Diane L Dale best known as Rev Dee Dale

Diane L. Dale, known to all as Rev. Dee Dale, died peacefully on October 20, 2026, in Denver, Colorado, after a lengthy illness. She was 80 years old. She was born on September 30, 1946, in Lubbock, Texas to George and Kay Dale, who preceded her in death. She was married to Julia Ries Dale for 27 years before Judy passed in 2014. She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Debby and Ray Price, her nephews Ben Price and his wife Heather, Chad Price and his wife BeLinda, and five nieces, Claire, Lily and Noelle Price (Ben) and Cori and Mistie Price (Chad).

Rev. Dee Dale was a graduate of Boyce Bible College and was a beloved Senior Pastor at the Metropolitan Community Church in Louisville, Kentucky for 28 years. At the time of her retirement in 2011, she was one of the five longest serving pastors serving in the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches denomination.

Rev. Dee was active in numerous community organizations, which included memberships in the Interfaith Council on Domestic Violence, AIDS Interfaith Ministry, Religious Leaders for Fairness Coordinating Council, and Highlands Community Ministries. She was Vice President of Church Women United. She fostered interdenominational relationships in the Louisville community and was respected by other pastors and members of other churches as they worked together for the good of the community.

Rev. Dee was a member of the founding Board of the Community Health Trust which was formed as a response to the health needs of the community just as the AIDS epidemic began. She served on this board for 11 years, the last four as President. Under her leadership the first Glade House was purchased and opened as a residence for people living with HIV who needed a place to live. On December 10, 1993, the city of Louisville officially recognized her contributions with a formal “Rev. Dee Dale Day.” Upon her retirement in 2011, the Governor of Kentucky personally congratulated her for advancing health, civil rights, housing, and spiritual causes. The Governor also commended her for her significant contributions to Kentucky and for her enduring leadership and dedication.

During the years of the AIDS epidemic, she was the only clergyperson in the Kentuckiana area who would conduct funerals for both men and women who had died of AIDS. She would travel throughout the area because local pastors refused to officiate. Some weeks, she performed one or more funerals per day. She worked diligently to secure a few funeral homes willing to embalm and hold viewings for people who had died of AIDS. When families couldn’t afford to use space at the funeral homes, her church opened its doors for the viewing and funeral free of charge. She fought in Frankfort and won the right for nursing homes to accept people with AIDS. Under her leadership, MCC Louisville raised the money for funerals and burials for people who died of AIDS.

Rev. Dee helped train thousands of caregivers, medical personnel and funeral home employees to better understand and care for individuals who were ill with AIDS. Also, during her leadership, Community Health Trust and MCC Louisville sponsored numerous support groups for people living with HIV and their family members and caregivers to address medical issues, spiritual needs and emotional needs.

She was a dedicated activist through the years, lobbying for justice and human rights causes, not only in Louisville and Frankfort, but also on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. She participated in the Human Rights Campaign’s Clergy Calls in 2007 and 2009, a lobbying event that featured clergy participants from almost every state.

Denominationally, Rev. Dee was a Supervising Pastor and the mentor and teacher for over a dozen students and Clergy Candidates. She served as Assistant District Coordinator of the Great Lakes District and on the District Committee. In addition, she served on the District Clergy Review Committee and for 10 years as the Chair of the District Board of Ordained Ministry. Rev. Dee presented at District conferences and at the biennial World Jubilee and at global General Conferences for UFMCC. She frequently led Spiritual Renewals in various MCC churches across North America.

She was a friendly, compassionate and knowledgeable woman who was respected by her colleagues, cherished by her church members and dearly loved by her family. She was humorous, playful and loved celebrating others’ birthdays by singing happy birthday to them. She loved the holidays and would have large displays of blowup figures in her yard at Christmas time that many from the Louisville community enjoyed driving by to see each year. She made sure that MCC Louisville was a place where all felt accepted and knew that they were loved by God and the church community. There was always a place for people to belong and serve God and others at MCCL. She has been and will be greatly missed by her family and friends.

There will be a Celebration of Life Service at the MCC Louisville church in Louisville, KY at a date to be announced soon and she will be laid to rest with Judy at Elmwood Cemetery in the Wessendorf Family Mausoleum in Memphis, TN.

Gifts or donations in memory of Rev. Dee can be sent to the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, the church she pastored, MCC Louisville, or to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD).