Frederick David Mccallister

Frederick David McCallister, 93, of Southside, WV passed into the loving arms of the Lord on Tuesday, August 9, 2022, at Grant Medical Center in Columbus, OH.He was surrounded by his family. He was the 15th and youngest child of the late Calvin Albert McCallister and the 8th and final child of the late Ida Ellen Dailey McCallister. Fred was saved at Judson Baptist Church when he was 16 years old. He later married the love of his life, Gloria Lee Harrison in 1950. They had three children together, Regina McCallister Wright, David (Margy) McCallister, & Jennifer McCallister Martin.He worked for many years for Union Carbide at Institute, WV.When he was laid off, which was frequently back in the 50s & 60s, he would take whatever job was available to support his family. He built a simple, brick home on 11 acres in Teays Valley and continued to attend church at Judson Baptist Church on Bills Creek. Fred began preaching at Siloam Church, off of 16-Mile Creek in Southside WV in the mid 60’s.After preaching for a couple years, he was ordained into the ministry and licensed to preach by Judson Baptist Church and was called to preach at the Buffalo Baptist Church in Buffalo WV. Later, he accepted the invitation to come to Harmony/Concord Baptist Church Parrish to preach. After resigning his job at Union Carbide, he became their full-time pastor for 22 years. He retired from the ministry as he was having some health problems, but later began to pastor again at Zion Baptist Church and at his home church of Judson Baptist Church on Bills Creek in Putnam County. Fred & Harold Maddox were the original men with a plan to build a camp for the area youth to learn about Jesus, through summer camps.Back in the late 50’s when they were the trustees of what later became Teays Valley Church Camp, he and his life-long friend Harold planned out the camp, and how it would be used. It is now known as the Teays Valley YMCA Camp. While a chaplain at Holzer Medical Center, Fred worked with Art Lund to set up a system for the local Amish Community to have healthcare. Fred had horses – everyone in the Southside community knew that if they wanted to talk to the pastor, they could meet him at his barn, 6 days a week. In 1976, the Parrish sent Fred to the Holy Land to walk where the savior walked. He did that – and he was never the same.He showed slides and had many talks about his trip for several years afterwards. He wrote his real-life stories for the Hurricane Breeze for several years. He was excited to “be published”.He wrote for many years, mostly just for his own pleasure, but he also was in charge of completing the church history for Harmony Baptist & Judson Baptist Churches. He had so much information about both churches and he did not want it to be lost with him. Fred & Gloria went with a group to Nicaragua on a mission trip. While Fred built a church, Gloria helped with food. This trip became a touch-stone for missions for Fred.He was a huge supporter of missionary work and encouraged the churches he served to do the same. He held the first McCallister Family Reunion at his home, as an honor for his eldest brother, Oscar. This family reunion was held annually until 2020. He supplied genealogy information and shared any of his findings about the McCallister family. He was very proud of his heritage. To celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, Fred & Gloria went to Ireland & Scotland and stayed at the McCallister Castle in Kentyre, Scotland. While there, Fred spent a lot of time checking out information of his ancestors. Family was the most important to Fred. In addition to his three children, he had 9 grandchildren (David (Bethany) Wright, Laura Wright & Andrew Wright, Alan (Jess) Forbus, Kelly (Paul) McCallister Blackmore, Megan (Adam) McCallister Steele, Becky McCallister, Michael Martin, and Jordan (Joe) Martin Hall, & 9 great-grandchildren (David & Ella Jo Wright, Chloe Blake, Penelope Blackmore, Madison & Sadie Forbus, Kaylen Martin, Jolee & Hyatt Hall.)Also, a part of his family was one sister-in-law, Sandy MacCallum of Charleston, and many nephews and nieces. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Fred’s Memory to the Gideon’s International, Mason County Camp.Donation cards/envelopes will be available at the service.Calling hours at Wilcoxen Funeral Home in Pt. Pleasant will be on Saturday, August 13, 2022 from 6 -9:00.Services will be on Sunday, August 14 at 2:00 at Harmony Baptist Church in Southside, with Reverend Ron Stoner officiating. Burial will be at Judson Baptist Church Cemetery in Putnam County.