Jerry O. Jolly, 86, of Jonesboro, passed away Aug. 11. He faithfully served the Lord for more than six decades as a pastor and denominational leader within the Baptist Missionary Association.
Bro. Jolly surrendered to preach in January 1959 at Hopewell Baptist Church near Rector, where Thurman Holt was pastor. He was ordained in September of that year and began his first pastorate at Boydsville Baptist Church north of Rector the following month.
During his ministry, Bro. Jolly pastored many churches in Arkansas, Missouri, and Alaska. Besides Boydsville, his Arkansas pastorates included Wakefield, Little Rock; Temple, Jonesboro; Highland Hills, Highland; Fairview, Jonesboro; and Tenth Street, Paragould. He also served as interim pastor of First Baptist Church in Caldwell.
His longest pastorate was at Temple, Jonesboro, where he served for more than 30 years. While reflecting on his ministry there in 2009, Bro. Jolly said God had blessed the church with more than 3,200 additions during his years of service.
Bro. Jolly also served the BMA beyond the local church. He was moderator of both the BMA of Arkansas and the Jonesboro Association and served on the BMA of America Missions’ Advisory Committee. He also served as a trustee of Central Baptist College and BMA Seminary and preached the annual message of the BMA of America in Colorado Springs, Colo.
In 2019, Tenth Street honored Bro. Jolly for 60 years in the ministry. Looking back over those years, he said God had given him the privilege of seeing 4,119 people come into the fellowship of the churches he pastored and of preaching 635 revivals and meetings.
“Praise the Lord for the awesome privilege of being called to preach God’s Word and pastor His churches for 60 years,” he wrote. “It has been filled with heavenly blessings.”
Bro. Jolly married Freda “Sweetpea” Tyner July 17, 1959, at Hopewell Baptist Church. Both attended Central Baptist College, and they shared more than 54 years of marriage before her death in 2014. He later married Mary “June” Hicks Hyatt and shared his later years with her until her death in 2022.
Following Sweetpea’s death, Bro. Jolly wrote in the Baptist Trumpet about the faith that sustained him through that season, thanking God for “the living hope that is in me that, one day soon, I will see my Sweetpea again.”
Perhaps Bro. Jolly best expressed the spirit of his life and ministry while reflecting on God’s goodness in 2009: “If I die tomorrow, I hope the preacher who preaches my funeral mentions that God was a lot better to me, and blessed me far more, than I ever expected or deserved.”
Survivors include a son, Terry Jolly of Jonesboro; a daughter, Cathy (Paul) King of Jonesboro; three grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Aug. 15 at Emerson Funeral Home in Jonesboro with Paul Vincent and Keith Baker officiating. A graveside committal service followed at Woodland Heights Cemetery in Rector. Arrangements were under the direction of Emerson Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, Tenn. 38105, or Lifeword, P.O. Box 6, Conway, Ark. 72033.
