H. Houston Greenhaw

H. Houston Greenhaw, Jr

H. Houston Greenhaw was born on June 24, 1938 in Enid, Oklahoma, to Herman H. Greenhaw and Earlene Trenton Greenhaw. He was raised on the family farm caring for over 300 sheep, around 140 cows, about 250 pigs, and his horse Blue (he was a detailed man)! He attended the University of Oklahoma where he received his Bachelor's in Engineering Physics. He was commissioned into the Regular Army and was stationed outside of Berlin during the time the Berlin Wall was going up. He was the Commanding Officer of a Tank Battalion and rose to the rank of Captain.

He felt the need to go back to school to work on his Ph.D. in Physics, but the Lord was really sending him back to meet Charla. As their story goes, they went on their first date on a Friday night, spent the day on Saturday together, Sunday to First Baptist. Norman, where Charla's Grandad was the Preacher, Sunday night he asked her to marry him and she said, "YES". They were married on May 28, 1966, and have shared a lifetime of memories! At that time he felt called into ministry, a call which Charla shared with him. While at Southwestern Seminary their daughter Denise was born. After graduating from Seminary they were called to pastor the Little Stukeley Baptist Church, Little Stukeley, England, right outside Alconbury Air Force Base. At that time he felt he needed more Theological education and attended Cambridge University where he received a Master's in Theology. Our daughter Heather was born during our time in England. From there his journey led him to Southern Seminary in Kentucky where he earned his PhD in Biblical Theology. These learning experiences set the stage for the work the Lord had prepared for him and which became his greatest passion—teaching people the importance of reading God's Word, understanding it, and putting it into practice.

Houston and Charla, with their children spent a total of 25 years as missionaries in Sao Paulo, where our son Marc was born, and Recife, Brazil, teaching in the seminaries, pastoring churches, working in prisons, and engaging in ministry God placed before him. He invested his time in people, and loved the Brazilians as his own. In 2005 they retired and moved to Garland where all of their children and grandchildren lived! They joined First Baptist Garland, and he was involved in ministry as the "Pastor" of the Hispanic Congregation, investing in the work of establishing Cell groups which now expand from Texas throughout South America. He led them for 15 years, and he loved "his people"! He also continued his work as a professor at B. H. Carroll Theological Institute, where he was supervising a PhD student pastor from Angola.

He is preceded in death by his parents and a sister. He is survived by his wife, Charlotte Hallock Greenhaw, his loving children, Denise Patton and husband Jeff, Heather Albuquerque and husband Oseas, and Marc Greenhaw and wife Isabel; grandchildren Christian Albuquerque and wife Alayna, Zachary Patton, Gabriel Albuquerque, Lydia Phillips, Melissa Greenhaw, and Kevin Greenhaw. He is also survived by his two sisters, Teresa Brown and Sheryl Garton, and many other beloved family members.

His greatest desire was that all people would know that God desires a personal and intimate relationship with each one of us.

The Celebration of Life Service will be on Saturday, February 20, 2021, at 11:00am, at the First Baptist Church, Garland.

Memorials can be made in his honor in care of:

Dr. Gene Wilkes, president
B. H. Carroll Theological Institute
6500 North Belt Line Road, Suite 100
Irving, Texas, 75063
Phone (972) 580-7600,
gwilkes@bhcarroll.edu

Services entrusted to Charles W. Smith & Sons of Sachse, Texas.