Pastor Dean, the woman behind Oak Harbor’s MLK remembrance

Fannie Dean will never forget April 4, 1968.

She was a young “Georgia peach” sitting in her elementary school classroom when students and teachers were called into the cafeteria. As soon as she saw the teachers cry, she knew something bad had happened.

“I went home and told my mom ‘Mom, somebody big died,’” she said. “And my mama said ‘Oh, it’s the man that did all that marching.’”

Though she did not know this at the time, the man who had just been killed would later become one of the most influential figures in Dean’s life.

For decades, the now Pastor Dean has been organizing a yearly event to celebrate and remember Martin Luther King Jr. For his 95th birthday, Mission Ministry invites community members for a day of singing, dancing and learning about King’s dream.

The event will take place at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14, and will be located at 1751 Goldie Road in Oak Harbor. It will also involve the participation of other churches in the community.

Loretta Byrd is a minister at House of Prayer and said both ministries are “a big family.”

Byrd explained the event is more a remembrance, rather than a celebration, of what King has done not only for Black people, but for society at large.

“We want the children to remember that he did not just stand up for Blacks,” she said. “He stood up for everyone.”

Furthermore, it’s a reminder that God sees everyone as equal and that we should be united in diversity, Byrd said.

Diversity and equality are very dear to Dean, who is an African American woman. When she and her husband Randy — who is also a pastor and a Navy veteran — moved to Whidbey Island in 1976, there wasn’t much diversity.

To this day, Dean finds that it’s not easy being Black in Oak Harbor and worries that the world is becoming more divided.

“Some people are trying to roll the clock back, but the clock can’t go back,” she said. “We gotta go forward.”

Dean likes to improvise songs from random words she hears, a habit she inherited from her family. Whenever she’s asked how she’s doing, her answer tends to be “Oh, I am blessed,” followed by some exciting announcement. When necessary, she won’t hesitate to roll up her sleeves and do something she’s never done before, like create a DIY nativity scene with mannequins and hand-painted landscapes.

Upon learning some of the things she has gone through, her exuberant and optimistic spirit might come as a surprise. Many have even told her she should write a book about her experiences.

In the 1990s, her van was set on fire in Oak Harbor in what she believes was a hate crime. When she and her husband began construction of the church they had long dreamed of, the building experienced various instances of burglary and vandalism. In 2008, two African statues were decapitated in the thrift store she used to run, and the windows were shattered. She also received notes intimidating her to “get out” and were signed “KKK.”

These experiences only make the creation of Mission Ministry Faith Center more extraordinary. Yet Dean believes the biggest pushback she got was due to her being a female church leader — she was in fact the first woman pastor in the city.

“This is like a historical building to me,” Dean said, admiring the worship room in the church that she and her husband began building in 2009 and completed 10 years later. “We can own cars, we can own houses,” she said, referring to Black people. “But we don’t own commercial buildings.”

Mission Ministry Outreach has existed for 34 years, but for a long time it was located in the same strip mall as the movie theater.

Nicole Rice, a minister at the church, has heard stories of how many doubted Dean’s vision and thought she was crazy.

“I heard stories of how it was just land, and she would constantly say ‘This is a church,’” she said.

Finally, thanks to years of donations and determination, the Deans proudly welcomed the community into the church in 2019.

To her, it was all in God’s plan, just as her becoming a pastor in 1989.

“I knew it was a calling when I was growing up,” said Dean, who grew up in a Christian family. “I just knew that I could see between wrong and right. I knew God had to separate me from my family in order for me to really find out what he wanted me to be.”

Despite the many times the world has tried to drag her backwards, Dean’s faith in God and admiration for King have kept her moving towards what she knows is right.

“When you see something that is not right, you don’t just sit back,” she said.

Some of the ways Dean has helped others have led to humorous and impressive outcomes.

After she started her own company — called “Excel Janitorial Service” — in 1987, Dean began to take home items her customers did not want or need, later finding new owners for these items. As her house got submerged with things, she decided to open a thrift store in 1989.

Dean’s desire to help others was not only greater than her and Randy’s desire for a less cluttered house, but it far exceeded her fear of risk, much to her husband’s worry. She in fact developed the habit of offering rides to strangers she thought needed help.

And so, in 1992, “Whidbey Taxi” was born.

For a few years, Dean found herself running three businesses at the same time. Eventually, she had to make some sacrifices, but her vision of a church on Goldie Road never left her mind.

When Rice joined the church, its current location was in the process of being built. It was around 2015, and being new to Oak Harbor, she found herself longing for a community. She recalled stepping inside and seeing a woman in intense worship. Thinking it was not her thing, Rice tried to leave, but Dean saw her and persuaded her to stay, later becoming one of the most important people in her life.

“She leads with so much compassion,” she said. “Even people who ran her name through the mud, if they asked her for help, she would help them.”

When Rice was looking for a place to live, Dean offered her a room in her house. When she needed financial help, Dean was there to help. Whenever Rice offers to pay her back, she says to give it to the church.

In Dean, Rice found a spiritual guide, a confidant and a friend. She believes she has gone through significant change thanks to the church.

“I don’t think I would have had the opportunity to anywhere else,” Rice said. “This is home. This is growth for me.”