Dr. Charles Edward Myers

Dr. Charles Edward Myers passed away quietly on September 8, 2013, at the Orchard in Ridgeland, MS, where he and his wife have lived the last thirteen years. Considering his more than 75 years in Christian ministry, Sunday was certainly the day he would have chosen to enter Heaven.

Dr. Myers was born in Tulsa, OK, on July 29, 1918, to Mary Elizabeth Horton and Martin John Myers and was part of a loving family of three bothers and one sister. His dad was expert at making several varieties of home-made candy as a hobby, and the family spent many happy hours helping prepare and share the results. Attending Falls Creek Baptist Assembly of Oklahoma was the highlight of each year and it was there that he felt the call to preach at the age of sixteen. After graduating from high school at Tulsa Central,he enrolled at Baylor University. During his college years, he served as president of the Baptist Student Union at both Baylor and then the entire state of Texas. He graduated from his beloved Baylor in 1940.

Charles then enrolled in Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, where he majored in Social Ethics. While there, he married his college sweetheart, Beatrice Wilbanks, of Paint Rock, TX, in 1942. He completed his graduate work at Southwestern, earning both the master's and doctoral degrees in Christian Theology. He served as pastor of the First Baptist Churches of Sulphur, OK, McKinney, TX, and McAlester, OK, and at Alta Woods Baptist Church in Jackson, MS, where he retired in 1983 after fifteen years of service. During his retirement, Dr. Myers served as interim pastor in eight Mississippi Baptist churches and on three occasions as interim pastor of an English-speaking church in Nurnberg, Germany.

During his ministry, Dr. Myers was active in Southern Baptist circles. He served as moderator of each of the county associations where he lived, served on the Annuity Board and the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, and as a member of the Trustee Boards of Oklahoma Baptist University and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. While in Texas, he served on the Christian Life Commission and was later chairman of the Mississippi Christian Action Commission for two terms. For the past thirteen years at the Orchard, Charles has served as volunteer Bible teacher and Sunday morning preacher.

Dr. Myers is survived by his wife of 71 years, Beatrice, daughter Martha Myers Sellers and her husband, Ron, of Pearl, MS, four grandchildren, including Scott (Susan) Sellers of Mountain Brook. AL, Susan (Tom) Perkins of Northport, AL, Stephen (Della) Sellers of Highland Park, IL, and Melissa Horvath of Flowood, MS. He is also survived by six great-grandsons, who were his pride and joy: Eli and Ethan Sellers of Mountain Brook; Reed and Ryan Perkins of Northport; and Ward and Lane Sellers of Highland Park. Charles is also survived by his sister, Virginia Malone, of Wichita, Kansas, and a number of nieces and nephews. Preceding him in death were his parents and his two brothers, Martin and Horton Myers.

Family visitation will be Wednesday, September 11, 2013, from 9:00-11:00 a.m., at Alta Woods Baptist Church in Jackson, followed by a Memorial Service at 11:00 a.m. in the church sanctuary. Interment will be at Lakewood Memorial Park following the service.