Rev. Thomas Jefferson Kennedy

The Reverend Thomas Jefferson Kennedy, retired missionary to Nigeria and Kenya, a husband and father of five, founder and President of Global Crusades, Inc., local realtor, Heritage of Odessa Foundation Award recipient, World War II veteran, and jack-of-all-trades, has left a lengthy trail into the Sunset.

His journey began 85 years ago in the small north Texas town of Tioga as one of ten sons and daughters to Charlie and Fannie Kennedy, local farmers. He was proud that an early acquaintance and a musician partner to his older brother was the later cowboy actor and singer Gene Autry. World War II intruded itself and drafted Thomas into the final year of the conflict in Germany – and united him with his beloved “200 Year-Old Violin” that accompanied him for the rest of his life on travels around the globe.

Soon after his return to the United States, he entered Hardin Simmons University (HSU) at Abilene, Texas and received his B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) degree in 1949. Thomas received a B.D. (Bachelor of Divinity) degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary at Fort Worth, Texas in 1953. In the early 1960’s, he also received a M.R.E. (Master of Religious Education) degree from the same Seminary.

At HSU, Thomas met, courted and later married Willie Mae Rankin in 1950. After sixty years of marriage, they had five sons and daughters and nine grandchildren.

His Southern Baptist ministry began early during his University studies when he started and pastored a small church near Anson, Texas and during his Seminary studies another at Bedford, Texas - for a total of six years as a pastor.

After being called to foreign ministry, both Thomas and Willie Mae were appointed in May 1954 by the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board (now International Mission Board) for service in Nigeria – and the beginning of a 25-year career in Africa. Thomas served most of his overseas career until 1973 in the West Africa country of Nigeria, where he worked primarily among the Hausa-speaking and mainly Islamic peoples of the dry, vast northern regions. Native speakers of Hausa often marveled that Thomas’ spoke the language so well that he even had the accent of the northernmost city of Kano, where his teachers came from. He was always proud of having started over fifty churches across Nigeria and personally led the construction of at least thirty of them.

After furlough in 1974, Thomas and family were transferred to the East African country of Uganda, however, a civil war prevented their entering that dangerous country. For the remainder of his term, Thomas served across the border in the Kenyan town of Kitale as local pastor as well as principal of a Pastor’s School.

Even his “retirement” to Odessa in 1978 failed to slow his pace. During thirty-two years in this community, Thomas still maintained close contact with many of his former Nigerian pastors and colleagues. In 1979, he established the Global Crusades organization and eventually traveled on twelve evangelistic trips to eight countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, India, Japan, Cuba, Ukraine, and Hong Kong. With him on all the trips was his faithful “violin for all nations” companion – doing its part to help him cross barriers of language or culture.

Thomas was preceded in death by his parents, brothers, sisters, a daughter Shirley Jane, and a granddaughter Leah Miller.

He leaves a proud legacy through his wife Willie Mae of Odessa; his children: son Tom and wife Sheri, of Grants, New Mexico; daughter Carolyn and husband Mike, missionaries to Taiwan; Keith and wife Nancy of Arlington; son Carl and wife Claudia of Ft. Worth; his nine grandchildren: Rachel and husband Alan as well as Sarah and husband Dave, both of Chicago, Illinois; Josie and husband Mike as well as Paul of Denton; Rebecca of Dallas; Daniel of Odessa; Stephen of Taiwan; Jordan and Emily of Ft. Worth; and one surviving sister Grace Heston of Denton, Texas.

A Memorial Service will be held at the First Baptist Church Odessa, 709 North Lee Avenue, at 2:00PM Saturday, October 30th, 2010. Flowers or contributions are always appreciated, but do consider a donation to the Hospice House Foundation, Odessa to enable them to continue their generous and essential work.

essential work.

Services are entrusted to Frank W. Wilson Funeral Directors.