John Theodore “J.T.” Dickerson Sr., 89, of Easley, the first Southern Baptist missionary appointed to Alaska, died Nov. 5, 2009.
DickersonBorn Nov. 16, 1919, in Anderson County, he was ordained in 1948 at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church in Easley. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and served during World War II. He was a graduate of Furman University and Southwestern Baptist Seminary.
He was commissioned by the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (now North American Mission Board) as the first home missionary to Alaska in 1953. As a church planter, Dickerson was instrumental in the establishment of several churches in Alaska. He also served for a time at Unity Baptist Church, Simpsonville.
In 1976, the Alaska pipeline recruited electricians, and Dickerson returned to his first vocation and advanced to shop foreman. Once the pipeline was completed, he began working for the Alaska Native Association as a counselor. He studied and became a real estate agent, though he continued to work as an interim pastor and guest speaker in local churches.
In 1995, Dickerson and his wife moved back to the Upstate to be near his elderly mother. He continued serving as an interim pastor for local churches and as chaplain for the Table Rock State Park Chapel.
He was a member of the Pickens Rotary Club, the Upstate 49ers (1949 graduates of Furman University), and First Baptist Church, Easley, where he belonged to the Coley Cleveland Sunday School Class.
Survivors include his wife, Alvilda Craft Dickerson, four children and four grandchildren.