Mr. Odest Charles Jenkins

2025, in Kingwood, Texas. Born on November 22, 1942, he was the second oldest child of the

late Administrative Assistant O. J. Jenkins II and Edna (Levias) Jenkins. O.C. was a proud

Beaumont, Texas native and 1960 graduate of Hebert High School where he played on the 1959

4A State Champion Panther football team and was elected “Best All-Around Male Student”.

O.C. received a Bachelor of Arts from Prairie View A&M University and a Master of Arts from

Sam Houston State University. He married his beloved Dr. Nadine Dixon on August 17, 1968, in

Port Arthur, Texas.

O.C. accepted Christ as his personal Savior in early childhood under the pastoral care of his

father at the Jenkins Chapel Church of God in Christ and later served faithfully on the Deacon

Board and as Finance Chairman of Greater Law Memorial Church of God in Christ until his

passing.

O.C. served honorably in the U.S. Army, followed by a distinguished 25-year career in the U.S.

Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, where he was elevated to the Senior Executive

Service. “Warden Jenkins” relocated with his family more than eleven times throughout the

country, including in 1992, when he became the first African American to serve as Warden of the

United States’ largest maximum-security federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas. After returning

home to Texas and retiring, O.C. became an adjunct professor of criminal justice, active member

of the Lion’s Club, and loving caregiver to his grandchildren.

Whether on a cruise ship or walking around the neighborhood with his adored dogs, O.C.

welcomed people with a warm smile and easily uplifted chance meetings into lifelong

friendships. A natural conversationalist, O.C. enjoyed sharing his faith and words of wisdom

with everyone he knew. He was an avid golfer and gardener with a passion for memorializing

his family history and retelling stories of cherished memories with his siblings and loved ones.

No matter if you knew him as Warden Jenkins, Deacon Jenkins, or O.C., he will be remembered

as a man of perseverance and unwavering integrity, who by his father’s words “covered the

ground he stood on.”

O.C. was most proud of being a devoted husband for more than 57 years, and father of two law

school graduates and his namesake, a professor of robotics and computer science.

O.C. was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Willie Edward Jenkins. He is survived by

wife, Dr. Nadine Jenkins; sons Dr. Odest Chadwicke (Sarah) Jenkins of Ann Arbor, MI and Oren

Jenkins of Seattle, WA; daughter Nadalynn Jenkins of Dallas, TX; five grandchildren: Morgan,

Wesley and Violet Jenkins and Nyla and Jude Hamilton (father, Javaray); brothers Elder O.J.

Jenkins III of Seattle, WA and Bishop Willie A. (Johnnie) Jenkins of Houston, TX; sister Sis.

Fannie (Rick) Godfrey of Humble, TX; brother-in-law Felton (Darlene) Dixon of Port Arthur,

TX; and a host of other relatives.

The visitation will be held on Friday, June 6, 2025, beginning at 8:30 a.m. and celebration of life

at 10:00 a.m. at Greater Law Memorial Church of God in Christ, 4807 Wayne Street, Houston,

Texas 77026, followed immediately by the burial at National Cemetery, 10410 Veterans

Memorial Drive, Houston, Texas 77038.