Dwain Holt Boothe

Viewing for family and friends of Dwain will take place on Wednesday, June 8, from 4:00-7:00 pm in Chickasha at Sevier Funeral Home,

702 Chickasha Avenue, Chickasha, OK  73018.

Public memorial service will take place on Monday, June 13, at 2:00 pm at Quail Springs Baptist Church, 14613 N May Ave, OKC, OK 73134.

Dwain Holt Boothe passed away in his home in Edmond, OK on June 5, 2022 at the age of 87.  He was born February 28, 1935 in Chickasha, OK to Geneva Rebekah Holt Boothe and Arden Dwain Boothe.

Dwain grew up in Chickasha. He lettered and played on the Chickasha High School Tennis Team and helped as a trainer on the CHS Football Team after breaking his collar bone as a player when one of the "big boys" threw him over his shoulder in a tackle maneuver. He worked for his dad in the family business, the Rexall Drug store, as a soda jerk.  His family was active at the United Methodist Church where Dwain was confirmed.  Dwain always had a yearning to be a music minister, but his father's influence to attend pharmacy school and help run the family business was strong.  As a result, Dwain attended Oklahoma University where he received his first degree in Pharmacy. He also served in the Army ROTC at OU. As an alumnus, Dwain loved his Sooners, especially in football.

He married the "love of his life" and "bride", Sylvia Marlene DeHart, also of Chickasha on August 10, 1956 at First Baptist Church of Chickasha.  They were married just over 55 years, when Sylvia passed away in 2012.  Dwain wore his wedding ring until his death, saying "Sylvia will always be my bride!"  He longed for the day when he would be reunited with her again in their Heavenly Home.

Dwain was called to active duty and received appointment as a Reserve Commission Officer in the grade of second lieutenant in the US Army on June 9, 1957. He served as a medic at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX where he and Sylvia became parents to "The Twins", Stephanie Dawn and Stephan Dwain on November 30, 1957.  Dwain was later recalled to active duty and moved to Fort Hood in Kileen, TX during the Berlin Crisis.

After his discharge from the Army, Dwain and Sylvia returned to Chickasha where he worked side by side with his father at the Rexall Drug Store. The Boothes were active members of FBC where he and Sylvia sang in the choir. Dwain participated in the Rotary Club and enjoyed golfing at the Country Club.  On March 1, 1963 Dwain and Sylvia welcomed their second son, Jeffery Alan, into their family.

Then, came the call to ministry.  Both Dwain and Sylvia felt the Lord leading them to enter to full-time Christian service as missionaries after hearing a missionary from Thailand speak at FBC in 1964. Soon after,

the Boothes sold their home and moved to Mansfield, TX where Dwain did pharmacy work while he attended Southwestern Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth.  He also led music at a small country church in Webb, TX.  Dwain received his Bachelor of Church Music degree in May of 1968.

Dwain and Sylvia were appointed as Southern Baptist Missionaries to Thailand by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1968.  Shortly afterward, Dwain was ordained to the Gospel Ministry by FBC in Chickasha in December of 1968.  As the New Year of 1969 approached, the Boothes boarded the SS President Wilson ocean liner and voyaged to Thailand where they learned the Thai language and served as music missionaries in Bangkok for the next 4 years.  Dwain established music education at the Baptist Seminary in Bangkok, forming a vocal performing choir and a traveling English handbell choir made up of teenage missionary children.  Dwain helped develop music using instruments native to the Thai culture.  He spent most Sundays traveling to local Thai churches to lead music and assimilate with the people.  Dwain enjoyed Thailand and said that he never felt like a tall person at 5'6" until he went there, where most people were very short in stature.  Dwain's greatest experience in Thailand was coming to belief in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior "for real".  His was a shocking and dramatic conversion that God used to affect the lives of many people in Thailand and beyond.

The Boothes took time away from the foreign mission field in the summer of 1972 and returned to Chickasha where Dwain joined the staff of FBC as Minister of Music/Youth.  His spiritual influence on students and many young families at FBC is still remembered by many today. During this time, Dwain attended SWBTS to pursue a Master of Church Music degree, which was granted in May of 1976.  Soon after that, Dwain and Sylvia were reappointed as missionaries and were assigned to serve in France, living in Versailles and Paris from 1976 until 1984.  They retired from the IMB and moved to Oklahoma City briefly, then to Guthrie where Dwain pastored Emmanuel Baptist Church for a short time.  Following this, the Boothes moved to Atlanta, GA where Dwain served as Senior Adult Pastor at New Hope Baptist Church while Sylvia worked at the North American Mission Board. Around 1995, the Boothes formally retired and moved to Edmond, OK to live near family and friends.  They enjoyed being members at Quail Springs Baptist Church and loved singing in the worship ministry, as well as being involved in other ministries.

Dwain was preceded in death by his parents, Arden and Geneva; his wife, Sylvia; sisters, Carolyn McDaniel and Jane Harper; nephew, Vernon McDaniel and niece, Mary Jane McDaniel; and Sylvia's beloved parents, Clyde M. DeHart and wife, Mildred.

Dwain is survived by his three children:  Stephanie Dawn Boothe Miller and her husband, Les S Robinson Miller of Edmond, OK; Stephan Dwain Boothe of Edmond; Jeffery Alan Boothe of Edmond and wife, Sandra.

He has seven grandchildren:  Aaron C. Robinson Miller and wife, Kelli; Timothy R. Robinson Miller and wife, Natalie; Haleigh E. Robinson Brown and husband, Tyson; Anna E. Boothe Kelough and husband, Kolt; Amanda K. Boothe, Micheal T. Boothe and wife, Hayley; and Seraphina E. Boothe.

He has ten great-grandchildren:  Liam, Logan, Luke, Gabriel, Conrad, Serenity, Haven, Able, River, and Lilah.  Also surviving are in-laws:

Clyde M. DeHart and wife, Kaye; Nellie DeHart Miller and husband, Bill; James B. DeHart and wife, Sue Nelle; and Betty DeHart Stamps and husband, Neil; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins by marriage.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Memory of Dwain H. Boothe to:

Hope Pregnancy Center

℅ Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children,

3800 N. May Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73112