Lee Etta Dickerson

Lee Etta was born in 1933 in Dallas, Texas to Alfred and Eva Durham. She was an excellent student, and took classical piano for eight years. Lee Etta won several awards, for memorizing ten pieces annually and performing before judges. Lee Etta also studied church music, and became a church pianist in her home church as a teenager. Later in life, she was a pianist in several churches and youth groups.

She accepted Christ at age nine, and was a lifelong member of several churches, including First Baptist of Tempe for fourteen years, Grace Community Church for 20 years, and finally Arizona Community Church 20 plus years.

In high school, Lee Etta joined debate class for three years. She won two Dallas city debate championships with her colleague.

Lee Etta attended North Texas State College on a scholarship. She represented NTSC on a debate team as a freshman, and with her colleague, won five out of six college debate tournaments, including a national championship for junior women. She graduated cum laude from Bob Jones University in South Carolina in 1955 with majors in education and the humanities.

She held leadership positions in many college organizations and was named "Who's Who" among university and college students. As a student teacher, she coached two championship debate teams. One high school student she coached to win the local championship was Bob Jones III, who became university president. After graduation, Lee Etta taught 8th grade one year.

She married Rev. Elmer T. Lappen in South Carolina in 1955. Together they pioneered the student ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC) at Arizona State University in 1956, then directed the Crusade ministry on all the Arizona campuses for 23 years. Hundreds of students participated. Scores were won for Christ and over 400 went into full time Christian vocations.

The Lappens also supervised up to 50 staff personnel and trained close to 200 staff in 23 years. Lee Etta's greatest contribution to the student ministry was personally supervising a daily morning prayer meeting for seven years. Lee Etta has written a book about her late husband and his unique ministry, as he was confined to a wheelchair for 15 years with crippling arthritis before his death in 1979. He had spent four full years in various hospitals before entering college where they met. The book Heartbeat for God, was published in 1980 by Here's Life Publishers.

After Elmer's death, Lee Etta continued full-time with the lay ministry of CCC as a staff member of Here's Life Arizona, a service organization to local churches. She also worked in public relations for the famed illusionist Andre Kole close to two years, and publicized his performances in Santa Barbara, California in 1981.

Lee Etta was a frequent speaker at church women's groups and conferences, and Christian Women's Clubs of which she was a local advisor. She was also a prayer leader serving on the Arizona Board of the National Day of Prayer for 10 years, and National Prayer Coordinator for the Women Today Ministry of Vonette Bright. Lee Etta retired from Campus Crusade ministry after 43 years.

Lee Etta was preceded in death by her husband, Rev. Elmer T. Lappen, and her parents. She is survived by Donald L. Dickerson, her loving husband of 42 years and her two sons, Jon (Carmen) Lappen, Steve Lappen, and daughter Beverly J. (Bill) Irwin. Don's children are: Diana (Jimmy) Zappola, David (Jana) Dickerson, and Matthew Dickerson (Christina). There are 17 grandchildren (between them) and eleven great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to:

Crossroads Youth Intervention 916 E. McKinley Street Phoenix, Arizona 85006 or The Jesus Film Project (A ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ) P.O. Box 628222 Orlando, Florida 32862-8222