Ovid Benjamin Sparks III, “Ben”, was born February 24, 1939, in Fort Worth, Texas, and died March 28, 2026, at his home in Richmond, Virginia. Ben was the only child of Ovid Benjamin Sparks, Jr. and Mary Woodall Sparks. He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, with summers spent in Springville, Alabama, at the family home on his mother’s side. As the only child among a cadre of aunts, uncles and cousins, he absorbed the best qualities of the American South while witnessing from a young age the gross inequality and harsh reality of the culture. He struggled to understand and change this throughout his life. Ben was a voracious reader and an Eagle Scout. He attended Davidson College (class of 1961), intending to become a doctor but, upon graduation, changed course and entered Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond in 1962.
Ben met the love of his life, Annette Smith Sparks, soon after he arrived in Richmond. Their courtship lasted seven years and they married in 1969 in New Bern, North Carolina. Before they married, and following graduation from Union Seminary in 1965, Ben was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament by Atlanta Presbytery, PCUS. He then followed a call to join the Iona Community, in Scotland, and served as Assistant Minister of St. Serf’s Church in Tullibody, Scotland, UK from 1965-1967. These formative years, which began with a summer on Iona studying under George MacLeod and helping to rebuild the ancient Abbey on the island, deeply influenced Ben for the rest of his life and shaped his ministry in the USA. He remained devoted to the Community and dear friends across the Atlantic all his life.
Returning to the USA, and between the years of 1968 and 2007, Ben served Montgomery Presbytery in Urban Ministry in Roanoke, VA, and from there held pastorates in Jacksonville, FL, Nashville, TN and Richmond, VA. It was in Richmond during his years as pastor of Second Presbyterian Church that his gifts found full expression. Known for speaking from his heart and for speaking the truth, from 1982 and through his retirement, Ben served on task forces and boards across the City of Richmond. Notably, he was deeply involved with Richmond Hill and Leadership Metro Richmond and served on several visioning, goal setting committees for the larger community. His presence was a unifying force for the City.
In 1976, Ben was a founding member of the board of the Journal for Preachers. From 1983-2005, he was a member of the board of The Presbyterian Outlook magazine, serving as interim editor in 2004-2005. From 1984-2004, Ben was a member of The Moveable Feast and, in the early 2000s, he was also mentor for the Company of Pastors, formerly known as Excellence from the Start. He served on several committees and councils of Hanover Presbytery and Presbytery of the James and helped establish Homeward, a coordinating agency for all homeless and service ministries in Richmond. Ben organized and worked for those on the margins of society and his servant leadership had an impact on the Presbyterian Church (USA) as a whole. In 1998, Ben spent a four-month sabbatical in Accra, Ghana, and London, and in 2003 and 2006 led mission trips (youth and adult) to Malawi.
Ben received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Davidson College, in 1992, but he never went by Dr. Sparks, preferring Reverend or simply Ben. He loved people and was a gifted preacher, and his well-crafted prayers are works of art. In the midst of his many years of committed leadership, and walking alongside people of all stripes, his greatest joys were his wife, Annette, and two daughters, Kathryn and Elizabeth, all of whom are artists – musician, dancer and potter. Ben’s visionary life and faithful attention to what is just and right in the world were strengthened and inspired by the music, dances and clay vessels of his closest beloveds. He is survived by wife, Annette; daughters, Kathryn Sparks Carpenter (William) of Union Bridge, MD and Elizabeth Sparks of Burnsville, NC; along with extended family in Virginia, Alabama, and North Carolina; and many loving friends at home and abroad. A Service of Witness to the Resurrection followed by a celebratory reception in memory of Ben will be held at Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA, on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at 3 p.m. All are welcome.
