Joseph Miller Gettys

Dateline – Clinton

Dr. Joseph Miller Gettys, Sr., age 109, died at the Hospice of Laurens County July 1, 2016. A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church, Clinton, S.C. at 2 PM on Saturday, August 13, 2016.
Dr. Gettys, one of eleven children, was born on April 23, 1907 in York County to Mr. and Mrs. William E. Gettys. He graduated from Erskine College with an AB degree; from The Biblical Seminary in New York with the S.Th.B and M.Th.B, and Ph. D. degree from New York University. He has also received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Presbyterian College and a Doctor of Letters Degree from Erskine College.
He served as minister of Sound View Presbyterian Church in New York and as Minister of Education at the First Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Gettys taught Bible and Religion at Queens College in Charlotte, N.C.; at the Presbyterian College of Christian Education in Richmond, Va.; and at Presbyterian College in Clinton. He also served as Academic Dean of P.S.C.E. and Presbyterian College.
Dr. Gettys has been active in church life having served as moderator and on key committees in Bethel, Dallas, Piedmont (now Foothills) and South Carolina (now Trinity) Presbyteries. He also served on the Christian Education Committee of the Synod of South Carolina. He served as Interim Pastor of thirty-seven churches (seven of them twice) in Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Texas. Dr. Gettys was Organizing Pastor of Selwyn Avenue Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, N.C. (1940-42) and Westminster Presbyterian Church in Greenwood, S.C. (1980-82).
In addition to writing articles for religions magazines, he wrote twelve Bible study books and Leader’s Guides. He also authored Meet Your Church and What Presbyterians Believe. He edited a book about his family entitled An American Family; wrote his autobiography, My Cup Runs Over; Caregivers Can Survive; Remembering 100 Years of Change; Starting Your Day with God.
Dr. Gettys was listed in Who’s Who in American Education, Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, and Directory of American Scholars. In 2000, he received a certificate for distinguished service by the Retired Minister of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. He was inducted in to the Erskine College Academic Hall of Fame in 2003 as well as becoming Pastor Emeritus of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Greenwood, S.C. The Westminster Church established a scholarship in his name at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga. Dr. Gettys was awarded the Order of the Palmetto by Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina in 2004.
“Dr. Joe” loved Jesus Christ, the Bible, and people. Until his death continued to teach and preach, to serve as a friend and minister to many of the residents at Presbyterian Home in Clinton.
He is predeceased by his wife of 67 years, Mary Louise Schirmer Gettys, and his daughter, Ann Gettys Nash of Asheville. He is survived by two children, Jean Louise Gettys of Black Mountain, N.C. and Dr. Joseph M. Gettys, Jr. of Montreat, N.C.; six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Gettys Scholarship Fund at Presbyterian College, P.O. Box 975, Clinton, S.C. 29325; the Gettys Family Scholarship at Erskine College, Due West, S.C. 29639; or the Joseph M. Gettys Scholarship Fund at Columbia Theological Seminary, P.O. Box 520, Decatur, Ga. 30031; or to a charity of your choice.