The Baptist Children’s Village Deanash Campus is celebrating 35 years as a part of this statewide ministry on Sunday, June 11, 2017 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 80 Sellers St, Wiggins, Mississippi. The public is invited.
In June of 1982 children moved to The BCV southernmost campus. The campus was a gift from Mrs. Patricia Nash Dean who was the widow of the legendary major league baseball pitcher and television personality, Jay Hanna “Dizzy” Dean. In his announcement, Paul N. Nunnery, then BCV Executive Director, gives a glimpse of the long-time generosity of Mrs. Dean and her husband,
The names and public lives of this lovely lady and her famous husband, J. H. “Dizzy” Dean, were well known everywhere, particularly to baseball fans. Nevertheless, few were aware of their deep concern for special children. Even fewer knew of Mrs. Dean’s regular and generous practice in sharing her material blessings with the helping ministries. It is likely that only God knows the full measure of how much she did for so many.
“God has blessed Diz and Pat Dean,” she explained and she intended to “give it all back to Him.” In a final act of generosity Mrs. Dean gave a gift that would (and does) contribute to generational change for hundreds of boys and girls in the months and years that followed.
The Deanash campus name was chosen by Mrs. Dean who wanted to honor both the Dean and Nash families. The original gift included a beautiful home, surrounded by gorgeous azaleas, suitable for eight children on 25 acres of land located in the Bond community just north of Wiggins. Later a second house would be built on the campus to accommodate ten more children.
Today, the original house is full of “Dizzy” Dean baseball memorabilia and BCV boys of all ages, just as Mrs. Dean wanted. According to Nunnery, “She stated her purpose in making the gift was to provide additional facilities for the care, nurture and training of neglected and dependent Mississippi children ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ’. . . and emphasized her belief that The Baptist Children’s Village is best qualified and equipped to realize her purpose.”
