Oklahoma Annual Conference The United Methodist Church OIRS M E M 2012 Journal SECTION J Memoirs 341 CLERGY CLERGY SPOUSES Mark S. Barnett Pearl Boyce Dwight D. Darrah Sibyl Edmondson Hardie M. Higgins Helen Eisenberg Harold A. Honnold Donna Hawkins Kenneth W. Howard Rebecca Heaton Dennis C. Jones Esther Kay Wesley R. Kimball Lawanda Majors Lawson G. Lee Birdie Payette Robert L. Majors Virginia Pipkin Jene Miller Frances Post Mary Lou Branscum Millis Roberta Shepard Charles H. Richardson Ruby Simpson Roy C. Rowlan Dale Sullivan Jim C. Taylor 342 Memoirs CLERGY REV. MARK S. BARNETT Rev. Mark S. Barnett, 50, of Midwest City, Okla., died Nov. 9, 2011. He was senior pastor of Wickline United Methodist Church at the time of his death. Mark was born Jan. 20, 1961, in El Paso, Texas, to Beverly and the late Rev. Marcus Barnett. He earned a bachelor’s in education/vocal performance at East Central University and his divinity degree from Phillips Theological Seminary. He was a member of the National Phi Kappa Tau and National Sigma Theta Epsilon Christian Men’s fraternities. He and Linda Dicus married on June 2, 1990. Rev. Barnett began his ministry career in 1989 as youth minister at Perry UMC. He then was appointed as the first campus ministry director at Oklahoma City University, where he served for five years. He pastored Hinton UMC for eight years, before his appointment to Wickline. He was ordained in 1993. Among his Church leadership, Barnett was an Oklahoma Conference clergy mentor; OKC-North District Board of Ministry member; and Camps dean, counselor, and curriculum writer. He led many mission teams. In the Midwest City/Del City community, he was a motivational speaker and led community prayer services. He was a member of the Tinker/Mid-Del Family YMCA Board of Directors, chaired the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign, and was honored as YMCA Volunteer of the Year 2007-08. He also was honored as Volunteer of the Year for the Midwest City Chamber of Commerce in 2006. Survivors include his wife of 21 years, Linda; daughters Taylor and Brenden; and honorary son Joe Nett. His life was celebrated Nov. 12 at Wickline UMC. REV. DWIGHT DARRAH Rev. Dr. Dwight D. Darrah, 84, of Bartlesville, Okla., died March 26, 2012. His ministry career extended more than half a century. Dwight was born in Oklahoma City on March 31, 1927, and grew up in Clinton. He attended the University of Oklahoma, and graduated from Oklahoma City University and Boston University. He served in the U.S. Army. OCU recognized him with a Doctor of Divinity degree in 1982. On Aug. 15, 1951, in Okeene, he married Carolina “Becky” Beckloff. She predeceased him in 2011. His first appointment was in 1947. He was ordained in 1955. He served twice as a district superintendent, leading the former Altus and Ada Districts. He was pastor at El Reno-Ellison Avenue, Laverne, Hinton, Harrison Memorial and Lake Churches in Tulsa, Kingfisher, OKC- Mayfair Heights, Tulsa-St. Paul’s, Muskogee-St. Paul, and Bartlesville-East Cross. In the 1970s, he was the superintendent of the Oklahoma United Methodist Children’s Home in Tahlequah and the Frances E. Willard Home for Girls in Tulsa. He had been pastor emeritus at East Cross since his retirement in 1992. He also worked then as a literacy tutor, minister of pastoral care, and law firm clerk. He was an avid reader. Survivors include three children, David and Mark Darrah and Linda Darrah Reynolds, and two grandsons. Memoirs 343 Memorial service was held March 31 at Boston Avenue Church, Tulsa, officiated by Revs. Charles Stewart of Altus and Eva Marie Campbell of Tulsa. Arrangements were by Stanley’s Funeral Home, Tulsa. REV. HARDIE MACK HIGGINS Rev. Hardie Mack Higgins, age 67, of Cedar Hill, Texas, died Jan. 23, 2012. Hardie was born Sept. 8, 1944, in Blackwell, Okla., to Jack and Lenore Higgins. As a young enlisted soldier, he served two deployments in Vietnam. Two decades later, he became a U.S. Army chaplain. He attended Northern Oklahoma College and graduated from Northwestern Oklahoma University in 1982. In 1983 he earned a divinity degree from Phillips seminary, and he was ordained a United Methodist elder in 1985. Rev. Higgins pastored at Jefferson, Renfrow, and Copan churches in Oklahoma between 1978 and 1984. He became an active-duty chaplain in 1984. Before retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2005, his chaplaincy included service in Kuwait during Desert Storm and in Iraq. He also served in Germany, Korea, and Guantanamo. He received the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars, four Meritorious Service Medals, three Army Commendation Medals, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, two Army Achievement Medals, and other awards. In 2006 he earned a doctorate from Grace Theological Seminary. At the time of his death, he was studying Global Leadership in a doctoral program at Dallas Baptist University. Survivors include his wife, Younghee Higgins; son Christopher Higgins; daughter Leslie Sykes; and a grandson. Service was Jan. 27 at Blackwell UMC, officiated by Revs. James Hollifield and Pam Cottrill. Burial, with military honors, was at Blackwell Cemetery. Directing was Roberts and Son Funeral Home. REV. HAROLD HONNOLD Rev. Harold A. Honnold, age 93, of Enid, Okla., died Jan. 17, 2012. Harold was born July 14, 1918, in Sand Springs, Okla., to Wilbur and Lula Jane (Lewis) Honnold. He received a bachelor’s degree from Phillips University, Enid, and obtained a divinity degree from Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas. He married Fay Shelton on July 16, 1944, in Dallas. He was ordained in 1945. He served as a pastor for more than 41 years, retiring in 1985. Churches he served were Harrah, Kaw City, Hunter, Newkirk, Ryan, Carter Avenue in Ardmore, Geary, Chelsea, Atoka, Hagler Memorial in Tulsa, Wynnewood, Wetumka, OKC- Otterbein, OKC-St. Paul’s, Rose Hill in Tulsa, Jones, Okeene, and Waukomis. After retiring to Enid, he continued to pastor at churches in that area. He performed weddings and funerals until July 2011. Survivors include daughter Mary Fay McCumber, two grandsons, and a great- granddaughter. His wife predeceased him. Graveside service was Jan. 20 at Waukomis Cemetery, with Rev. Larry McCumber officiating, under the direction of Brown-Cummings Funeral Home. 344 Memoirs REV. KENNETH HOWARD Rev. Kenneth Weldon Howard, 82, of Cathedral City, Calif., died July 30, 2011. He was born on April 20, 1929, on his grandfather’s ranch near Spanish Fort, Texas, to Robert and Ada Howard. He was age 2 when his family moved to Waurika, Okla. A graduate of Southern Methodist University and Duke Divinity School, he did post- graduate study at Cambridge University, England, and Melbourne University, Australia. His ministry career extended from 1951 to 1991, mostly in Oklahoma and also South Carolina. He was ordained in 1955. He was director of United Methodist Cooperative Ministries (now Restore Hope Ministries) in Tulsa for more than eight years. Also in Oklahoma, he served Lambuth and Penn Avenue churches in Oklahoma City; Grove; Harrah; Stroud; Vinita/Big Cabin; and in Tulsa: Memorial Drive, Harvard Avenue, and at Boston Avenue, where he was an associate pastor. He was a member of the Oklahoma Conference boards for Ordained Ministry, Church & Society, and Frances Willard Home. Loving to travel, he had visited 92 countries and gone around the world twice. He conducted preaching missions in Brazil and Malaysia, led Holy Land tours, and taught English in China with Global Volunteers. He retired to Palm Springs, Calif., in 1995. He was a founding member of the Stonewall Democrats, FrontRunners, Metropolitan Community Church, and Sunday Night Live of Palm Springs United Methodist Church. Survivors include his partner, Bill Gray; his children, Mark, Kevin, and Meredith Howard and Shannon Howard-Bravo; six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren; and Elizabeth Howard, to whom he was married for 33 years. Memorial service was Sept. 17 at Tulsa-Boston Avenue UMC, officiated by Rev. Bill Crowell, with interment at the church’s columbarium. REV. DENNIS CARLTON JONES Rev. Dennis Carlton Jones, 65, of Skiatook, Okla., died Sept. 27, 2011. Dennis was born March 28, 1946, in Oklahoma City, to Henry and Lucile (Minton) Jones. He was a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma and Phillips Theological Seminary. A U.S. Army veteran, he served during the Vietnam War. Dennis Jones married Cherlyn Hannaford on June 10, 1967. He began his ministry in 1979 and was the founding pastor of Claremore-St. Andrew’s. He was ordained in 1983. He also served at Ochelata, Kremlin, Davis, Mount Zion near El Reno, Sentinel/Rocky, Lawton Heights, and Yale/Maramec. He was assigned to Honorable Location in 2002 and to Honorable Location Retired in 2008. Survivors include his wife, daughters Rachael Jones and Christina Bertwell, and four grandchildren. Service was Oct. 1 at Skiatook-First UMC, officiated by Rev. Norm Wasson, with burial at Osage Garden Cemetery, directed by Peters-Stumpff Funeral Home. REV. WESLEY ROBERT KIMBALL Rev. Wesley Robert Kimball, age 86, of Sherman, Texas, died Dec. 25, 2011. At the time of his death, he was serving his seventh year as pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church in Hugo. Wes was born March 31, 1925, in Fairview, Okla., to William and Anna (Price) Kimball. He grew up on his family’s homestead south of Seiling. He married Shirley I. Reed on Dec. 5, 1964. Memoirs 345 He held degrees from Phillips University at Enid, Miami (Ohio) University, and United Theological Seminary, and did further graduate study at five other schools, including Perkins School of Theology. Rev. Kimball received his license to preach in 1948, was ordained as a deacon in 1955, as an elder in 1977, and officially retired in 1987.