Harrison Taylor Pendley's Obituary
Taylor was born to Adolphus and Emma Pendley on Nov. 13, 1918 in Eldorado, OK. He was preceded in death by his wife of 76 years, Dora Smith Pendley.Taylor is survived by daughters and son-in-law LaRue Teer of Irving and Janice and Ken VanDusen of Grand Prairie; grandchildren: Lisa and Jim Thomason of North Richland Hills, Dana and Randy Allen of Plano, Karen and Paul Jordan of Mandan, North Dakota, Denise and Michael Fischer of Terrell and Darren VanDusen of Grand Prairie, and David and Neisha Teer of Pearland; great grandchildren: Jimmy and Courtney Thomason of Frisco, April and Wade Hansford of North Richland Hills, Amber and Chris Tye of McKinney, Sarah and Aaron Hanna of Plano, Katie Allen of Plano, Rachel Allen of Austin, Jennifer Taylor of Irving, Janae and Tommy Tovar of Irving, Jessi Fischer of Louden, Tennessee, Meliya, Caillyn, Bryleigh, Deklan and Lyndee Teer of Pearland; great great grandchildren: Natalie and Laura Thomason, Cason and Collin Hansford, Avery and Maddox Tye, Elliott and Jacob Hanna and Brynn Taylor.God called Taylor to the ministry as a young man. He pastored churches in Texas from 1947-1952, Director of Missions at Dallas Baptist Association from 1953-1958, Director of Missions, Midland-Odessa Baptist Association from 1958-1960, and State Missions Coordinator of church building department of the Baptist General Convention of Texas 1960-1983. Upon retirement from BGCT, Taylor and Dora spent six months in Australia helping establish over 100 new congregations.A few of the honors Taylor received was a Doctor of Divinity Degree from Hardin Simmons University on May 7, 1983. In 2011 Taylor was honored with the Innovator Award for Creativity in Missions, a special recognition of his leadership in the establishing of new churches and missions.Taylor and Dora traveled the world including Spain, Brazil, Peru, Mexico and others to help started new congregations. After retirement he helped to establish 19 new congregations and two orphanages in Maceio, Alagoas Brazil.Taylor continued to serve and point people to Christ up to the end of his earthly life. Even the last Sunday he was alive he was reading scripture and teaching to others in the memory care home.Visitation will be held on Friday, September 22, 2017 at Restland’s Memorial Chapel from 6-8p.m. A service celebrating Dr. Pendley’s life is planned for Saturday, September 23, 2017 at 11a.m. at Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church, 9810 LaPrada Drive, Dallas, Texas.
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