Fred Phelps was a paragon of hate, a thoroughly disagreeable person. His life’s mission was to be as odious, repugnant and as vile as possible.

Why will Fred Phelps not be fondly remembered in America? [He died in April 2014] and why will America not conform to the tradition of not speaking ill of the departed?

In dissecting his numerous failings, I will only focus on one as this will provide the (mis)measure of the man.

I first made his “acquaintance” – if one can call it that – with the unlikeable Fred Phelps on a one hour documentary by BBC presenter, Louis Theroux, some years ago.

Fred was a Pastor at the so-called Westboro Baptist Church which he himself had established. Fred used the “Church” as the cover for his notorious behaviour. As an Attorney by training, Fred would use the status as a religious organisation as a subterfuge to obtain immunity from prosecution. Interestingly he never used the Free Speech provisions but rather his religious status.

As an aside, surely this is angle that Oscar Pistorius should explore if all else fails. He has already made some moves in that direction with his comments about Reeva’s and his religious feelings.

But the one campaign which firmly established his notoriety was his opposition to the US Military’s “Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell” Policy whereby one’s sexual orientation in the military was condoned but not the act itself.

Fred took this Policy as a personal affront to Christianity. His objective was quite benign in opposing this policy however it was the manner in which he conveyed his message which raised the ire of even the anti-gay groups in America.

His denunciations of this “wicked” Policy were accompanied by expressing congratulations and thanking God for the killing of US Servicemen serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

His opprobrium was not confined to the pulpit of his church as they protested outside the funeral services of slain US Servicemen.

Placards bearing phrases such as “God hates fags” and even more revolting, “I am glad that you were killed” are examples of his vitriolic messages.

Read the placards: “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” and “God hates you.” Imagine being an attendee at the funeral let alone the deceased’s close family. It must have been most dispiriting and revolting.

Even if the dead serviceman had been a homosexual, such homophobic sentiments portray an unkind and unloving God, the very antithesis of what Christianity is supposed to portray.

While many Christian groups have announced their intention to forgive Fred Phelps for his misdeeds, I bet that many Americans are privately whispering “Good riddance.”

What about Fred’s legacy? His children have already intimated that they will proceed with the campaign.