(PNS) David C. Hancock, a longtime leader in Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) efforts to minister with people suffering alcohol and drug addictions, died Aug. 1 in a Minneapolis nursing home. He was 93.
Hancock was ordained to the ministry in 1951. Believing he had “failed miserably” to help parishioners overcome alcohol and drug problems, he left parish ministry in 1964 to devote himself to alcohol and drug abuse prevention. He led alcoholism councils in Lincoln, Neb., and St. Paul, Minn., and was a co-founder and leader of the national non-profit Prevention of Alcohol Problems.
Hancock also served on numerous Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) boards and commissions and was instrumental in the creation of the Presbyterian Network on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (PNAODA), a network of the Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association. A million copies of his pamphlet, “I Can’t Be an Alcoholic Because … “ have sold.
Hancock is survived by his wife, Dolores, of Brooklyn Park, Minn., two daughters and a son; three stepsons and a stepdaughter; eight grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and four step-grandchildren.
A memorial service was held Aug. 7 at the Walker Health Care Center chapel in Minneapolis.
