Ernest Edward Onley

Ernest Edward (Ed) Onley, Jr., Dothan, AL, died peacefully on Tuesday, October 23, 2018. He was 86. The Rev. Onley, a retired Baptist minister and career missionary with the Home Mission Board, SBC (now NAMB), was born May 21, 1932 in South Norfolk, VA. A pioneer in Christian community ministries, he served in that capacity in Little Rock, Arkansas, Oklahoma City, OK, and as Director of Christian Social Ministries for the Georgia Baptist Convention in Atlanta. He also served a number of churches as pastor in Mississippi, Oklahoma and Georgia. He moved to Dothan to retire in 1997, but came out of retirement to serve as Senior Pastor of Dothan's Bethlehem Baptist Church from 1998-2002, where he was named Pastor Emeritus. He served as pastor and/or interim pastor of a number of area churches before his final retirement in August 2015. He was an active member of Dothan's First Baptist Church. During his 52-year career in ministry Ed was honored with numerous citations and awards, but he considered his greatest legacy the establishment of the nation's longest continual-operating free-to-patient medical/dental clinic which he initiated in Oklahoma City. Second to that accomplishment was his leadership in establishing the first residential drug and alcohol rehab facility for men in the Southern Baptist Convention, the Penfield Christian Home in Georgia. Upon his formal retirement from the ministry in 1997, he was honored by Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating during a city-wide reception held in his honor. A graduate of South Norfolk High School. He had served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Band, and was called into active duty during the Korean conflict. Ed was honorably discharged from the USMC in 1953. He was a 32nd degree Mason since early adulthood and was a member of Lodge No. 339 AF & AM in Chesapeake, VA. He was an active member of Kiwanis and Lions Clubs, and a charter member of the Optimist Club in Cleveland, GA. A graduate of William Carey College and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary where he earned degrees in sociology and religion and a specialist in pastoral counseling, he was also named Diplomate: American Association of Family Counselors. For many years Ed was well known as a popular church and conference speaker. One of the many highlights of his life was addressing the Southern Baptist Convention in Miami during his tenure with the Home Mission Board. He was honored to be one of select group of ministers to travel with President Gerald Ford to Gettysburg and Concord during the nation's bi-centennial. For eight years he was an instructor in the Theological Education Extension Program of the Georgia Baptist Convention at Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, GA. Ed Onley was preceded in death by his parents, Ernest Edward Onley, Sr. and Hazel White Onley, and by his first wife, June Fay Baker, and one brother, Raymond Onley. In 1984 he married Elaine Jones Herrin of Dothan. In addition to his wife, Elaine, other survivors include: six children: Ed Onley III (Donna) Moore, OK; Kenneth Onley (Sharon) of Edmund, OK; Steve Onley of Dothan; Elaine Randolph, Jacksonville, FL; Edith Koreckis (Mike), Brunswick, GA; and Karen Hudson (LaRon), LaVergne, TN; brother Jack Onley, Myrtle Beach, SC, and sister, Darlene Creech, Chesapeake VA; Also, 3 stepsons: Jon Herrin (Jeanne), Rio Grande City, TX; Jeph Herrin (Chi), Charlottesville, VA, and Timothy Herrin (Sarah), Dahlonega, GA; 10 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren, and 9 step-grandchildren; Other survivors include sisters- in- law Eleanor Jones Bath and Carol Ann Jones, both of Dothan. As his wish, Ed's body was donated to ACOM (Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine). A Celebration of Life service will be held at First Baptist Church at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 3, 2018 with Dr. Johnny Fain, Rev. Bob Gross and Dr. Jon Herrin officiating. Visitation will be at the church for one hour prior to the service. At other times the family will be at the home at 505 Circleview Drive in Dothan. Private interment will take place later in the Bethlehem Baptist Church cemetery. Greatest appreciation is extended to Dr. Edwin Morriss and the caregivers of Kindred Hospice. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Dothan First Baptist Church Missions Fund. Burial Date November 3, 2018 A Celebration of Life service will be held at First Baptist Church at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 3, 2018 with Dr. Johnny Fain, Rev. Bob Gross and Dr. Jon Herrin officiating. Visitation will be at the church for one hour prior to the service. At other times the family will be at the home at 505 Circleview Drive in Dothan. Private interment will take place later in the Bethlehem Baptist Church cemetery.