De Wayne Eakes is a Wayne County native and grew up on a small tenant farm in the area between the Stoney Creek and Saulston Townships.  “De,” as he prefers to be called, was born to Patrick and Irene Faircloth Eakes April 15, 1947.

De attended Stoney Creek OFWB Church all of his childhood years and was greatly impacted by his “Father-in-the-Ministry,” the late Reverend Dr. Joseph Ingram. De made a profession of faith in Christ at age 15 and rededicated his life to God and God’s leadership at Cragmont Assembly at Black Mountain, NC in July of 1964. At age 17, De felt God’s call to the Gospel Ministry and after several months of struggle and discussions with his pastor, the calling was confirmed and announced to Stoney Creek Church. After examination for license to preach by the Western Conference Board of Ordination, Stoney Creek granted him a license on June 21, 1964. De was examined for ordination by the Western Conference and ordained October 15, 1965 at age 18.

De attended and was graduated from Belfast Elementary School (grades 1-8) in Wayne County and from Charles B. Aycock High School, Pikeville, NC in 1965. He received the Associate in Arts degree from Mount Olive College in 1967 and the Bachelor of Arts degree from Atlantic Christian College (now Barton) Wilson, NC in 1969. He earned the Master of Divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, NC in 1976 and the Doctor of Ministry from the same institution in 1990. De has three units of Clinical Pastoral Education, including an internship in Pastoral Care from Pitt County Memorial Hospital, Greenville, NC. He has done post-doctoral work at East Carolina University in the Marriage and Family Therapy program and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist through the State of North Carolina.

De’s pastoral work began with the Home Mission Board serving as interim pastor at Hillsberry Mission, Clinton, NC for eight months. During his last three years in college De served Rooty Branch Church at Summerlin’s Crossroads in Duplin County and Casey’s Chapel at Elroy, near Goldsboro. On July 1, 1969, Little Rock OFWB Church, Lucama, NC extended a call to De to become their pastor. De and Carolyn moved to Lucama and have remained at this church completing forty years there in June of 2009.

De is married to his high school sweetheart, Carolyn Sullivan Eakes, and they will be celebrating forty-three years of marriage in August. They have a son Kevin Wayne Eakes, who just earned his Doctor of Philosophy from Auburn University in Alabama in May of 2009. Kevin resides and teaches in Charleston, SC.