CHARLOTTE, N.C. – During her freshman year at Clinton High School, Amy Jacks would stand in the hallway to catch a glimpse of Russ Dean walking to class.
Who needs conversation?
“I just really fell in love with Russ from seeing him,” she says.
Russ, a high school junior at the time, wasn’t far behind, for as he says, “She loved me first, but I love her the most.”
Forty-five years after their first date – a Dean family dinner on Lake Greenwood – and 40 years after they were married, their love endures. And then some.
Their journey has taken Revs. Russ and Amy Jacks Dean from Clinton to Charlotte, where they are in their 26th year as copastors of Park Road Baptist Church. The church, which averages 130 for Sunday worship, believes in the inherent worth of all people. So do the Deans, who have long been respected voices in Charlotte for reconciliation across differences in faith, race, sexuality, economic class and culture.
While pastoral equals, Russ smiles as he proudly acknowledges the true pecking order. Not that he isn’t appreciated, but as Russ finished up a hospital visit, the patient (a church member) thanked him and said, “Next time send Pastor No. 1.”
Life has blessed the Deans with a calling to ministry, two sons and daughters-in-law, one grandchild and two more on the way. As Russ says, they have lived a charmed life.
Life has also brought its inevitable challenges. Amy survived lung cancer in 2020 and thyroid cancer in 2021 and recovered from both, as robust as ever.
Having surpassed 25 years at the church, Russ, 62, and Amy, 60, had planned to serve another five years before retiring. They still plan to serve five more years.
Then early this year, Amy was diagnosed with ALS.
‘I’m Needing A Plateau’
Amy knew something was wrong before the diagnosis. Her left foot dragged. Her balance was off. Since ALS was confirmed, she can no longer walk on her own. More recently she has suffered weakness in her right arm. She’s disappointed by the speed with which the disease is progressing. “I’m needing a plateau,” she says. But so far the symptoms aren’t yet severe enough to keep her from doing God’s work.
(As for God, when Amy prays, she says “Please…” and counts on God to fill in the blanks.)
Church has become her refuge.
As much as she loves high heels, she’s adjusted to wearing tennis shoes on Sunday morning. In solidarity, many church members do the same. On Parent/Child Dedication Sunday, no one batted an eye when she sat down to hold one of the babies being welcomed into the life of the church.
Following the benediction on Sundays, Amy and Russ used to walk down separate aisles as they processed out of the sanctuary. As ALS set in, they began walking out together, Amy holding onto Russ. Now she uses her rollator, a wheeled walking aid she has nicknamed Rolanda.
From her church office, Rolanda nearby, Amy says, “Sitting right here is the only place I feel like myself. This disease wants to break my spirit. But I got up and came to work today.”
From his office across the hall, Russ, a self-confessed basket case about all this, says he can hear Amy when she’s talking on the phone, still completely herself. He smiles when he says it.
‘I Learned With Her’
Russ says theirs is a story of two conservative kids from small-town South Carolina who found each other for the journey.
Here’s how he put it in an email: “I was 17 when I fell in love with her, and most couples (I think I can say this honestly) do not spend the kind of time together that she and I have always spent together. Everything I know about the world – theology, politics, culture, life, love, family – I learned with her.”
Amy is the youngest of the late James and Anita Jacks’ three children. Those who have been around Laurens County a while will remember James as a member of County Council.
Russ is the middle of Rev. Russell and Helen Dean’s three children. The elder Dean served 26 years as pastor of Clinton First Baptist Church (he married Russ and Amy there), then nearly 20 as chaplain at Martha Franks Retirement Community in Laurens. Russ’ parents are still with us.
After connecting at Clinton High, Russ graduated from Furman University and Amy from Presbyterian College. Together they graduated from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville and served as associate pastors at First Baptist Church of Clemson. In 2020, they accepted the call to lead Park Road Baptist. Seeking a renaissance, the church was willing to take a chance on a rarely embraced model – husband/wife leaders.
It has worked out beautifully for the church, not large in number but feisty in spirit. And it has worked out beautifully for the Deans. They raised two fine boys in Charlotte. After Amy’s diagnosis, Jackson, a physician, and his wife, Madison, moved from Greenville to Charlotte with three-year-old Walker. They’re expecting another child in February. Bennett, a sixth-grader teacher, and his wife, Keylee, live in Greenville. They are expecting their first child in March.
Grandpa Russ goes by NoNo. Amy is Mamy.
One more thing you should know about them.
Russ is the crier in the family.
Amy isn’t. But she’s making up for lost time.
In The Quiet Of The Evening
When the Deans are home alone in the quiet of the evening, living the best they can with tomorrow’s unknowns, what do they say to each other?
Russ: “I say ‘I’m sorry’ an awful lot.”
Amy: I say ‘I’m sorry’ even though it’s not my fault.”
Charlotte writer Ken Garfield served as editor of The Laurens County Advertiser from 1981-85. Reach him at garfieldken3129@gmail.com.
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