Dean Wright Ussery, 82, of Mt. Pleasant, a pastor who served for 50 years and who helped establish the Baptist Student Union at Francis Marion University, died March 25.
He pastored churches in Louisiana and South Carolina. He worked for the Home Mission Board in French Louisiana for several years. He pastored Sullivan’s Island Baptist Church for 18 years and Mizpah Baptist Church in Florence for nine years. While serving at Mizpah, he was instrumental in helping to start the Baptist Student Union on the campus of Francis Marion University. He was active throughout his ministry in all phases of Baptist work – local, associational and state. He was a member of First Baptist Church of Mt. Pleasant.
Ussery earned a B.A. degree from Furman University in 1950 and received his master of divinity degree from New Orleans Seminary in 1954.
He was born in Starr, and served during World War II with the U.S. Army Signal Corps in the Pacific Theater. Many years after the war, he enjoyed locating 100 of the men he served with and organizing the 974th Signal Company Association. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Ussery enjoyed listening to great preachers by tape and sharing his “new thoughts” to encourage younger ministers. He also enjoyed researching his family history and did all of his research work without the aid of computers or the Internet. He enjoyed telling a good story and sharing in laughter with others, both in his private life and in his ministry.
??Survivors include his wife, Esma Shelton Ussery, three sons, a daughter, and nine grandchildren.