Andrew Leroy Dickerson was born in Newbern, Dyer, TN on 27 Jan 1898. He died 31 July 1972 of acute leukemia in Jackson TN, and is buried in the Fairview Cemetery in Dyer Co., TN.
A. L., as he was called, started out his career in the ministry as a boy, preaching from a stump in the back yard. He was sent to Trevecca Colleg in Nashville, Tenn. to attend high school. After graduating from that school, A. L. went to Emeory and Henry College in Emory, Virginia. He attended there between 1918-1920. When he was a junior, a doctor told him he was going blind from all the reading he was doing. He was so upset by this that he quit school and traveled throughout Arkansas, selling Bibles from a horse and buggy. In 1921 A. L. was one of the last Methodist ministers to be ordained without having a college degree. He was a member of the Methodist Church's Memphis conference and served in many churches within its jurisdiction.
As was the custom of the Methodist Church, the bishop of each conference appointed each minister to a new church every one or two years. Consequently, this Dickerson family never purchased a home or furnishings of their own until A. L.'s retirement. Every church he served furnished the parsonage where the minister and his family lived. It must have been hard to say goodbye to friends and parishoners so often. After A. L.'s retirement, they purchased a home at 345 Westwood Ave in Jackson, TN, from his daughter, Lyda and her family. It was there that the grandchildren have the most memories of their visits, although the older ones remember the parsonages in Corinth MS and Tupelo MS as well.
A. L. was well loved and respected by all his parishoners. He is remembered by his children as being a self-educated man, a prolific reader, and a well respected and influential minister.He was a strict disciplinarian, but he found ways to show his love. He was a kind and loving, albeit strict, grandfather. He enjoyed taking walks, playing dominoes, and entertaining his grandchildren.
Grace Dexter Chumbler was born in Palma, Marshall, KY on 21 July 1897. She died 6 Oct 1977 in Jackson TN, and is buried in the Fairview Cemetery in Dyer Co., TN. Her parents were Andrew Loren Chumbler and Dora Etta Dycus.
Grace was raised in Palma, Marshall, Kentucky by her Aunt Julia, as her mother died when she was a small child. She enjoyed visiting her grandmother, who lived close by. Grace attended college in Bowling Green, Kentucky. She left school during a serious flu epidemic, after her roommate died. She returned to Palma, where she taught all grades in a one room schoolhouse. Grace was a gracious and generous person, and a typical minister's wife. She loved to sing and play the piano with her grandchildren. She loved her grandchildren very much indeed. Every day she wore a charm bracelet that had a charm for each grandchild. Each of the children had their name inscribed on his or her charm, which was shaped like either a little boy's or little girl's head. Grace also sewed a pair of flannel pajamas for all of her grandchildren every year at Christmas. She had 20 grandchildren! She taught them prayers, Bible stories, and hymns from the Methodist Church hymnal. They remember her as a kind and loving grandmother whose dinner rolls and chocolate fudge were unrivaled.
A. L. and Grace met in the Palma Methodist Church, which was A. L.'s first appointment, and Grace was the piano player. They married on 04 Nov 1922.
Bottom: Andrew Leroy Dickerson, Jr
Top: Andrew Leroy, James Thomas, Grace holding Baby Earl Tucker.
Top: Carl, A. L., Grace, Tucker, Joyce
Center: Carolyn, Boots, Lyda and Pat
Bottom: Dycus holding Michael, Jimmy holding Summer
Grace and A. L. Dickerson in 1972
Sources:
