Dr. James Ditty

Dr. James Ditty went to be with the Lord February 13, 2016 after a short battle with Leukemia. Dr. Jim, as his students loved to call him, lived a rich and diverse life. Married on June 26, 1954 to Dorothy (Dot) Schill, he was the father of two sons, four daughters, and many foster children. For almost twenty years Jim was a research chemist for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company using the knowledge he gleaned from a Master's Degree in chemistry to invent many products still used by the company. He held over 100 patents for Goodyear. However, Dr. Jim would tell you that the best season of his life came when he answered God's call into ministry. In 1975 he moved the family to Pineville, Kentucky where he attended Clear Creek Baptist Bible School. After graduating in 1978 he went on to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth. Texas where he earned a Master's and Doctorate Degree. While in Ft. Worth he pastored Olive Place Baptist Church until he and Dot answered another call and moved to South Africa to serve as missionaries through the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. They served there for ten years, until he retired in mid-1996. At that point God blessed him by answering "a prayer he had prayed since the ‘70s" by bringing him and his wife back to what is now Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in 1997 to teach missions and Old Testament, subjects he taught while in South Africa, along with Spiritual Formations and science. While teaching at the college he held the title Distinguished Professor of Bible and the D.M. Aldridge Chair of Missions. Dr. Jim had another prayer answered when he was able to teach one more class. That was one week before his cancer kept him from returning to the classroom. He went on to be with his Lord three weeks later. Dr. Jim pastored churches in Kentucky and Texas. He was a member of Wasioto Baptist Church in Pineville, Kentucky where he and Dot attended regularly and where he often filled-in for the pastor. Jim was preceded in death by his parents Glenn and Helen Ditty and his daughter Pattie Dearing. He is survived by Dorothy, his wife of nearly 62 years; his children, James Jr. and wife Jenny of Logan, Ohio; John and his wife Charlene of Pineville, Kentucky, Tanya of Marietta, Georgia; Tina Upchurch of Dallas, Texas; Mary Frasier and her husband Kerry of Ft. Worth, Texas; and his brother Tom and wife Jo of Louisville, Ohio. Jim and Dot have eleven grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren. What verse might summarize the rich and influential life of Dr. James Ditty? It would be this, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21) Both are true of him. Services will be at 7:00 PM Tuesday at the Clear Creek Baptist Bible College Chapel. The family will receive friends from 4 until 7 PM Tuesday at the Chapel. Arnett & Steele Funeral Home and Cremation Center is honored to serve the Ditty Family. Visitation

FEB 16. 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM (EST)

Clear Creek Baptist Bible College

300 Clear Creek Road

Pineville, KY 40977

FEB 16. 7:00 PM (EST)

Clear Creek Baptist Bible College

300 Clear Creek Road

Pineville, KY 40977