Obituary: Bill O’Brien
William Robert “Bill” O’Brien, longtime missionary and missions innovator, died Feb. 1. He was 86. O’Brien was born in Fort Worth, graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene and earned a master’s degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. He felt the call to serve God early in life, and he served out his calling in many capacities, including as a music minister, pastor, international missionary and writer. Many fondly remember him as a teacher, mentor and friend. Others praised him as a visionary and statesman who challenged Baptists to move beyond a paradigm of isolation and programs to collaborate to reach the spiritually unreached. He and his late wife, Dellanna West O’Brien, were appointed as missionaries to Indonesia in 1962. He served two terms there in the field of music and the arts, taught in the Baptist seminary and directed radio-television efforts for Indonesian Baptists. An internationally recognized missiologist, he taught at Dallas Baptist University, at Baylor University’s Truett Seminary as the inaugural Missions Scholar-in-Residence, and at the John Leland Center for Theological Studies in Arlington, Va. He was founding director of Beeson Divinity School’s Global Center at Samford University, and he also served as missions professor at Beeson Divinity School. He is widely known for his time of service as executive vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Foreign (now International) Mission Board. He founded Bridges of Hope, a community development organization in Indonesia, and he was founder of the Gaston Christian Center, a collaboration of faith-based agencies in Dallas. He served on the board of directors of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and was president of the American Society of Missiology. Reflecting on one of his favorite Bible verses, Romans 12:1–3, and his sense of calling, O’Brien said, “The whole idea of becoming a living sacrifice through the transformation of the mind is a daily challenge, not a one-time event.” He was preceded in death by his first wife of 56 years, Dellanna West O’Brien, who served as executive director of national Woman’s Missionary Union. He is survived by his wife of 10 years, Charmaine; children Denise O’Brien Basden and husband Paul; Erin O’Brien Puryear and husband Rick; and Ross O’Brien and wife Lisa; as well as six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. A celebration of his life will be held Feb. 10 at 1:30 p.m. at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas. Donations in his memory can be made to two of the ministries in which he was invested—the Gaston Christian Center and the Pathways Endowment at Wilshire Baptist Church.
Donald Cannata, longtime minister of education, died Jan. 31. He was 86. He was born Aug. 20, 1933, in Houston to Samuel R.J. and Mattie Lee Ellison Cannata, and he was educated in Houston public schools. He earned degrees from Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Cannata served as minister of education and administration in churches in Texas and Alabama for four decades. He moved with his family to Waco in 1972 to serve First Baptist Church and later Western Heights Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by brothers Harold Lee and Sam Jr. He is survived by his wife, Norma Palmer Cannata; daughter, Leigh Ann Marshall, and husband, Tracy; son Mark, and wife, Edna; daughter Susan Moody; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
Jack C. Burton, longtime pastor of Woodlawn Baptist Church in Austin, died Nov. 30. He was 88. He was born Aug. 27, 1931, to Arch and Georgie Burton in Wichita, Kan., and made his profession of faith in Christ at age 8. He was ordained to the gospel ministry on Oct. 21, 1951, and became pastor of Appanoose Baptist Church in Pomona, Kan., during his junior year of college. He married Janet Fornasero on June 19, 1954. Burton earned his undergraduate degree from Ottawa University in Kansas and his Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition to his 23 years as pastor at Woodlawn Baptist, he also served First Baptist Church in Carlsbad, N.M.; Valley View Baptist Church in El Paso; First Baptist Church in Hatch, N.M.; and Blum Baptist Church in Blum. In retirement, he was interim pastor of churches in Giddings, Marlin, Buda, Lampasas and Austin. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Janet; sons and daughters-in law John and Kimberley Burton of Tucson, Ariz., and Jerry and Lori Burton of Fort Worth; two grandchildren; two great-grandsons; and a brother, Jim Burton of Frisco.
William “Dub” Henry Jackson Jr., the “pioneer” of the partnership missions movement, died on Jan. 19 in Fort Worth after an extended illness. He was 95 years old. The 1998 distinguished alumnus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary began his life on the school’s campus in Fort Worth, where he was born in 1924 while his father was a student, and his last years were spent on Seminary Hill, where he lived investing his passion for missions in students. Jackson saw combat in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II as a P-38 fighter pilot. At the end of the war, Jackson was stationed in Japan during the U.S. occupation, where his firsthand observation of the destitute people turned his heart toward reaching them for Christ. He completed his undergraduate degree at Hardin-Simmons University and seminary at Southwestern. As a student in 1950, he led his first mission trip to Japan and saw about 2,200 Japanese become Christians. Later, he went on to become a Southern Baptist missionary to the Japanese people he once fought and developed a new strategy of missions work—partnership missions, in which laypeople were encouraged to become short-term missionaries themselves, rather than only those called to full-time missions. When the Southern Baptist Convention’s Foreign Mission Board initially resisted the approach, Jackson resigned as a board-appointed missionary and founded the World Evangelism Foundation. During the six-week New Life Crusade evangelistic campaign in April 1963, Jackson led 549 American Christians to travel to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Singapore. More than 45,000 professions of faith in Christ were recorded, including about 25,000 in Japan. Through partnership missions, Jackson led 100 nationwide campaigns in more than 50 countries, resulting in more than 500,000 people professing faith in Christ. In addition to his missionary and pastoral service, Jackson also served at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Dallas Baptist University and the Baptist World Alliance. Jackson was preceded in death by Doris, his wife of 68 years; his son, William H. (Bill) Jackson III; grandson Jered Jackson; and sister May Bond. He is survived by his children, Shirley and Randy Roberts, Lynda and Mike Hughes, David and Darlyne Jackson, and Juanita and Steve Hayden; sister Annette Lipsey; 15 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.
Tomi Jean Anderson Lenamon, a member of Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth for 58 years, died Jan 7. She was 85. She was born April 2, 1934, on a farm in Limestone County to Cy and Lizzy Anderson. She graduated from Groesbeck High School, where she was voted class favorite. Upon graduation, she worked as the secretary to the president of the Farmers State Bank. On Aug. 21, 1951, she married her high school sweetheart, Joe T. Lenamon, a 1951 graduate of Texas A&M University. After he completed his service in the U.S. Air Force, the couple moved to Fort Worth. In addition to caring for four children and maintaining a household, she sewed for the public, bought and resold furniture, and worked as a Tupperware dealer. Later, she worked in the offices of several companies, including Christian Education for the Blind and Stewart Title Company. In 1979, she went to work for Search Ministries and retired from there in 1991. At Travis Avenue Baptist Church, she was involved in Woman’s Missionary Union and a variety of mission projects and trips. She and her husband helped initiate a ministry for young married seminary students. Anytime she was told, “You can’t do that,” she replied, “Just watch me.” She once called the White House to complain about an advertising campaign that put cigarettes in mailboxes. She enjoyed tracing her family genealogy, took many family pictures and left her family a treasured heritage in memory books. For many years, she dealt with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue before it was an accepted diagnosis. Her illness kept her mostly homebound in her later years. She was preceded in death by three brothers, two sisters, and a son, Joel Lenamon. She is survived by her husband of 68 years, Joe T. Lenamon, one of the founders of Texas Baptist Men; daughter Roseanne McAdams and son-in-law John; son Mickey Lenamon, executive director of TBM, and his wife Sallie; son Tony Lenamon; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren, plus two who are expected to arrive in March.
Daniel John Yeary, longtime Baptist minister, died Jan. 4 in Houston. He was 81. He was born Dec. 28, 1938, to John and Eileen Yeary in Miami, Okla. He grew up in Cleburne, where he earned nine varsity sports letters at Cleburne High School and was a student leader at First Baptist Church. Yeary then attended Hardin-Simmons University where he played quarterback under Coach Sammy Baugh and was president of the Baptist Student Union. As a student at HSU, he served on staff at Colonial Hill Baptist Church in Snyder and Southside Baptist Church in Abilene. He and Melinda Millican married on March 31, 1961. Following Yeary’s graduation from Southwestern Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, where he received the J. M. Price Scholarship Award as outstanding student in the School of Religious Education, he began leading student work for the Kentucky Baptist Convention. After two years, he was called to lead the college ministry at First Baptist Church in Lubbock. Under his leadership, the ministry grew so large the church initiated one of the first student-led worship services in the country. More than 1,000 students attended each Sunday. From Lubbock, the Yearys moved to South Main Baptist Church in Houston, where he served as associate pastor and developed a pioneering ministry to single adults. In 1975, he was called to University Baptist Church in Coral Gables, Fla., as senior pastor. Under his leadership, the church grew to exceed 2,000 in attendance any given Sunday. After 18 years in Florida, the Yearys followed God’s call to Arizona, where for two decades he served as pastor of North Phoenix Baptist Church, one of the nation’s largest churches. Facing the challenge of leading the church and being his wife’s primary caregiver during her long struggle with Multiple Sclerosis, Yeary stepped down from his pastorate at North Phoenix. The couple moved to Waco in 2013, where he was interim pastor of First Woodway Baptist Church and adjunct professor at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary. Following Melinda’s death in 2016, he moved to Houston in 2017 to be closer to his children and grandchildren. Hardin-Simmons University awarded Yeary an honorary doctorate in 1996, granted him the HSU Distinguished Alumni Award in 2003, and named him to the HSU Hall of Leaders in 2009. Yeary was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 55 years, Melinda, and his brother, Ron (Speedy) Yeary. He is survived by son Wes Yeary and daughter-in-law Erica; daughter Missy Yeary Wells and son-in-law Steve; son Doak Yeary and daughter-in-law Amy; and 10 grandchildren. He was looking forward to the birth of his first great-grandchild at the end of this month. A service celebrating his life and faith will be held at 1 p.m. on Jan. 10 at South Main Baptist Church in Houston. In lieu of flowers, the family requested memorial gifts be made to South Main Baptist Church in Houston or the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Robert Harrison Dilday, a longtime Baptist editor, died of cardiac arrest on Dec. 22 in Richmond, Va. He was 64. Dilday, a native Texan, was born June 4, 1955, to Russell H. and Betty Dilday. He earned his undergraduate degree from Baylor University and a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, along with a Certificate of Anglican Studies from Virginia Theological Seminary. Dilday was managing editor of the Religious Herald, state newspaper of Virginia Baptists, for 27 years. Previously, he had worked with the Christian Index in Georgia and the Baptist Joint Committee in Washington, D.C. He was editor-in-chief of the Baptist News Global news service from 2014 to 2018. Dilday had been ordained as an Episcopal priest on Dec. 14 and had just begun his duties as associate priest at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Richmond. Prior to his ordination, he had served as a chalice bearer, sub-deacon and jail minister at St. Stephen’s. He also was a founder and co-director of the Interfaith Alliance for Climate Justice. He was preceded in death by his mother, Betty Dilday. He is survived by his sons, R. Harrison Dilday Jr. of San Francisco, Calif., and Andrew Christopher Dilday of New York, N.Y.; sisters Nancy Dilday Duck of Richardson and Ellen Dilday Garrett of Brownwood, Tenn.; and his father, Russell Hooper Dilday.
James Allen Moore, former director of choral activities at East Texas Baptist University, died Nov. 19. He was 80 years old. He was born to Glenn and Audra Moore on Nov. 26, 1938. He gained his first choral directing experience as a high school student leader of his school’s glee club and as 17-year-old director of music at a Baptist church in Gainesville. After he graduated from Gainesville High School, he went on to receive his Bachelor of Music Education degree from East Texas Baptist College. While working on his Master of Music degree at North Texas State University in Denton, he met Patsy Owens, whom he married on Oct. 12, 1963. They began their life together in Kansas at Fort Leavenworth, where he served four years active duty in the U.S. Army. His music career spanned more than 50 years, with choral teaching experiences in junior high, high school, university, community and professional organization settings. He was director of choral activities at East Texas Baptist University at his retirement and served as the choral director of Irving High School multiple years. He was the founding director of the Irving Chorale and served as minister of music in numerous churches every year of his life from age 17 to his retirement at age 74. His choirs performed at conventions at the state and national levels, and he conducted choir tours to Canada, England, Central Europe, Spain, Korea, Hong Kong, Macau and China. He also presented choral worship and lectures in Brazil, Russia, South Korea, Hong Kong and China. He served in leadership positions with the Texas Music Educators Association, theTexas Music Adjudicators Association and the American Choral Directors Association, as well as on the board of directors of the International Federation for Choral Music. He received the Texas Choirmaster Award from the Texas Choral Directors Association for his leadership in the choral field and was the recipient of the ETBU Alumni Association J. Wesley Smith Achievement Award. He is survived by his wife, Pat Moore of Farmers Branch; daughters, Kelly Pfaffenberger and husband John of Farmers Branch and Kerri Hoang and husband Scott of Coppell; four grandchildren; and a brother Glenn Moore.
Darold H. Morgan, longtime Baptist pastor and denominational leader, died Dec. 11. He was 95. He was born Aug. 5, 1924, in Coffeyville, Kan., and grew up in Kansas, Spokane, Wash., and Fort Worth. He felt called to the gospel ministry at age 16 and went on to earn his undergraduate degree from Hardin-Simmons University and his master’s and doctorate degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also completed post-doctoral studies at Oxford University and the University of Oklahoma. He received honorary doctorates from his alma mater, Hardin-Simmons, as well as Dallas Baptist University. Morgan was pastor of churches in Texas and Alabama, the most recent being Cliff Temple Baptist Church in Dallas. In 1971, he was elected as president and CEO of the Annuity Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (now GuideStone Financial Resources), where he served until he retired in 1990. In retirement, he continued to serve as an interim pastor for numerous churches, taught graduate courses at three universities, and provided leadership in various church and denominational initiatives. He also was influential in supporting the Hawaii Baptist Academy in Honolulu, along with other Baptist mission and educational organizations around the world. He was a long-time member of First Baptist Church in Richardson, where he served as interim pastor on three occasions and taught the same Sunday School class more than 40 years. He was preceded in death by his wife of 68 years, Elizabeth, in 2015. He is survived by his children and their spouses, Tim and Jane Morgan of Dallas, Marshall and Debbie Morgan of Odessa, and Julie and Billy Reynolds of Celeste; 9 grandchildren; and 12 great grandchildren. Visitation is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 15 at Restland Funeral Home, 13005 Greenville Ave. in Dallas. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Dec. 16 at First Baptist Church in Richardson. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hawaii Baptist Academy in Honolulu.
Walker Knight, a longtime Baptist journalist, died Dec. 1. He was 95. Knight earned his undergraduate degree from Baylor University. He was editor of a U.S. Air Force publication and a rural Texas weekly newspaper—and pastor of First Baptist Church in Dale—before he joined the Baptist Standard staff in 1950. During his time as associate editor of the Standard in the 1950s, its circulation grew to 355,000. He was editor of Home Missions magazine, later Missions/USA, at the Southern Baptist Convention’s Home Mission Board from 1959 to 1983. In that role, Knight gained a reputation for publishing not only engaging missions features, but also articles that challenged entrenched attitudes about race. He became the subject of controversy in January 1967, when a cover story on black pastor and civil rights activist William Holmes Borders provoked hundreds of readers to cancel their subscriptions. But Arthur Rutledge, chief executive at the Home Mission Board, stood by Knight, and the magazine went on to win numerous awards. “Home Mission magazine was perhaps the most effective communication piece that caused Southern Baptists to become more open and sensitive to racial reconciliation,” Emmanuel McCall, an African American minister who served on the Home Mission Board staff from 1968 to 1991, wrote in his 2007 book, When All God’s Children Get Together: A Memoir of Baptists and Race. Knight retired early and launched SBC Today in 1983 as a national newspaper free from denominational control. The newspaper was renamed Baptists Today in 1991 and eventually became Nurturing Faith. Knight was a member of Oakhurst Baptist Church in Decatur, Ga., for 60 years. He was preceded in death by his wife Nell. He is survived by children Walker Leigh Knight Jr. of Denver, Colo.; Kenneth Knight of Cleveland, Ga.; Nelda Coats of Oriental, N.C.; and Jill Knight of Arden, N.C.; four grandchildren; and siblings Cooksey Bennett Knight of Henderson, Ky.; Mary Ruth Gardner of Bonita Springs, Fla.; Hiram Knight of Zion, Ky.; Jane Mahler of Warner Robins, Ga.; and James Knight of Henderson, Ky.
Nina Raye Phagan Pinkston, veteran missionary and longtime Woman’s Missionary Union leader, died Dec. 2 Grayson, Ga., due to complications of breast cancer. She was 89. She moved to Georgia to be near family about 18 months ago after nearly 50 years in Fort Worth, where she and her husband Glen both earned master’s degrees in religious education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and where they were longtime members of Travis Avenue Baptist Church. She was born in Bellevue to Wade Ray Lona and Lona Louville Phagan on Dec. 30, 1929. In 1944, her family moved to Perryton, where her father served as Ochiltree County sheriff for 26 years. She graduated from Perryton High School, attended Wayland Baptist College and graduated from Texas Tech University. At Wayland, she met Glen Pinkston of Levelland, and they married in Perryton. When he re-enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Japan, she traveled aboard a troop transport ship to join him. Over the next 31 years, they lived in Japan, Ohio, Nebraska, England, California, West Germany and finally at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth. After his retirement, they moved to West Germany to serve as Southern Baptist missionaries more than 10 years, helping grow Baptist churches near U.S. military bases across Europe and serving as religious education consultants for the European Baptist Convention. They averaged more than 60,000 miles a year traveling to churches. During one trip, they suffered a serious car accident, in which she broke her neck and collar bone. With much prayer, great medical treatment and hard work, she recovered and continued mission work in Europe. She served in leadership roles both with national WMU and Texas WMU. She was preceded in death by her husband Glen in 2017. She is survived by sons Michael Pinkston of Plano and Steven Pinkston of Grayson, Ga.; five grandchildren; and a brother, Jim Phagan of Carrollton. A memorial service is scheduled at 11 a.m. on Dec. 21 at Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth.