James Edward Tye of Allen, longtime Baptist missionary to Ecuador, died May 16. He was 89. He was born Feb. 21, 1936, in Jones, Okla., to Robert Cook Tye and Sylvia Leticia Goodner Tye. He married Shirley Ann Bynum on Dec. 14, 1956, in Oklahoma City. The Tyes served 29 years in Ecuador as Southern Baptist missionaries, proclaiming the name of Jesus to the Ecuadorian people and Quichua people. Upon their retirement in 1999, they continued to serve in Love County, Okla., by assisting with the Hispanic community there, and serving on staff at Eastside Baptist Church in Marietta. He was a volunteer chaplain for the Love County Fire Department and sang and played in the orchestra for the Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma. He also was the owner of Tye Piano Service, tuning and repairing pianos across Southern Oklahoma and North Texas. After their move to Allen in 2020, the Tyes became members at Allen Heights Baptist Church, and they started a Bible study at Springwood. He was preceded in death by four sisters and a brother. He is survived by his beloved wife, Shirley Tye of Allen; daughter Jeana Dixon and her husband Clark of St. Charles, Mo.; son Mark Tye and his wife Shirley of Kingwood; son Scott Tye and his wife Kristi of Allen; son Tim Tye and his wife Kristi of Allen; 12 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on May 23 at Allen Heights Baptist Church in Allen. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the International Mission Board at www.imb.org/generosity/give-now. 

Hal Reese Kirk, a deacon and Bible study leader, died May 9 in Plano. He was 86. He was born Nov. 27, 1938, in Fillmore, Ill., to Hal Curtis Kirk and Wilda Marie Kirk, as the eldest of five children. A gifted athlete, he played football and basketball at Nokomis High School, where he started on varsity basketball beginning his sophomore year. He began college at Bradley University but took a brief detour after spending more time on the basketball court than in the classroom. Later, he returned to graduate with a degree in civil engineering. He held a variety of jobs, ranging from working in a ski shop to driving bulldozers at Caterpillar’s proving grounds. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves and worked for the Illinois Highway Department before beginning a long and successful career at GTE (later Verizon). His career took him from Normal, Ill., to San Angelo, and finally to Carrollton, where he worked until his retirement in 2000. While in Illinois, he and his wife Joyce helped plant College Avenue Baptist Church in Normal, where he served as a deacon, occasionally filled in as a preacher, and led Bible studies. At First Baptist Church in Carrollton, he continued his ministry through teaching, serving as a deacon, delivering Meals on Wheels, and lending a hand to widows and others in need. Later at Stonebriar Community Church, the Kirks found joy in serving both their local community and people across the world. In retirement, his greatest joy came from supporting his grandchildren, offering his faithful and loving presence at their basketball, tennis, volleyball and soccer games; track meets; band and children’s choir concerts; piano recitals; ballet performances; cheer competitions; and school plays. He is survived by his devoted wife of 66 years Joyce Marie Kirk; daughter Rachelle Crawford and husband John; son Brent Kirk and wife Mindy; beloved grandchildren; sisters Dana Hoffman, Mary Herren and Debbie Hanabarger; and brother Myron Kirk.

Constance “Connie” Gayle Billinger Davis of Abilene, teacher and social worker, died May 8. She was 70. She was born in Darnall Army Hospital at Fort Hood on Dec. 20, 1954. After she graduated from Killeen High School, she went on to Baylor University in Waco, graduating in 1975 with a degree in psychology. She married John Norman Davis on April 24, 1976, in Killeen. She later completed a master’s degree in education from Southwest Texas State University and a master’s degree in counseling from East Texas State University. She spent much of her adult life as an advocate for women and children in her various professional positions. She was named director of the newly rejuvenated YWCA in Paris, and she instituted many programs there, including girls’ softball and other girls’ sports and rebuilt an annual art fair that brought talent and visitors to the Northeast Texas town. While in Paris, she began working for Texas Child Protective Services, working her way up to supervisor and program director in Lubbock, and capping her 25-plus year career as program administrator in Abilene. She considered her work with and for children to be a calling from God. She was preceded in death by her father, Major (Ret.) Elmer Billinger. She is survived by her husband, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) John N. Davis of Hardin-Simmons University; son Jeffrey Davis and his wife Morgan; daughter Sara Klooster and her husband Andrew; five grandchildren; brother Jeffrey Billinger; sister Kathy Renz; and mother Vera Billinger. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on May 16 at Pioneer Drive Baptist Church in Abilene. Memorials may be given to the Foster Care and Adoption Ministry at Pioneer Drive Baptist Church.

Squire Parsons Jr., a native of West Virginia and longtime Southern Gospel singer, died May 5. He was 77.

Parsons’ father, who was a choir director and deacon at his church, taught his son how to sing using shaped notes.

Parsons held a bachelor of science degree in music from West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery, where he was trained on the piano and bassoon, and received an honorary doctorate from the university in 1999.

After graduating from college, he taught at Hannan High School in Mason County, W.Va., and served as music director of various churches.

He began singing Southern Gospel music professionally when he joined the Calvarymen Quartet in 1969 before he graduated from college. He went on to sing with The Kingsmen, where he served as the baritone for the quartet.

His voice became the standard for several songs, including “It Made News In Heaven,” “Hello Mama,” “The Lovely Name Of Jesus,” “I’ve Got A Reservation,” “Master Of The Sea” and “Look For Me At Jesus’ Feet.”

Parsons focused on a solo ministry in 1979. He is known for writing several songs, including “Sweet Beulah Land,” “He Came To Me,” “The Broken Rose,” “The Greatest Of All Miracles,” “I’m Not Giving Up,” “I Sing Because” and “I Call It Home.”

He was ordained as a minister in 1979 at his home church, Trinity Baptist Church in Asheville, N.C.

Parsons also worked with Squire Parsons & Redeemed (1984–1991) and The Squire Parsons Trio (1995–2009). He appeared during a Billy Graham Crusade in Arkansas and performed with the Gaither Homecoming Choir.

“Sweet Beulah Land” was voted song of the year in 1981 by readers of Singing News Magazine, where he was voted favorite baritone (1986–1987), favorite male singer (1988) and favorite songwriter (1986, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995).

He received a Dove Award nomination in 1999 for contributing to a Dottie Rambo tribute album.

Parsons was inducted in the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2008. He had also been inducted in the Gospel Music Association’s Hall of Fame in 2000 as a former member of The Kingsmen.

Parsons retired from traveling in 2019 and only made limited appearances after that.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Freddy Mason of Carthage, who served the same rural Panola County church as pastor more than five and a half decades, died May 5. He was 79. He was born Nov. 30, 1945, in Texarkana, Ark., to Fred and Pansy Joy Woods Mason. After he graduated from Carthage High School, he attended Panola College, where he served as the sophomore class president. He also was choir president, an All-Star Cast Member and participated in one-act plays. He was a one-man show on stage and performed in many one-act and two-act plays throughout his career, notably for playwright Ben Z. Grant in a play about Caddo Lake. He went on to earn his undergraduate degree at East Texas Baptist University before continuing his education at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He was pastor of Cedar Grove Baptist Church in Panola County’s Snap community for 57 years. During his tenure at Cedar Grove, he pastored generations of Panola County families, officiating countless numbers of baptisms, weddings and funerals. He married Suzanne Treadwell on June 15, 1990, in Clayton. He taught at Panola College, where he also served many years as director of the Baptist Student Ministry. At the time of his retirement, he was dean of the Liberal Arts Department. He was a longtime member of the Carthage Noon Lions Club and served with the 100 Men of East Texas. He is survived by his wife Suzanne; daughter Staci Self and husband Toby; daughter Katrina Randall and husband Tuff; three grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and sister Janie Cromer. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on May 7 at Cedar Grove Baptist Church. His family will receive friends for a visitation beginning at 12 noon prior to the funeral service. Memorial gifts may be made to Cedar Grove Baptist Church, 1050 CR 108, Carthage, TX 75633 or to the Panola College Foundation, “Freddy Mason Scholarship,” Attn: Institute of Advancement, 1109 W. Panola, Carthage, TX 75633.

Melvin William Clinton Jr. of Turkey, longtime Texas Baptist pastor, died April 11 in Silverton. He was 88. He was born Jan. 11, 1937, in Ponca City, Okla., to Melvin Edward and Alta King Clinton. He married Guyretta Ruth Baker on June 2, 1957, in Uncas, Okla. He was pastor of First Baptist Church in Turkey 48 years. He previously served at First Baptist Church in Lamont, Okla., and Bethel Baptist Church in Funston. He also was actively involved in the Kairos and Emmaus ministries. He had served on the Turkey Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance Service several years and was a member of the Turkey Lions Club. He was preceded in death by his wife Guyretta Ruth; daughter Debra Zanardi; son-in-law Mark Zanardi; and two sisters, Ida Mae Wright and Roseanne Snodgrass. Survivors include son Gary Clinton and wife Theresa of Silverton; daughter Karen Rice and husband Walt of Howardwick; eight grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren with one on the way; brother Madison Clinton of Altus, Okla.; and sister Ellen Neely of Ponca City, Okla. His funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on April 15 at First Baptist Church in Turkey. The family request memorials be sent to First Baptist Church in Turkey.

Marguerite Gaston Garrett, former member of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board, died April 8. She was 98. She was born May 5, 1926, in Buffalo, N.Y., to Orissa Knight Gaston and John Zell Gaston, while her father was completing his medical residency there. She grew up in Houston near the medical district and Rice University. She graduated from Rice University and met her husband Robert (Bob) Irving Garrett on a blind date on San Jacinto Day, April 21, 1946. They married Aug. 6, 1948, in Houston. Since her husband was a medical doctor serving in the U.S. Navy, his tours of duty took them to live in many places, including California, Illinois, Virginia and Florida, before settling in Lufkin in 1971. At First Baptist Church in Lufkin, she served on multiple committees and in various ministries, including choir and handbells, and was involved in Woman’s Missionary Union. She served in the Medical Auxiliary of doctor’s wives and in the leadership of the local Museum of East Texas, Ellen Trout Zoo and Kiwanis Club. She was preceded in death by her husband Bob, daughter Katherine and son Glenn Arthur. She is survived by son Robert I. Garrett Jr. and wife Jane Huff; daughter Peggilu Garrett Woodward and husband Douglas; son J. David Garrett and wife Ruth; four granddaughters; two grandsons; and five great-grandchildren.

F.B. Huey Jr., longtime seminary professor and former missionary, died April 7. He was 100. He was born in Denton on Jan. 12, 1925, and attended the University of North Texas before graduating from the University of Texas in Austin. He worked in a family-owned business in Denton for 10 years before entering the ministry in 1955. While a seminary student, he served as pastor of churches in Bolivar and Denton. After graduating from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with the Master of Divinity and Ph.D. degrees, he and his family served as Southern Baptist missionaries in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 1961 to 1965, where he was professor of Old Testament at the South Brazil Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1965 until his retirement in 1990, he was professor of Old Testament at Southwestern Seminary. He served as editor of the Southwestern Journal of Theology from 1975 to 1978, was associate dean for the Ph.D. degree from 1985 to 1990, and served as interim pastor of 27 churches. He also was guest professor at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Rüschlikon, Switzerland, in 1970-71, and at the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary in 1996. After his retirement, he continued as adjunct professor of Old Testament at Southwestern Seminary and as pastor of the Rush Creek Baptist Church in Arlington. He was the author of eight books, four of which were translated into Chinese. He served as one of the translators for the New American Standard Bible, the New International Version and the International Children’s Bible. He contributed numerous articles to scholarly and popular religious publications, Bible commentaries, theological dictionaries and encyclopedias. He was named as a distinguished alumnus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2001. He was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Nonna Turner Huey; grandson, Jonathan David Huey; and great-granddaughter, Brynlee Anne Bitton. He is survived by his daughter, Mary Anne Lisbona and her husband Alberto; daughter Linda Miller and her husband Darrell; son David Huey and his wife Debbie; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at Travis Avenue Baptist Church, where he was a member, at 11 a.m. on April 15. The family will receive friends beginning at 10 a.m. prior to the memorial service.

Bertha Dell Mieth, supporter of global evangelism and Wayland Baptist University, died April 9 in Fort Worth. She was 88. She was born Dec. 23, 1936, in Paducah. After leading a mission team from First Baptist Church of Seminole to Mexico in 1971—where more than 1,500 people professed faith in Christ—she and her husband Ben devoted themselves to global evangelism. Together, they founded International Commission, which has worked more than 50 years to establish relationships with churches and equip believers to share the gospel around the world. From the time one of their children attended Wayland Baptist University, the Mieths invested their prayers, presence and resources in the university. They established the Ben and Bertha Mieth Professorship in Global Missions, provided numerous scholarships and made a lasting impact on the university’s facilities. Their recent $1 million gift is helping to enhance Wayland’s multimedia facilities on the Plainview campus, moving the university closer to achieving the goal of the Thrive Campaign, which the Mieths chaired together. Most recently, the Mieths gave $2.5 million to upgrade the facilities and equipment of the Ben and Bertha Mieth School of Nursing at Wayland’s San Antonio campus. She was a longtime member of the First Baptist Church in Glen Rose. She is survived by her husband of 71 years Ben; daughter Debra Cavett and husband Rodney; daughter Miki Martin and husband Woody; son Bennie Mieth and wife Elaine; nine grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren. Viewing and visitation is scheduled beginning at noon on April 18 at First Baptist Church in Glen Rose, followed by the funeral service at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to the First Baptist Church of Glen Rose building fund or to the International Commission.

Clifford Dane, a Southern Baptist missionary emeritus who served in Belize and Brazil, died Jan. 7. He was 86. Dane was born July 1, 1938, in Weatherford to Henry and Ruth Dane. He came to faith in Christ as a child and was active in church life alongside his parents and siblings. During his 11th-grade year, he surrendered his life to special service for God, and the following year he surrendered to preach and began preaching at various church services. During his last year of high school, he met Peggy Delano. They were married Aug. 16, 1959. Over the next several years, Dane served as a pastor, earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Wayland Baptist University and taught fourth grade. Feeling led by God to foreign missions service, the Danes moved to Fort Worth, where he earned a Master of Religious Education degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In 1972, the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board—now the International Mission Board—appointed the Danes as missionaries to Brazil. He established a school of religious education, planted churches and opened a recreational learning camp. Dane earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Caribbean College of the Bible International in San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago, and taught courses in theology, archeology and religious education at Baptist Theological Seminary in North Brazil. The Danes later served in Belize, where he worked to strengthen churches, hosted volunteers from the U.S. and continued planting churches. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Peggy Dane; children Brent Dane, Troy Dane, and Gwenann Sprecher; eight grandchildren; and seven great grandchildren. Donations in his memory may be made to the Lottie Moon Offering, IMB, 3806 Monument Avenue, Richmond, VA 23230, or online at Generosity Resource Center – IMB Generosity.

Lurae “Looie” Biffar, who served Texas Baptists and Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas more than a half-century as a graphic designer, died March 21 in Chico. She was 79. She was born June 30, 1945, to Clyde and Elva Attaway Biffar and grew up in Big Spring. She earned her degree in graphic design from the University of North Texas in 1967. She served four and a half decades as a graphic designer in the public relations and communications office at the Baptist General Convention of Texas. After retiring from the BGCT, she served in a similar role with WMU of Texas. When she began work with Texas Baptists, she used a drawing board, rapidograph pen, utility knife and T-square. By the time she retired, she was proficient in multiple types of graphic-design computer hardware and software. She served with six BGCT executive directors—T.A. Patterson, James Landes, Bill Pinson, Charles Wade, Randel Everett and David Hardage—and worked at three Baptist Building locations. For more than three decades, she coordinated and supervised the set-up of the exhibit hall at Texas Baptists’ annual meeting. Along the way, she received numerous graphic design awards from the Baptist Public Relations Association/Baptist Communicators Association. She was preceded in death by her brother Glenn Biffar and her sister Elaine Shuffler. She is survived by her nephew Aaron Biffar; her niece Andrea Jones and husband J.D.; niece-in-law Laurie Watkins; sister-in-law Patti Biffar; and great-nieces and great-nephews who thought of her as a grandmother. The family will receive guests from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. March 25 at Hawkins Funeral Home in Bridgeport. Her memorial service will be at 1 p.m. March 26 at Hawkins Funeral Home in Bridgeport, with burial at Chico Cemetery.

Travis Farrar Patterson, Baptist minister and former seminary professor, died Feb. 16 in Aledo. He was 91. Born in Columbus, Ga., to Sarah Carolyn Culbreath and George Travis “Pat” Patterson, he grew up in Memphis, Tenn., the oldest of seven children. He married Helen Edwina Schovajsa of Amherst in 1959 when they were both graduate seminary students. Farrar held degrees from Southeastern Bible College, Baylor University, Dallas Theological Seminary, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Texas Christian University. He was pastor of churches in Weatherford and in Columbus, and he taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1969 to 1985. He spent a sabbatical year in 1984 as a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge in England studying the life and works of John Wesley in preparation for writing and publishing his own book, Do-it-Yourself Bible Study. He also served his community as a town councilman. He is survived by daughter S. Paige Patterson Clarke and her husband James Clarke; daughter H. Shea Patterson Young and her husband Patrick Young; and by four grandsons, Austin, Laurence, Edward and Arthur.