Obituaries
Jeffery Michael Dixon, M.Div. ’78, aged 72, was born on March 18, 1949 in Rochester, New York to John Elmer Dixon and Carolyn Whipple Dixon. His spirit ascended to heaven on February 16, 2022 after a courageous battle with COVID pneumonia.
Jeff served his country for six years in the United States Air Force as a Photo Reconnaissance Specialist and Cartographer, attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant. He served one tour in Vietnam where he was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for locating enemy surface-to-air missiles while analyzing aerial reconnaissance photographs. Additional awards include the Vietnam Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Air Force Good Conduct Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, and Air Force Longevity Service Award. At the conclusion of his time in the Air Force, Jeff attended Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky and served an additional six years as a chaplain in the Army Reserves, attaining the rank of 1st Lieutenant.
After his military service, he had a varied career, the majority of which was spent as an attorney specializing in injury law and estate planning. He also spent much of his career in ministry, working as a teacher and operations manager for various Christian organizations. He met the love of his life Teri Lynn Allen while working at Tyler Street United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas where she was a member. They were married at the church on June 30, 1980. In his later years, Jeff retired from full-time ministry work and assisted his wife in her career as a realtor.
He loved spending time with his family, cooking for his kids and grandkids, sitting outside with a nice glass of cabernet, playing golf, watching golf, napping during golf, and apparently stamp collecting, much to the surprise of his children after recently discovering several ridiculously heavy boxes full of thousands of old stamps. He was a prolific teller of corny jokes, and he loved to make people laugh, so we knew he wouldn’t mind the humor in the previous sentence.
Jeff accepted Jesus Christ as his savior at 21 years of age on October 25, 1970. He loved the Lord with all his heart and sought to know him better every day. He was passionate about sharing God’s love with his friends and family as he endeavored to live out Jesus’ command to spread the good news. He loved teaching, and he led many Bible studies and Sunday school classes throughout his life.
Jeff was preceded in death by his parents John Elmer Dixon and Carolyn Whipple Dixon. He is survived by his loving wife of 41 years Teri Allen Dixon; his four children and their spouses: Kimberly Dixon Holt and her husband Ben, Joanna Dixon Madine and her husband Mark, Michael Dixon, and Emily Dixon Fournier and her husband Brady; his five brothers and their spouses: John and Sherida Dixon, Rod and Nancy Dixon, Scott and Ann Dixon, James Dixon, and Todd and Anne Dixon; and finally, his five grandchildren: Georgia Rae Holt, Evelynn Renee Holt, Maeve Dename Madine, Roman Dixon Holt, and Isaac Thomas Madine.
“But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” – 1 John 2:5
Rev. Donald Wayne Hatton, M.Div. ’71, aged 78, of Brush Creek Rd. in Clay City, passed away Thursday, December 30, 2021, at his home following a short illness. He was born January 10, 1943, in Powell County and was the son of the late Omer and Hazel Profit Hatton. He was a United States Army veteran of the Vietnam War and retired from the Kentucky Conference of The United Methodist Church. He attended the West Bend Methodist Church. He is survived by:
His wife: Irene Lynn VanSciver Hatton
2 sons: Dr. John Wesley Hatton (Julie) of Louisville and Michael Wayne Hatton of Erlanger
1 sister: Mary Golden Huff of Powell, CO
1 brother: Wallace Glenn Hatton of Jeffersonville
1 half-sister: Patricia Hailperin of North Carolina
2 grandchildren: Emory Kim Hatton and Elise Madeleine Grace Hatton
Eugene Ray Jenness Jr., “Bud,” M.Div. ’99 and Master of Theology in Missions and Evangelism ’14, aged 56, husband of Renee Barnes Jenness, passed away Saturday, March 5, 2022, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. He was born in Jacksonville, North Carolina, on February 17, 1966, to Ovaline Holt Jenness and the late Eugene Ray Jenness Sr. He was a member of Southland Christian Church and a pastor for the United Methodist Church. He is survived by his wife, Renee, a son, Francis David Lowell Jenness, daughter, Miriam Elizabeth Jenness, brother, Brian Jenness, and two sisters, Angela Brady (Todd) and Terry Holt.
Rev. Dr. Roger C. Nichols, M.Div ’87, aged 60, went home to be with Jesus, on Friday, March 11, 2022. He was a devoted Husband, Daddy, and Grampy.
Roger was born on July 19, 1961, in Corry, PA, to the late David and Shirley (Kellogg) Nichols. He graduated from Corry High School where he was a percussionist in the drum line and marching band. He attended Corry United Methodist Church where he was very active and participated in youth group. At age 16, kneeling at the altar in the sanctuary of Corry UMC, Roger felt the Lord calling him into ministry. Following the Lord’s calling on his life, he attended Asbury University in Wilmore, KY, earning a bachelors degree in Biblical Languages. He met love of his life, Tracy Gilliam, while attending Asbury. They were married on June 23, 1984, in Joplin, Missouri. In 1987, he received his Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY. While attending Seminary, Roger and Tracy welcomed their two daughters, first Jackie and then Jodie. Roger was ordained as a UMC Deacon in 1985, and in 1987, he was ordained as a UMC Elder, both in Grove City, PA. He went on to earn his Doctorate of Divinity in 1997 from ORU in Tulsa, OK.
Roger was known for his deep faith in Jesus Christ, a heart for missions, and his passion for preaching the Gospel. Roger has pastored many churches. In Kentucky, he served at Dean Memorial UMC in Worthville, KY. In Pennsylvania, he simultaneously served at both Bear Lake UMC and Lottsville UMC. Then Roger moved to Missouri where he served at Newman Road UMC and the Wesley Foundation college campus ministry at MSSU in Joplin, MO, First UMC of Joplin, Central UMC in Webb City, MO, followed by both Royal Heights UMC in Joplin, MO and Oronogo UMC in Oronogo, MO. He was a member of Southwest Missouri Conference in the UMC. He currently was pastoring Nashville First United Methodist Church. He started as a car salesman at Frank Fletcher Toyota in 2008, and eventually became Internet Sales Manager, Fleet Manager, as well as Dealer Trade Manager. He loved easing the stress of car buying for his customers and serving them with both integrity and care. Roger compared this work to the Apostle Paul’s tent making: working while pointing people lovingly to the Lord.
Roger had an infectious personality, he loved getting you to laugh. Corny jokes and comics were abundant with Roger, along with pranks and practical jokes. If he found a phone unattended, the owner would surely find funny selfies in the camera roll later. He also had a way of connecting with people and made friends everywhere he went. His family jokes that he knew absolutely everyone! His ability to remember names, where he met that person, details about their life and often an inside joke that he had with that individual was unparalleled. Everyone always felt important, loved and special when they saw Roger because he saw people the way Jesus sees them.
He always had words of comfort in a crisis, and could calmly jump into action in any emergency. Using these gifts, he served as a volunteer EMT and volunteer firefighter. After moving to Joplin, Roger served as a Chaplain for the Joplin Police Department for 18 years. Roger was a member of the International Conference of Police Chaplains. He served several deployments to New Orleans immediately following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He counseled and debriefed New Orleans police officers. He was a true public servant throughout his life. Roger was a family man. He was a wonderful husband to Tracy. He knew how to keep her laughing. He burst with pride about his wife and loved to tell everyone about her artistic talent and the recent news about her art. One of his favorite moments was building Jubilee Art Studio and their home for Tracy. He loved helping her follow her God-given calling as an artist. He was so selfless, and would drop everything to meet the needs of his family. His daughters could go to him with any problem and through prayer and comfort, he would shrink what felt like a mountain into a mole hill within minutes. He avidly promoted the importance of education to Jackie and Jodie, and worked hard to ensure that they received the best possible educations. He affectionately would call them his ‘scholars’. He was their walking Biblical commentary, speed-dial Greek lexicon, Hebrew helper, and wise with thoughts on politics, football, weather before traveling and more. He was an active father, attending every concert, recital, match, tournament, game…he was always there cheering Jackie and Jodie on with everything they did. He would still be sure to hear them sing at church at every opportunity. Their Daddy was their number one cheerleader. Roger was the very best ‘Grampy’ to his grandchildren. One of his favorite activities
was to have his grandchildren line up in age order, pass out explorer hats, and they would embark on a great ancient rock hunt. They were his ‘Grand Clan’ or ‘cadet troop’. He passed out ranks and promotions, followed by marching for Oreos or ice cream. His grandchildren were his pride and joy!
Being a Pennsylvania native, Roger was an avid Pittsburg Steelers fan. He had a very extensive library of books and quite the audio book collection. He also loved researching his family genealogy and all things history. He was a lifelong learner of much, but loved nothing more than studying the Word of God. Roger let his light shine all of his days. His passion was letting everyone know that there is hope for eternity belonging to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. He longed for you, dear reader, to not go another moment without making Jesus your Savior from your sin, accepting God’s loving forgiveness and living your life changed, just as Roger Nichols did. Will you follow his example?
He is preceded in death by his father, David Nichols, his mother, Shirley Nichols, his brother Robert Nichols, his father-in-law, Howard Gilliam, and his two most beloved dogs, Marcy and Callie.
He is survived by his wife of thirty-seven years, Tracy Nichols; two daughters, Jackie Peters and husband Lee, Carthage, MO, and Jodie Reed and husband Dustin, Joplin, MO; six grandchildren, Adelaide Peters, Lucy Reed, Vivienne Peters, Quincy Peters, Gabriel Reed, and Felicity Peters; two brothers, Thomas Nichols and wife Cindy, Fredricksburg, VA; and Steven Nichols, Albany, NY; his mother-in-law, Nancy Gilliam, Joplin, MO, and many nephews and nieces, and his three beloved dogs, Margot, Walter and Henry.
May Our Dear Brothers RiP, Till we meet again!
RIP servants of the most High God 🙏