Thomas Bennett and Doris Harvey Dickerson were missionaries for 39 years in Thailand. The American Baptist Foreign Mission Society appointed them on May 24, 1954. They served the Karen people in Northern Thailand, focusing on leadership training, spiritual growth, self-reliance, development, and education.

Thomas grew up in Pennsylvania and graduated from Pennsylvania State University with an emphasis in forestry engineering. He received a seminary degree from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and a master’s degree from Cornell University in the area of rural sociology.

As a youth, Doris dedicated herself to missions. She graduated as a history major from Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. At Eastern University in Wayne, Pennsylvania, she earned her master’s degree in religious education.

In 1955, they traveled to Thailand and began working with the Karens. They supervised construction of village schools, church-run hostels, and taught Bible education at the Center for the Uplift of Hill Tribes. Doris assisted in the development of the Thai Tribal Crafts. Thomas directed the relocation of the Kwai River Christian Mission and built a water system for a village. He also worked with a Karen pastor and a Karen evangelist to reach the Talekon, a religious group of Karen. They retired in November 1993.

Adapted from “A Resolution of Appreciation on the Retirement of T. Bennett and Doris Dickerson” November 1993, located in box 1, folder 1.