From the Corn Field Into God's Vineyard

T. Eugene Oody received the B.S. degree from Carson-Newman College, Jefferson City, Tennessee, in 1949. He received the M.A. degree in secondary education from Humboldt State College, now Humboldt State University, Arcata, California, in 1960. He also did additional graduate studies at Purdue University, summer of 1955, and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, 1956-1957.

Mr. Oody began his teaching career in 1949 and has taught mathematics and/or physics in secondary schools in Tennessee, Kentucky, California and Liberia where he and his wife, Betty White Oody, served as Southern Baptist missionaries over a period of sixteen years.

In 1955 Mr. Oody was ordained a Baptist deacon by the First Baptist church, Loudon, Tennessee. The following year he and Betty made their commitment to foreign missions, now called international missions. He has served as deacon, Sunday school director, Bible teacher, moderator of North Coast Baptist Association, California, and a member of the Executive Board of the California Baptist State Convention.

In 1990 Mr. Oody was ordained to the gospel ministry by the First Baptist Church, Aptos, California, where he served as pastor for more than five years. In June of 1963 he retired from school teaching at Los Gatos High School, Los Gatos, California, where he taught mathematics for eleven years. This ended a teaching career of forty-four years. Mr. Oody was pastor at Parkway Baptist Church, Cleveland, Tennessee, from 2000 to 2004 and is now Pastor of Senior Adults at First Baptist Church, Loudon, Tennessee, his hometown.

The Oodys have two married children. Mrs. Stinson (Arvilla) Humphrey, Hawaii, and Thomas (Tom) Eugene Oody, Jr., Vestal, New York. Arvilla is married to Dr. Stinson E. Humphrey and they have three children: Rachel, married to Josh Voorhees, Dr. Carol Campbell, married to Dr. Lance Campbell and John Humphrey, engaged to Miss Katy Jongeward. Tom is married to Debbie Beam Oody. Rachel and Josh have the Oody's first great-grandchild, one year-old Sadie Anna Voorhees.