"A genuinely kind man, a decent man, a person of very strong faith."

That is how Pastor Patrick Cronin is being remembered by his flock after he suffered a heart attack and died while driving home with his wife from a local airport early Sunday morning. He was laid to rest on Thursday, N&R Greensboro.com reported.

Cronin, or "Pastor Pat" as he was affectionately known, was 65. He had been pastor of Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, for 21 years.

Cronin distinguished himself for reaching out to other denominations and faiths, according to Rob Miller, Friendly Avenue Baptist's minister of music."One of his favourite sayings was 'we could agree to disagree agreeably,'" Miller recalled.

For instance, the Baptist pastor offered his church as a temporary campus for the American Hebrew Academy before the latter was able to establish its permanent home.

Miller said Cronin was driving from the airport to his home in Oak Ridge past midnight on Sunday with his wife, Brenda, when the accident happened. They were returning from Hendersonville, Tennessee, where Cronin had undergone a medical procedure.

According to Miller, Cronin drove off the side of the road into a hayfield after he apparently suffered a massive heart attack. His wife was not injured.

He said Cronin was not only a good preacher but also "a really good shepherd" who took care of his family and congregation.

"He was a people person," Miller said. "He was a genuine guy. He would tell it like it is. Our people expected that from him because that's the way he was and they appreciated that of him and he led our church that way."

"He was just a good friend and our community ... was much better off because he was here," said Rabbi Fred Guttman of Temple Emanuel. "And now we're hurting because he's gone."

Cronin is also fondly remembered for his devotion to his congregation and for allowing people to tell what they have to say even if he disagreed with them.

"Pat was just a genuinely kind man, a decent man, a person of very strong faith," said the Rev. Julie Peeples of Congregational United Church of Christ in Greensboro, adding that the two of them always found common ground when talking about things they did not agree on.

Cronin is survived by his wife, three children and two grandchildren.