3207570685.jpg &&& FORT WORTH — C.W. Brister Jr. was a soft-spoken man, but when he did speak, his well-chosen words carried much weight, friends and colleagues said Monday."I remember the beauty of C.W.’s prayers," said longtime friend LeRoy Ford, who had known and worked with Dr. Brister since 1964. "Even blessings before meals were spoken with poetic reverence."Dr. Brister, distinguished professor emeritus of pastoral ministry at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, died Saturday of complications of Lou Gehrig’s disease, his family said. He was 82.Commodore Webster Brister Jr. was born Jan. 15, 1926, in Pineville, La., where he grew up. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana College and a Master of Divinity degree from New Orleans Baptist Seminary. He earned his doctorate from Southwestern seminary.During World War II, he served with the Maritime Service, now the Coast Guard.Over a 45-year teaching career at the seminary, Dr. Brister inspired thousands of students, said Larry Baker, a former student. Baker, senior pastor at First Baptist Church, Sun City West in Sun City, Ariz., will lead Dr. Brister’s memorial service in Fort Worth on Friday."He had such a capacity for caring," said Baker, who was first Dr. Brister’s student in 1960. "He took a genuine interest in the people around him. He had a reserved personality, but he took initiative in relating to people."Teaching pastors to relate to others was Dr. Brister’s specialty. Among several books he wrote was Pastoral Care in the Church, which was printed in several languages over three editions, Baker said.Southwestern’s School of Theology recognizes an outstanding graduate each year with a pastoral ministry award in Dr. Brister’s name, according to the seminary’s Web site.One of Dr. Brister’s teaching tools involved having young ministers write letters to hypothetical members of a church about difficult times in their lives, Baker said. The goal was to teach the students to choose their words carefully.Dr. Brister talked of getting his love of words from a high school English teacher and his mother, who quizzed him on vocabulary from Reader’s Digest, Baker said.An ordained minister, Dr. Brister was pastor or interim pastor of churches in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.Survivors include his wife, Gloria Brister; a son, Mark Brister; a sister, Dolores Bausum of Beloit, Wis.; and two grandsons. Memorial service 11 a.m. Friday at Broadway Baptist Church, 305 W. Broadway St. in Fort Worth. Burial will be in Pineville, La. Visitation is 4-7 p.m. today at Thompson’s Harveson & Cole, 702 Eighth Ave., Fort Worth.