Clarence John Hearron, age 97, passed from this world to his eternal resting place on January 18, 2020 at his place of residence in Cedar Hill, Texas. He is preceded in death by his parents, Rev. William Arthur Hearron and Celestia (Essie) Hearron; his siblings, Rev. Arthur Hearron, Luther Hearron, Sybil Dunaway, Charles Hearron, Lorena Frair, Rose Barentine, Edith Smith, Dorothy Hearron, Grace Turner, twin sister, Clara Thelkeld and his wife of 53 years, Juanita Hearron.
He is survived by his daughter, Judy and her husband Dale Smith; daughter, Martha and her husband Steve Wells; grandchildren, Craig Smith and wife Shannon; Heath Smith and wife Peggy; Kristin Howard and her husband Jeremy; great grandchildren, Trevor Mantooth, Eiley Smith, Brooklyn and William Howard.
He is also survived by his wife, Artelle Cox, and his bonus family, Robert Cox and wife Janis; Mike Cox and wife Jann; Cindy and husband Doug Grimes; 11 bonus grandchildren and 28 bonus great grandchildren.
Clarence was born in Tecumseh, Oklahoma on January 17, 1923. He attended high school in New Hope, Arkansas, where he graduated as valedictorian of his class. Shortly after graduation, he joined the army and while serving, he surrendered to the ministry. He eventually ended up in Hawaii and preached his first sermon there. He was discharged in 1946 due to an injury and spent many months in the hospital in Temple, Texas. While there, Clarence was called to pastor the First Free Will Baptist Church in Waco, Texas. It was here that he meet and married Juanita.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion at Baylor University and his Master of Education degree from Texas Wesleyan. During his 70 plus years in the ministry, Clarence pastored Free Will Baptist churches throughout Texas and Oklahoma. While pastoring, he also taught junior high and high school.
In 1966, Clarence became a teacher and Academic Dean at Oklahoma Bible College (later named Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College and now Randall University) in Moore, Oklahoma. He taught subjects such as Bible, English, History, Social Sciences, Greek, Literature and Parliamentary Law.
In addition to his love of teaching and preaching, Clarence had a love for music. He taught himself to play the guitar at a young age and even the piano as an adult. He has written many songs and has had a few published. At many of the churches he pastored, he also led the singing.
After losing his beloved wife, Juanita, in 2000, Clarence found love again and married Artelle Cox in 2003. He lived the last few years of his life in Cedar Hill and attended the First Free Will Baptist Church in Duncanville, Texas.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been set up at Randall University. https://ru.edu/donate-home/
(designate donation to Clarence Hearron in the comments)
Partager l'avis de décès
v.1.9.5