Brother Joe Acuff

Brother Joe Acuff, formerly of Fayette County, Tennessee and Hot Springs Village, Arkansas passed away Friday night, November 6, 2015 in Adamsville, Tennessee.

Brother Acuff was a Southern Baptist minister in West Tennessee and across Missouri for 40 years. He loved The Lord and the Gospel and his congregations. He was a community leader in every town where he pastored. In Malden in the Missouri Bootheel, Brother Acuff held the first integrated services in Southeast Missouri in the late 1960's. He also made a point to preach widely in both Black and White churches.

Brother Acuff, who seldom used the title Reverend, was married to Martha Myrl Stewart Acuff for 45 years. Mrs. Acuff passed away in 1994. Brother Acuff was born and raised in Caruthersville, Missouri in the Bootheel right on the Mississippi River. Though he was the first in his family to attend college, he attended Union University, graduated with a BA from Bethel University, later earning his Masters of Divinity from Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Brother Acuff was widely known for his Biblical scholarship and powerful preaching.  He was loved widely across three states.

He left two sons, Stephen and Stewart, and four grandchildren, Zak and Lexie and Sam and Sydney.

Brother Acuff's last pastorate was Oak Grove Baptist Church in Fayette County, Tennessee. Brother Acuff loved singing, playing golf and watching sports.

The family requests that memorials be sent to the Fayette County Baptist Association. P.O. Box 337 Somerville, Tennessee 38068.