David Hudson Whitson, retired missionary and pastor, died Jan. 2 at age 86. Whitson was born Aug. 13, 1930, in Bankston, Ala. He left home to serve in the U.S. Navy during the Korean conflict. While he was stationed in Hawaii as a radar operator, he met his future wife, Betty Ann Clark. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Howard Payne University and a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. While he attended seminary, he was pastor of First Baptist Church in Covington and later served as associate pastor at Highland Baptist Church in Dallas. The Whitsons were appointed as Southern Baptist missionaries in 1962 and served 34 years in Tanzania. Their son, Clark, died while they were on furlough in Cleburne in 1976. After retiring from the International Mission Board, he became pastor of North Dallas Baptist Church in Dallas and later served on staff at First Baptist Church in Kaufman. He also worked in hospital chaplaincy. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Betty Ann; sons, Mike, Drew and Scott; daughter, Keren; 16 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.