Dale Robert Sessions was born December 14, 1939 in Charlotte, NC. He died at the Heritage at Lowman in White Rock, SC on November 10, 2021. He was the son of Ernest Allen Sessions and Maye Wooten Sessions. Dale attended public schools in Columbia, SC, graduating from Dreher High School in 1957. He completed a bachelor's degree in history at Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, TN in 1961 and then began his formal theological education at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC, graduating in 1964. He pursued training in clinical pastoral education at Duke Divinity School and earned a Th.M. from there in 1966. During his 22 years of local church ministry, Dale served congregations in Raleigh, Wilson, and Chapel Hill, NC; Bloomington, IN; Rochester, NY; and Plainfield, NJ. It was in Plainfield where he met Norma Joy Smith and they were married in 1985. Dale and Norma moved to Columbia, SC in 1987 where Dale began serving as a chaplain with the SC Department of Mental Health. He worked at Morris Village Alcohol and Drug Addiction Treatment Center for 10 years and at C.M. Tucker Nursing Care Center for eight years, retiring from state service in 2005. Dale was engaged in social justice issues throughout his ministry. He was honored by the American Baptist Churches of NJ for his pastoral leadership and community engagement, receiving the Homer J. Tucker Christian Service Award in 1984, and was the first minister to participate in an American Baptist Churches program called Learning from Black Churches. Dale read voraciously and was energized by discussions on philosophy, theology, politics, and world events. He practiced thinking "outside the box" and encouraged others to do the same. Dale had a quick wit and enjoyed teasing and laughing with his friends. He loved music and movies of all kinds and cherished spending time with his two-legged and four-legged family members. Dale was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2010 and participated in a clinical trial at Emory University for four years. He was open about his diagnosis and faced his disease with courage, willingly giving up his driver's license and initiating a move to a retirement community. He continued to serve others through his daily walk with Alzheimer's and through his participation in a Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary course, Dementia Through a Pastoral Theological Lens. At the time of his move to the Heritage at Lowman, Dale wrote in his introductory bio: "From beginning to now and beyond, I've loved my life. Looking forward for what is going to unfold joyfully by God's continuing grace. Amen. Caution: I am somewhat bent toward wild-hair crazy. My best friends have opined that I don't have a brain. So, be fully warned." Dale is predeceased by his parents and one brother, Richard Allen Sessions. In addition to his wife, Dale is survived by a niece, Kathy Sessions Lively (Paul); a nephew, Allen Sessions (Mary); a great-niece, Ellie Sessions; and Norma's many family members. A memorial service will be held at the Heritage at Lowman on Sunday Dec. 5th, 2021 at 4:15 PM. Masks are required and other Covid-19 precautions will be observed. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, Attn: SC Gift Processing, 4600 Park Rd., Ste 250, Charlotte, NC 28209 or to Lutheran Hospice, 300 Ministry Drive, Irmo, SC 29063. Memories and messages of comfort may be left on Dale's tribute wall. Whitaker Funeral Home is honored to assist the family.