Joe E. Burnette, 88, of Brentwood, Tenn., a former administrator at Bethea Baptist Retirement Community and a former minister of education in South Carolina, died Aug. 10, 2007.
Joe E. BurnetteBorn in Denison, Tex., on Dec. 27, 1918, he was a graduate of Carson-Newman College and Southwestern Seminary.
During his 60-plus years of ministry, Burnette became widely known in Southern Baptist life as a champion for religious education in the local church. This led him to serve as the minister of education at major churches in Louisiana, Oklahoma, North Carolina and South Carolina, where he served at First Baptist Church, Columbia.
In addition, he served as superintendent of Bethea Baptist Home for the Aging (as it was called then) in Darlington.
In addition to his pastoral duties, Burnette served the Southern Baptist Convention at the local, state and national levels, including roles as president of the Southern Baptist Religious Education Association and trustee for Southwestern Seminary.
Burnette also served 20 years as chaplain for the Charlotte Knights minor league baseball team, where he was known fondly as “Pastor Joe.”
He was a world traveler with particular interest in visiting Baptist missionaries on the foreign field as well as leading 15 guided group tours to the Holy Land.
Survivors include his wife, Ann Huguley Burnette, a daughter, five grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.