Will E. Wade

Will E. Wade, 98, passed away Sunday, December 8, 2019, at his home in Jackson.

Will was born November 16, 1921, in Cadiz, Kentucky, to Willie Bob and Wava Mae Rees Wade. Will and Thelma Ward were married December 6, 1946, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and three sons were born to their union, Charles, Wesley, and Robert.

Will was a 1940 graduate of Hopkinsville High School in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, served in the Kentucky National Guard, the Civilian Conservation Corps and enlisted in the U.S. Navy after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, serving 2 ½ years in the Asiatic/Pacific Theater.  During the Korean War, Will served in the U.S. Army stationed in Korea, as part of the occupational force in Japan.  

Will studied at Richmond Virginia Business College, the University of Richmond, Murray Kentucky State University, Emory University, earned a Master of Arts in Education from Longwood University, and a Master of Divinity from Crozer Theological Seminary.

Will ministered at Baptist churches in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Missouri; served as a home missionary and director of programs for underprivileged boys in Richmond, VA; served as an evangelist in several eastern states; and worked as the Director of Admissions for Bethel College in Hopkinsville, KY.  Upon moving to Missouri in the late 1960’s, Will worked as a high school principal in Malden, Missouri; worked as a Community Development Specialist for the University of Missouri Extension in Jackson, Missouri; owned a farming operation; and owned and operated two real estate companies.

Other affiliations and accomplishments include:  recipient of the George Washington Honors Certificate from Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge for a column entitled, “An Educator Speaks.”; coordinator of Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission and recipient of the commission’s “Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Service” ; 10-year coordinator of the Men’s Cape County Prayer Breakfast; 17-year member of the Jackson Rotary Club; Director of Jackson Chamber of Commerce; charter member and president of Jackson Industrial Development; member of the National Foundation of Economic Education; and the Heritage Foundation.

Will was a member of Crossroads Fellowship Church in Jackson, serving as a Bible study teacher for “Psalm Small Group”.   

Loving survivors include his wife of 73 years, Thelma Wade of Jackson; three sons, Charles (Judy) Wade of Bloomfield, Missouri, Wesley (Janet) Wade and Robert (Maria) Wade of Jackson; six grandchildren, Lorie (Daniel) Fisher,  Mark Wade, Luke (Katy) Wade, Esther Wade and Lydia Wade, Sheila (John) Hottel; great-grandchildren,  Dustin Fisher, Ashton (Aaron) Grainger, Carson Wade, Edeline Wade, Madison and Abby Hottel ; a great-great grandson, Aden Grainger; two nieces, Shirley (Richard) Patterson of Madisonville, Kentucky and Dana Daves of Smyrna, Tennessee.

Will was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Chloe Rees Smith and Dorothy Daves; a granddaughter, Tonya Jordan; and two infant granddaughters, Emilita Wade and Tracy Wade.

Memorial visitation is from 4 to 6 p.m., Thursday, December 19, 2019, at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson.  Rev. Brian Anderson will officiate a memorial service at 6 p.m., at the funeral home, followed by military honors.

Memorials may take the form of contributions to Mid-America Teen Challenge.  

Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.mccombsfuneralhome.com.

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