Reverend Melvin ‘Mel’ Ray Springfield Obituary – SEPT. 14, 2021

Melvin Springfield of Henderson passed away Tuesday morning, Sept. 14, 2021 at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital. The family received friends for visitation from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 17, at Shackelford Funeral Directors – Crook Avenue Chapel. The funeral service was at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, at Shackelford Funeral Directors – Crook Avenue Chapel with Rev. Harold Jaco and Rev. Stephanie Colegrove officiating. Burial followed in the Henderson City Cemetery.
He was born and reared in Twin Falls, Idaho, the son of the late George Thomas and Dorothy Maxine Fuller Springfield. He graduated from Benson Polytechnic High School in Portland, Ore., in 1961 and from Conquerors Bible College in 1964. After graduation, he served as a youth minister and local fireman in Albany, Ore. He later moved to Canada and served as an assistant pastor in both Toronto and Brockville, Ontario. He also taught at a Bible College in Picton, Ontario.
In 1966, he married Kay Bell from Henderson, and they made their first homes in Brockville, Picton, and Belleville, Ontario, Canada where they pastored and assisted in several churches. They moved to Dearborn Heights, Mich., where they started a brand new church, Christian Life Center, and pastored in that area for 26 years from 1971 to 1997. During that time, he served as Secretary for the Board of the Division of Christian Education within the United Pentecostal Church, International for 17 years.
They “retired” and moved to Chandler, Ari., but continued to serve in ministry at The River of Life Church in Phoenix and later had a small home-based church, The World Impact Praise Center, where they continued to minister and enjoy Bible study groups. While in the Phoenix area, he also worked at US Airways when he suffered his first stroke in 2004. He was later honored by the Mayor of the City of Tempe as “Employee of the Year” for his outstanding determination to recover and remain active in spite of his disabilities. In 2011, they moved to Henderson to be near Kay’s relatives and remained there until his passing.
He is survived by his wife, Marilyn Kay Bell Springfield; daughter, Stephanie (Harold) Colegrove of Romulus, Mich.; two grandchildren, Jonathan (fiancée, Emma Hernandez) Colegrove and Zoe also of Romulus, Mich.; three brothers-in-law, Eric, Dave and Frank Bell, and their spouses; and 10 nieces and nephews (plus one deceased).
He was preceded in death by his parents and his only sibling, William Springfield.