Portrait of Jerlene Darnell. IMB Photo
Jerlene Clark Darnell, an International Mission Board missionary emeritus who shared the gospel in French Guiana, France and the Ivory Coast (now Cote d’Ivoire), died Dec. 2, 2024, in Weston, Florida. She was 90.
Jerlene was born Aug. 11, 1934, in Laurens County, Georgia, to the late Herbert and Susie Clark. She graduated from Andrew Jackson High School in. Jacksonville, Florida, and received the Bachelor of Arts from Stetson University, DeLand, Florida, and the Master of Religious Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas.
Jerlene came to faith in Christ as a young teen and while seeking missionary appointment wrote, “Ringing in my memory, too, were the words of Rev. S.C. Baker, my pastor, ‘God may be calling one of you to the foreign mission field.’” She shared her conviction of God’s calling with her pastor’s wife and the following Sunday made her commitment public. In 1951, she learned of the Foreign Mission Board’s need for volunteers and began planning definitely to go to the foreign mission field.
She recalled with gratitude the support of the Florida WMU and the women of her home church that helped her get through college and seminary. She wrote, “The Baptist women in Florida served as wings to lift me over the hurdles, with their prayers and money. How can one fail to have the feeling of missionary service fostered when she receives so much through the dedication of others?”
She married James Darnell on June 26, 1962. While James pastored churches in Oklahoma, Texas and Ohio, Jerlene taught school. While seeking missionary appointment she wrote, “We can anticipate no greater opportunities and rewards than we have had here, but still there is that burning assurance that God called us to the foreign field and that every experience he has given us to this point has been his method of equipping us for service where he so wills.”
In 1969, the International Mission Board appointed James and Jerlene missionaries to the Ivory Coast (now Cote d’Ivoire). They studied language for one year in France and later also served in French Guiana. Jerlene trained youth leaders and Sunday School teachers, directed choirs and nurtured family relationships.
Jerlene was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, James Darnell Sr.
She is survived by three children, Patricia Augustine (David), James Darnell Jr. (Dawn), and Julia Elliott (Kevin); six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
A funeral service was held Dec. 14 at Hardage – Giddens Greenlawn Funeral Home in Jacksonville, Florida.
Read an obituary here.