Dale Durnell

Ancestors

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Biography

Dale is the son of Paul Gillis Durnell and Violet Edith Wilkinson.

I’m not a native Okie, but I as my friend (Bishop) Bob Hayes was wont to say: “I’m not from here, but I got here as quick as I could.” In his case, it was Episcopal appointment; for me, it was compliments of the United States Air Force in 1990.

I was born in California's San Joaquin Valley at the end of WWII and raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. Mom was a first generation, native Californian while my dad (a fourth generation native Hoosier) came to California from Indiana with his folks in 1928.

As did my forebears, I served in the U.S. military. My two brothers and I all three enlisted in the Air Force on the same day in 1964. We came on active duty the day before the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was signed by LBJ and I retired from the Air Force following the successful conclusion of Desert Storm. At the end of my tour in Vietnam (in August 1968), I reenlisted and eventually retired after 27 years, 25 days of continuous active duty. During my military career I served three tours on the Pacific Rim, and had two tours in Europe totally nearly half of my time in uniform.

After I retired from the military, God provided an avenue for me to answer the call he placed on my life nearly 7 years earlier. I’ve always felt called to preach and teach. I was ordained a Deacon in The United Methodist Church by Bishop Dan Solomon, and as an Elder, four years later, by Bishop Bruce Blake. In late January 2020, I was called out of retirement and asked to serve at Harrah UMC in the Crossroads District of the Oklahoma Annual Conference. Since the first of February of that year, I’ve been serving there as a part-time intentional interim pastor.

My bride, of over 56 years, is the former Donna Hammer of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Both of her parents were first-generation native New Mexicans. Her ancestors were pioneering homesteaders in both the Oklahoma and New Mexico territories. This has afforded both sides of her family to lay claim to deep roots in Oklahoma and New Mexico well before statehood.

Donna and I were married at the end of her junior year at Eastern New Mexico University, and less than two months before I was sent to Vietnam. We have now, both, lived in Oklahoma for 32 years which is longer than any other place we’ve either one of us has ever lived. Since retiring from Episcopal appointment in The UMC we have been living in Jones, Oklahoma (the home of Blue and Gold Sausage).

We have two marvelous children: Our son is a third-generation native Californian who now lives in Norman, Oklahoma. Our daughter is a third-generation native New Mexican who now lives in Choctaw, Oklahoma. We have three wonderful grandchildren. Our beautiful granddaughter (a native Okie) lives in Choctaw while one of our grandsons lives in Norman with his father, and the other lives with his intended and their son in Tuttle. Our granddaughter's ancestry on her father's side of the fence goes back to northwest New Mexico well before the American Revolutionary War. We also have a very precious, energetic, and super-smart great-grandson (Ezra) who lives with his mom in Choctaw, and whose favorite food (for any meal) is a Burrito. Our 2nd great-grandson (Jensyn) was welcomed into the family right after Thanksgiving in 2020. I have one surviving brother whose move from California to Georgia means that pretty much the last vestiges of the Durnal clan have left the Golden State.

I grew up with a mother reared in the Church of the Brethren (an old German pietist sect) and a father who was raised Roman Catholic (pre-Vatican II). I was baptized into the Christian faith in the Methodist Church when I was 12. My kids grew up in military chapels and my daughter used to call us “GI Protestants.” So, with that background and a quarter of a century worshiping with military chaplains, I eventually became a very staunch Bapti-Luthe-Metho-Preby-Costal-Lic before returning to my Wesleyan roots among The People Called United Methodist in 1991.

I received my A.A.S. degree (in Communications - Operations Technology) from the Community College of the Air Force in 1990. I earned a B.A. (in Liberal Arts) from Oklahoma City University in 1994. At the urging of numerous United Methodist district superintendents, people including Rev's Dr. David Thomas, Dr. Bill Henry, and Dr. Joe Harris, I went off and earned an M.Div. from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in 1997.

While I was at Perkins, I felt like a conservative thorn in the flesh of that bastion of liberal education. But when I was appointed to Little Dixie (in southeastern Oklahoma) my theology came across like a flaming liberal. Go figure! Now, almost 28 years later, and in the midst of a global pandemic, I’m back in the saddle and find myself relying more on the skills I learned working toward my Associate's degree than anything I learned at OCU or Perkins.

In retirement, I have found time to pursue a couple of hobbies which have been on my to-do list for a great many years.

• Genealogy (I got hooked on chasing my ancestors back in Junior High School) but never had a chance until retirement to devote the time to do it right. I often tell my bride, “I’m chasing dead people;” but I have also become the de facto family historian for both of our families. Fellow genealogists would understand when I say I get a dopamine rush during the search; I love the hunt. • • My paternal grandmother was Quebecois (French-Canadian). She was born in Vermont, but her mother and her paternal grandfather were born in Quebec. • • My paternal grandfather was Irish, his paternal grandmother was born in Ireland and came to the U.S. as an infant. • • My maternal grandmother is predominately German although her mTDNA shows that she too is of Irish descent. • • And, my maternal grandfather is English and Scottish.

• Amateur (Ham) Radio. I’ve been an off-and-on radio hobbyist for years. I finally received my Technician Class Amateur Radio License (KF8DLD) and am studying to pass the examination for my General Class License. Alas, working in the local church has cramped my style in that endeavor.

Sources

• First-hand information. Entered by Dale Durnell at registration.

• MyHeritage DNA Matches

DNA Confirmations

all matches weaker than 7 cM and further than 3rd cousin are to be considered as supporting evidence, not proof of relationship

Further segment details at Kent Creamer, bottom of page

• Maternal relationship is confirmed by:
  • a 39.6‎ cM‎‎ MyHeritage test match between Kent Creamer and his fifth cousin once removed Dale Durnell. Their MRCAs are Jacob Lopp & Molly (Waggoner) Lopp, the fourth great grandparents of Kent Creamer and the fifth great grandparents of Dale Durnell. Predicted relationship from MyHeritage: 3rd - 5th cousin, based on 0.6% shared DNA, sharing 39.6 cM across 2 segments (Largest segment: 31 cM). (8.6 cM on chr 16, 31.0 cM on chr 19 (Details at: Kent Creamer, bottom of page)). Common ancestors: Jacob Lopp & Molly (Waggoner) Lopp.
  • a 29.46 cM 23andMe test match between Kent Creamer and Dale Durnell, his fifth cousin once removed (on Chr 19). Predicted relationship from 23andMe: "4th Cousin based on 0.40% DNA shared across 1 segment." Roughly the same segment 28.35 cM is also shared with Kent's mother Anomymous (Hedrick) Creamer, Dale's fourth cousin twice removed Predicted relationship from 23andMe: "4th Cousin based on 0.38% DNA shared across 1 segment." and 29.80 cM with Kent's sister Kristie Creamer Dale's fifth cousin once removed . Predicted relationship from 23andMe: "4th Cousin based on 0.40% DNA shared across 1 segment."; and 28.07 cM with Kent's daughter Keyasha (Creamer) Stewart Dale's 6th cousin . Predicted relationship from 23andMe: "4th Cousin based on 0.38% DNA shared across 1 segment."; Common ancestors: Jacob Lopp & Molly (Waggoner) Lopp.
  • a 53 cM Family Finder match between Kent Creamer and his fifth cousin once removed Dale Durnell (Largest segment = 29 cM on Chr 19, (Details at: Kent Creamer, bottom of page)). Predicted: 2nd Cousin - 4th Cousin. Common ancestors: Jacob Lopp & Molly (Waggoner) Lopp.
  • a 35.0 cM match between Kent Creamer GEDmatch M521133 and his fifth cousin once removed Dale Durnell GEDmatch M382599 (Total of 3 matching segment > 5, Largest segment = 15.3 cM on Chr 19, following a 14.7 cM segment & short gap, also a small 5.0 cM on Chr 15 (Details at: Kent Creamer, bottom of page)). Common ancestors: Jacob Lopp & Molly (Waggoner) Lopp.