Las Vegas pastor Robert Fowler dies at 64

Las Vegas pastor Robert Fowler died Tuesday morning, according to the Clark County coroner’s office.

The coroner’s office said the 64-year-old died in his bed around 5:20 a.m. His cause and manner of death have not been determined.

Fowler had been the senior pastor at Victory Missionary Baptist Church since 1996, when the church’s founding pastor retired. He had a history of political statements, including endorsing then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over then-Sen. Barack Obama in the 2008 election.

Rep. Dina Titus tweeted her condolences for the family on Tuesday, praising Fowler’s community leadership.

https://twitter.com/repdinatitus/status/1262805314744680448

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said Fowler was his pastor and a close friend for nearly 20 years. He and his family found Victory Missionary Baptist Church when they moved to Las Vegas in 2000 and, even when they moved to Dallas for a few years, Ford said he talked often with Fowler.

“He’s just been a mentor, a great spiritual leader, a praying man who has really helped my family immensely,” Ford said Tuesday night.

Ford said Fowler officiated his vow renewal ceremony in 2012 and has helped him to navigate public scrutiny over the years. He said everyone who knew Fowler was better for it.

“The church as we know it will never be the same, my family will never be the same and this city will never be the same,” Ford said. “We had in Pastor Fowler a staunch advocate for spiritual leadership, a staunch advocate for fairness, for equal rights, for tolerance and someone who just led by example.”

The church and Fowler’s family could not immediately be reached for comment.

Contact Alexis Egeland at aegeland@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0335. Follow @alexis_egeland on Twitter.