Dale S. Pickett, Sr.

On Sunday, December 7, 2025, Dale Samuel Pickett, Sr. went home to be with the Lord. He was the beloved husband of nearly 59 years to Joyce Marie Pickett (nee Mather); loving father of Dale S. Pickett, Jr. (Julie) and Timothy T. Pickett (Angela); cherished Pop Pop of Emily Pickett, Kaelyn Pickett, Ashlyn Pickett, Colton Pickett and Austin Pickett; dear brother of Doris Isennock and the late Stanley, Linda Powers (Ronald), Nellie Glenn (Adam), Virginia Gibson (Jim), the late Wilda Bickford and Harry “Sonny” Bickford, Robert Pickett and his living wife Judy; brother-in-law of Cory Mather (Barbara), Dean Watkins (Cheryl) and Deb Watkins; uncle of David Isennock (Shelley), Theresa Frankian (Steve), Michael Thomas, Shelly Canapp, Pam Amos (Ben), Sheri Moore (Monty), Jennifer Pickett, Jessica Pickett, Sean Mather, Brett Mather (Juli), David Mather (Yura) and Ridge Watkins; Dale is also survived by a host of great nieces, nephews and other loving family members and friends.

The family will receive friends in the Lemmon Funeral Home of Dulaney Valley, Inc. 10 W. Padonia Road (at York Road) Timonium, Maryland 21093 on Friday, December 19, 2025 from 2-4 & 7-9 PM.

A Celebration of Dale’s Life will take place on Saturday, December 20, 2025 at the funeral home starting at 11 AM.

Interment to follow at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church Sweet Air Cemetery.

Growing up in Duhring, West Virginia, Dale learned early what it meant to work with his hands and care for the land. His youth was filled with building, construction work, and long days plowing fields with a horse-drawn plow (with a horse named “Fred”) - a kind of work that shaped not only his skills, but his character. Those early lessons taught him humility, perseverance, and gratitude for the blessings God placed in his life. His faith was quiet but steady, reflected in the way he treated others, the way he worked, and the way he lived with purpose and integrity.

He always felt most at peace outdoors. Deer hunting brought him closer to nature, especially when shared with his buddies in the “Spike Jones Hunting Club,” where the stillness of the woods felt like a sanctuary. Fishing provided that same calm and spiritual connection, whether he was casting into a quiet freshwater stream or flounder fishing bayside in Ocean City with his brother-in-law Cory. Ocean City, Maryland became a place of rest and joy for him. He loved bicycle rides through the Montego Bay neighborhood with his boys when they were young, collecting a new White Marlin Open T-shirt each year, and he never missed a stop at Dumser’s Dairyland. His Black Raspberry Milkshakes -with extra, extra whipped cream—became a sweet reminder of the simple joys of life. Even the car rides to the ocean became treasured memories, with walkie-talkies in each car so the family could share the excitement of spotting deer along the way.

Dale had many passions—seafood dinners at Pappas Restaurant, hot rods and muscle cars (especially looking for a 1940 Ford with red flames), and traveling with his wife Joyce to places like Hawaii, St. Maarten, Mexico, and Canada, always bringing home a T-shirt to remember their adventures. Spending the majority of his life, 43 years to be exact, working for Bethlehem Steel. Dale eventually was able to retire and began to truly enjoy his retired life with his family for the next 27 years. He was the family’s personal “Mr. Fix-It,” the one everyone turned to for help. If you had a problem, he had a solution, and he offered it with patience and generosity. He had a unique way of seeing the world and believed strongly that if you opened something—a door, a penknife, anything—you should be the one to close it, a small personal philosophy that reflected his belief in responsibility and the order God intended.

What he cherished most, though, was his family. His sons hold close the memories of their first hunting trips and their first Orioles game with their Pop. His grandchildren brought him immeasurable joy, filling his days with laughter, purpose, and love. To them, and to him, the name he treasured most was “Pop Pop.” He lived a life full of faith, love, and devotion, and leaves behind a legacy rooted in the values the Lord placed in his heart—kindness, strength, and a love for his family that will endure for generations.