The Rev. James Braxton, a well-known community leader who helped Salem's First Baptist Church grow as he served as its pastor for 33 years, died Tuesday.

Braxton had been suffering from health problems and had a fatal heart attack, his family said. He was 75.

Born in Tappahannock, Braxton attended seminary in Lynchburg, where he later taught classes. He served as pastor of a church in Grafton before moving to Clifton Forge in 1958 to take the helm of Main Street Baptist Church. There he met the former Louise Sledd, who became his wife two years later.

Braxton served the Clifton Forge church for 11 years. During that time, he was instrumental in integrating the area's schools, Louise Braxton said.

When the couple moved to Salem in 1969, what is now South Broad Street - where First Baptist Church stands - was Water Street, and what is now South Market Street was Alabama Street. It didn't make sense to Braxton that the names changed as the streets crossed Main Street into a historically black section of the city, so he lobbied for the current names.

"I think it was to him the distinction of one being less important than the other," said the Rev. Enos Glaspie. "He was a progressive person. He was actually dynamic," Glaspie said, explaining that Braxton was a man who could make things happen.

Glaspie, who served as pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Salem for 40 years before retiring in 1992, said he met Braxton before Braxton's move to Salem.

"He had a beautiful vision for his church that he was able to carry out," Glaspie said. That vision included a fellowship hall and a wing reserved for education. "That was a big addition to the church and a much-needed one," Glaspie said.

Braxton also created a women's stewardship club, helped the church get out of debt and expanded its music program, including the Buds of Promise children's choir.

In 1972, Salem Democrats nominated Braxton for city council. He did not win, but he was believed to be the first black person nominated for a seat.

Braxton was a Paul Harris fellow and once was named Father of the Year, his wife said.

"He just adored his family," Louise Braxton said. The couple have two daughters, Chanda Hill and Zenobia Braxton-Sears, and two sons, James Braxton Jr. and Brad Braxton, who followed in his father's footsteps and joined the ministry.

Brad Braxton graduated from Salem High School, won a Jefferson Scholarship to the University of Virginia and went on to become a Rhodes scholar. He is associate professor of homiletics and New Testament at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tenn.

James Braxton served as president of the Virginia Baptist Convention in the 1980s, "and he served with distinction," Glaspie said. He also was president of the Salem Civic League in the late 1990s.

"He was respected by all who knew him," Louise Braxton said. "He was just always involved in civic affairs or church affairs."

"He was a lover of all people," his daughter Chanda Hill said. "He especially loved children." Braxton kept candy and toys in his church office and "after church, the children would just flood his office," she said.

The pastor was such a beloved part of the church that he and his wife would drive separate cars to Sunday services. "I knew he would stay too long" talking with church members, Louise Braxton said.

Glaspie said Braxton helped put together the Union Communion, which takes place every three months. Members of First Baptist and Shiloh Baptist come together as one congregation to worship, he said.

After Braxton retired in June 2002, he kept busy visiting with his family and with gardening and woodwork - what he called "pittering," his wife said.

He also remained a part of First Baptist. His failing health sometimes prevented him from attending services, but "he was active from a distance," Hill said. "He was still giving guidance and direction" to church leaders, who still have not replaced him with a new pastor.

He made it a point to offer guidance to anyone who needed it, Hill said.

"If he met someone on the street who had a need, he would minister to that need," from spiritual guidance to money to food, Hill said. And if he told someone to live his life a certain way, it was the way he lived his own, she said.

"What he told others, he made sure he lived up to it himself," Hill said. He frequently told others, "Straighten up and fly right," she said.

"There was no falsehood about him," Louise Braxton said. "That was his legacy - helping others. He was a true servant for fellow man. He truly believed that that was his mission."