Huntington Station street renamed for Bishop Joseph Walter Usry

Town of Huntington officials on Friday renamed a Huntington Station street in memory of Joseph Walter Usry, a longtime pastor who was known to give selflessly to the community and used his ministry to improve the lives of others through service and donations.

From now on, the corner of 11th Avenue and Clifford Court — where Huntington Church of God in Christ was founded by Usry in 1962 — will have a street sign emblazoned with his name and title: Bishop Joseph Walter Usry Way.

Usry died March 10 at age 95, according to his son David Usry.

The bishop was recalled as a beloved spiritual leader and pillar of the Huntington Station community.

The dedication ceremony, in steamy temperatures under bright skies, drew members of the Usry family, including his widow, Doris Emma Usry, members of the church community and local leaders.

David Usry said in a phone interview afterward that it’s fitting that area of 11th Avenue should be named for his father. In the early 1960s, he said, his father purchased what is now 61 and 63 11th Ave., where a house and church sit respectively. Bishop Usry cleared the land and had a house built, but he built the church by hand.

“This corner is his anyway, but today was an honor to see his name up on that street sign on that corner,” his son said.

Guiding forces

The bishop was part of a cadre of ministers and religious leaders in Huntington who serve as guiding forces in their neighborhoods. Among them is the Rev. Bernadette Watkins, who also has a Huntington Station street named for her. 

Huntington Town Board member Dave Bennardo, who co-sponsored the legislation for the sign honoring Usry, said Watkins was key in pushing for renaming the street for the bishop.

Watkins recounted one time in the 1990s when she and Usry walked the streets of Huntington Station at midnight to talk to young people to offer them alternatives to street life and drug use.

“There were five other people besides us,” she said in a phone interview. “But once they started threatening us ... only he and I stayed, and one other person.”

She said that kind of dedication and bravery deserves recognition.

David Usry said his father’s deep faith was a hallmark of his life. He was a bishop in the Church of God in Christ, which is based in Memphis, Tennessee. It’s a Christian organization in the Holiness-Pentecostal tradition, according to its website. It is also the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States, the website said, and serves 112 countries across the world.

As a bishop, Joseph Walter Usry oversaw churches in other areas of the country and, at one time, churches in Bellport and Central Islip, his son said.

The bishop also helped to establish the careers of other faith leaders who went on to lead congregations of their own.

Watkins said there are many African American pastors who have served their communities with pride and dedication who deserve recognition.

“I thank God there is a street named after me,” Watkins said. “But there are some people that I feel who have done more or maybe different things, that also deserve credit.”

Reminders of good

After the honorary sign was unveiled, Bennardo, in a phone interview, said they are daily reminders of the good people do for the community.

“It leaves a burning light that every time you walk by or drive by and think of the person, you remember the values they had and it helps you be a little bit of a better person that day,” Bennardo said.

The legislation for the honorary sign was sponsored by Bennardo and Theresa Mari at the July 15 town board meeting and was approved 5-0.

David Usry said all the money raised through his father’s church went back to the community. Bishop Usry supported his family through ownership of a bus transportation company and later as owner of 12 ice cream trucks that also provided jobs to people in the community, his son said.

“This is dad’s legacy,” his son said. “This is dad’s influence on the neighborhood: He would feed the hungry if they needed it, give money for rent. He loved his community.”