Namesake for Houston campus J. Dalton Havard dies

James Dalton Havard, Southwestern alumnus and namesake for Southwestern’s J. Dalton Havard School for Theological Studies in Houston, died Aug. 3. He was 93.

Born in Lufkin, Texas, on Nov. 18, 1922, Havard became a Christian at age 12. After serving in the United States Air Force during World War II, he was ordained for ministry by North Main Baptist Church in Houston on July 15, 1945.

Havard earned his Master of Arts in Religious Education from Southwestern Seminary in 1956 and later did graduate work at Baylor University from 1957-1959 while pastoring in Waco. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Odowara College in Odowara, Japan, in 1965.

Havard pastored churches in Texas for 41 years, ultimately retiring from Sugar Creek Baptist Church in Sugar Land, Texas, in 1988. In the 20 years that followed, Havard engaged in international mission work, traveling hundreds of thousands of miles and preaching the Gospel on six continents. In 2005, Havard was named pastor emeritus of Sugar Creek Baptist Church, and from then until his death, he continued to teach and preach.

In 2004, Southwestern Seminary’s Houston extension received a generous gift in honor of Havard, which helped to establish it as an accredited degree-granting site. The school was named for Havard due not only to the gift made in his honor, but also because of Havard’s ministerial investment in the greater Houston area. During the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Havard campus, Southwestern President Paige Patterson said that Havard kept “a stellar record of faithfulness in the service of God.”

Havard wanted to be remembered “as a Christian man who truly loved the Lord Jesus Christ, his family, the church, and the thousands of people who once called him ‘Pastor’; as a pastor who was faithful to the whole Word of God and faithfully, passionately, lovingly preached it with dignity; as a man of integrity.”

Havard was preceded in death by his parents, Floyd and Lillie Belle Havard; his first wife, Lucille Dixon, who passed away in 2002; a brother, Eugene, and two sisters, Jeanette and Faye. He is survived by his second wife, Lois Wilson, whom he married in 2003, as well as two daughters, two sisters, three grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

The funeral service is planned for Saturday, Aug. 6, at 11 a.m. at Sugar Creek Baptist Church, 13223 Southwest Freeway, in Sugar Land, Texas. The viewing and visitation will be Friday, August 5, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the chapel at Sugar Creek. Interment will be at Houston National Cemetery, 10410 Veterans Memorial Drive, Houston, Texas, on Tuesday, Aug. 9, at 11 a.m. and is open for those who desire to attend.

In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to the J. Dalton Havard Scholarship Fund, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, J. Dalton Havard School for Theological Studies, 4105 Broadway St., Houston, Texas, 77087.