Rev. Ozie G. Wattleton, after years of traveling in the ministry and leaving the East Atlanta Church of God as founding pastor, has returned to the Farmhaven community in East Madison County where her life began.
The 92-year-old minister, not only returned, but she has recently built a house on her part of the family property. “This house is on the homestead of the Garrett estate,” she said. “I was born on this spot where this house is built. So, I’ve returned to my roots after a circle of 76 years. I left Mississippi when I was 16.”
She is the eldest daughter of the late Rev. Eugene and Ola Brown Garrett.
The Garrett family and friends recently gathered at Rev. Wattleton’s new home for a house blessing celebration. “Oh, it was like a family reunion here,” she said.
When asked why she returned home after being away for so many years, she said, “Having traveled as an evangelist, living out of hotels, homes, out of boxes, bags, suitcases … having been in the ministry – this year 2008 – 75 years, I was tired. I wanted some place to rest and relax after retiring.”
Relatives suggested she try assistant living in Atlanta or Jackson, but she said she wanted to put a house on her “land,” and she did.
The house is a well-designed three-bedroom, brick structure with a ranch-style porch, situated on a homestead, semi-shaded by some of the very pecan trees that her father planted when she was growing up there.
The still active minister can study the Word, relax, garden a little bit or even cook her favorite meals. Not only that, she can worship and preach – if called on – at her old home church, Crossroads Church of God, which is adjacent to the Mississippi Church of God Camp Ground, near her home.
When asked to respond to those who are critical of women preachers, she said: “I’ve told the women down across the years – ‘if God told you to preach, for God sake, preach!’ I never had any problems. When they told me I couldn’t go in the pulpit, I’d preached from the floor. I knew that whenever I spoke, God’s hands were on me.
Rev. Wattleton began her walk in the ministry of the Gospel in Columbus, Ohio. “I preached my first sermon in 1933,” she said. In her ministry, she has also served as a pioneer evangelist and church planter, helping to establish churches under the auspices of the Church of God (Anderson, Ind.).
Her ministerial travels have taken her from coast to coast.
The widow of George Wattleton, she has positively impacted many lives, including many of her relatives. A lot of them look up to her with great admiration. “When we were children, we would play a game called, ‘Who’s Going to Heaven When They Die.’ Our Aunt Ozie would always top our lists,” said Minnie Garrett, managing editor of The Mississippi Link newspaper. She said Rev. Wattleton still tops their list today.
“We consider it an honor and a blessing to have her back home and in good health in mind, body and soul,” Garrett said.
Not only has she impacted lives, her zeal to serve God and share His goodness has also resulted in some great friendships.
One such friendship developed during her pastorate in Washington Court House, Ohio, where she met Rev. Jerri Bomgardner in 1963, who retired after serving as pastor there for 39 years and as an educator for 25 years.
“Forty-five years ago, when I met her [Rev. Wattleton], the Lord told me to help her,” said Rev. Bomgardner.
She is living up to that promise today. She resides with the 92-year-old Farmhaven native and has adjusted to her new environment. Rev. Bomgardner said she had already decided that when she retired, she would move to Mississippi, where she has a brother who lives in Brandon. Therefore, everything worked out.
Both friends ended up in Mississippi together.
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