated in mission trips to places like Nigeria, South Korea, Pakistan and Turkey. She also served two, four-year terms on the IMB’s board of trustees from 1996 to 2004.

“Pam got to be involved in missions around the world in a lot of different ways,” Allan Blume said.

In early 2012, Pam was diagnosed with an advanced stage of breast cancer and was told by doctors she’d never be cancer free or in remission and that chemotherapy and other treatments would be her new normal as long as she wanted to live.

“She always felt like God had a plan, and He was going to work through us if we would let Him do it in His timing,” Allan Blume said. “She never really looked at this as a negative thing, but just as an opportunity to give God a chance to do something. She continually trusted the Lord to give her strength to deal with this.”

With support from family and friends and a host of people praying, Pam battled cancer with grace and dignity. The Blumes were open about Pam’s fight, and she constantly found joy and strength in the Lord, which served as a testimony to many who knew her. Ashley Allen said Pam did not allow her suffering to dictate her outlook and perspective.

“Even when she didn’t feel well, she didn’t complain,” Ashley said. “She found her peace, her comfort and her joy in Christ, and she walked with Him throughout the entirety of her cancer journey. Those are some of the biggest lessons I have learned from her over the past 12 years.”

In April, Pam took a turn for the worse, which led to a steady decline.

“She beat cancer for 12 years, but it took over and she wasn’t winning any longer,” Allan Blume said. “She just got weaker and weaker.”

Although doctors never discussed life expectancy at the outset of Pam’s diagnosis, the five-year survival rate in individuals with factors similar to her’s is about 11%. 

“She went through 12 years of chemo this past March,” Allan Blume said. “It astounded everybody.”

Pam was born May 4, 1952, in Newport News, Virginia, to the late Ted Murl and Shirley Keller Walker.

She graduated from Thomas Nelson College with a degree in graphic design and was a National Honor Society student in high school.

In addition to serving as trustee with the IMB, Pam also served a term on the Southern Baptist Convention’s Committee on Committees and on the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina’s Christian Life and Public Affairs Special Committee. She also served on the boards of other ministries and organizations, including Hope Pregnancy Center in Boone, N.C., and the Christian Action League.

Pam is survived by her husband, Allan; an adult son, Jeremy; a sister, Patti; a brother, Kevin; a sister-in-law, Teresa; and several extended family members.

A celebration of life service is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 9, at noon at Liberty Live Church’s Hampton campus, 1021 Big Bethel Road, Hampton, Va. A family visitation will immediately follow the service.

Memorials may be made to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions through your local church or online at imb.org/generosity/give-now.

W.J. Smith & Son Funeral Home in Newport News, Virginia, is assisting the Blume family with arrangements. Pam’s full obituary is available on the funeral home’s website. The service will also be livestreamed at libertylive.church/livestream/.