On Tuesday May 4, 2021, a small civilian plane crashed into a home in Hattiesburg, Miss., and killed 55-year-old Gerry Standley, an assistant pastor of Wayside Holy Temple church. The pastor and his family were sleeping.
Gerry Standley, a pillar of the community, just celebrated 22 years of marriage with his wife, Melinda. His wife, daughter, and grandson were able to get out of the house when it caught fire; Gerry tragically did not.
“We can’t replace him,” Gerry’s younger brother Corbin Varnado told reporters. “We can’t do what he did, but his young brothers, his sons, his nephews, we can come together and uphold the family like he would. He was a remarkable man. I admire him so much just from his relationship with God, his relationship with his wife, his family. He connected with everyone. Everyone loved him, he loved everyone. It’s going to be tough to be without him.”
Wayside Holy Temple Church’s Marion Huges told WJTV news, “He was just a gentle giant and many of the young people knew him like a ‘fatherly figure’…because he took time with them. He set an example for them.”
