Roy Franklin Lewis

Roy F. Lewis was born on July 26, 1932, in Orlando, Florida, and passed away on April 7, 2018, in Springfield, Missouri, at the age of 85 years. He had been living in Springfield at Ravenwood Assisted Living and was a member of Springfield First Baptist Church, where he served as an assistant and substitute Sunday School teacher, plus numerous other speaking invitations. Roy was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters: Clois Yates and Jewel Branham; a brother: Kermit; and two sons: Ricky and Steven. He is survived by his wife, Betty, after 66 years of marriage; and one son: David of Salem, Oregon; and six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Roy served in the US Navy for three years, including one year attached to the First Marine Division in Korea in 1952-1953. After serving in the frontline combat, he was awarded a citation for helping the South Korean policy identify and arrest a group of drug dealers in Inchon, Korea. Following his discharge from the Navy, he attended college in Orlando and Jacksonville, Florida, and worked as an accountant and office manager. He entered the gospel ministry in 1955 and in 1958, and graduated from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana. In the following years, he served as pastor of seven churches in Ohio, Georgia, and Arkansas; as a staff member of the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board in Atlanta, Georgia, for eight years; and as Associated Executive Secretary of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention for eight years. He also served as Interim Executive Director of the Arkansas Baptist Foundation and as Interim Associational Missions Director of Central Baptist Association in Arkansas, and as interim pastor of more than a dozen churches, some of them twice. Roy loved to boat, and learned to water ski after the age of 40; he took his family camping all over the United States and Mexico. For five years, he and his wife owned and operated a very successful florist business in Little Rock, Arkansas. A memorial service with full military honors will be held on Tuesday, April 10, 2018, at 3:00 PM at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery, Springfield, Missouri.