His Early Years
James Michael “Mike” Dale was born in Denison, Texas, on November 22, 1950, to Pauline and James Dale. Within a few months, Mike’s family moved to Long Beach, California. As a curious young child, Mike’s favorite question was always, “Why?” He spent hours watching snails crawl and fish swim, trying to discover the answers to his questions. Soon he began dissecting snails and frogs to study every part of their bodies. These discoveries gave him self-satisfaction and a love of science and of all living things (Dale, 2005). Mike grew up in Long Beach, where he graduated from high school with a university football scholarship.
His School Years
Mike used his love of living things to help people by becoming trained as an emergency medical technician. Upon completion of his training, he worked for two years as an EMT and received three citations for saving lives. Mike’s parents had recently become Seventh-day Adventists so Mike decided to attend Southwestern Adventist University (SWAU) in Keene, Texas. However, Uncle Sam interrupted his education with a stint in the military serving his country. Mike worked in the United States Army Medical Institute of Infectious Diseases and earned his degree in Respiratory and Cardiopulmonary Therapy from Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He worked for two years as the head of the Respiratory Therapy Department at the Long Beach Naval Regional Hospital. In this job he learned patience for those he led. He spent another year at Costa Mesa Community Hospital in California as the head of the Cardio Pulmonary/Respiratory Department (Dale, 2005). Heading back to SWAU Mike majored in Pre-Med. By this time a beautiful young lady, Linda Gillham, was attending SWAU after completing four years at Ozark Adventist Academy, in Gentry, Arkansas, and the Lord brought the two of them together. One year later, in 1978, they were married in the Gentry Seventh-day Adventist church. The wedding was Mike’s first introduction to Gentry and to Ozark Adventist Academy (Dale, 2015).
Years of Service
The Dales moved to Los Angeles, California, where their daughter, Michelle, was born in 1979. In 1980, the family moved to Texarkana, Texas, and Mike spent the next 26 years working either as a Science teacher or Principal in the Texas public school system, being awarded Teacher of the Year three times. During this time, their daughter, Andrea, was born in 1985 and Marianne in 1989. Mike also earned his Master’s in Education with emphasis in school law. Mike loved teaching and made learning fun for his students. He was involved in many extracurricular activities during his career including: National Honor Society, Key Club, Health Occupation Association, football coach and was also involved in planning curriculum for the district. He won the Texarkana Wilbur Award for Community Leadership and was on the Texas committee for writing science tests bank questions for the TAAS test (Dale, 2005). Mike also became involved in working for the church teaching Primary, Junior, and Teen Sabbath Schools, working with Pathfinders, and working at Camp Yorktown Bay several summers as Outpost Coordinator, Activities Director, or Camp Director. It was at Camp Yorktown Bay that Mike re-dedicated his life to Christ (Dale, 2015).
Years at Ozark Adventist Academy
The Dales became part of the Ozark Adventist Academy (OAA) family in July 2006, with Mike serving initially as Boy’s Dean and Science teacher. Two years later, and just two weeks before the start of the new school year in August of 2008, the conference president, Elder Stephen Orian, received a call from Mr. Perry Pollman, the OAA academy principal, who said he would be leaving OAA so that he could move to Colorado and tend to the needs of his father who was in serious declining health. Two weeks before the start of a new school year is not the time you want to begin a search for a new academy principal, but looking back it is very easy to see that God had already brought a new principal onto the campus to take Mr. Pollman’s place. Elder Orian called on Mr. Dale a couple days later at the Boys’ Dorm and asked him if he would be willing to step into the job of the Academy Principal. As they say, the rest is history. The leadership Mr. Dale provided then, and over the next 12 years as Principal, Development Director, and Recruiter, was what OAA needed. God blessed abundantly in countless ways Mike’s leadership and the impact he was able to have on the lives of the many students who made their way through the academy (Orian, 2020). In the spring of 2020, Mike was awarded the Excellence in Leadership award, the first to be given in the Southwestern Union.
His Final Days
In early December 2020, Mike tested positive for Covid-19 and ended up in the hospital. On December 20, 2020, at 70 years old, Mike passed away due to COVID-19 complications. To his wife, Linda, of 43 years, he was life itself. To his three daughters, he was a fun and caring dad, who loved them dearly (Dale, 2020). Recognized as a friend of students, a progressive administrator, and a treasured friend, Mike considered it a privilege and joy to spend his life in service to God and dedication to his family, to young people, and to Christian education.
Citations
Dale, Linda. (2015, May 13). Commissioning Biography.
Ibid. (2021, Jan. 12). Eulogy of Mike Dale.
Dale, Mike. (2005). Resume including Community Involvement, Biography, Philosophy of Teaching, and Personal Teaching Style attachments.
Orian, Stephen. (2021, Jan. 13). Memorial Service.
“U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012”; School Name: Liberty-Eylau High School; Year: 1995
How it all Began 