Royal Elmer Speidel

Royal Elmer Speidel, age 87, of Jefferson City, Mo., a former resident of Bolingbrook, Il. passed away Sunday, July 21, 2024, at River City Living Community surrounded by his family.

He was born October 26, 1936, in Wishek, North Dakota, the son of Gottlieb and Maria “Mary” Magdalena (Elhard) Speidel. Raised by simple people of faith, Royal made the decision to become a pastor in the sixth grade. He attended and graduated from Wishek High School and continued his education at Westmar College in Lamars, Iowa, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree with a focus in math and science.

After graduation, Royal taught biology, junior high math, and science, and coached men's baseball, basketball, and assisted with football in Clara City, Minnesota for one year. He then attended Evangelical Theological Seminary in Naperville, Illinois, where he earned his Master of Divinity Degree. During his time there, he began his formal ministry at a small country church, Deer Park Community Church, in Ottawa, Illinois. He then pursued a Master's Degree in Sacred Theology through Biblical and Union Theological Seminaries in New York City, where he met his future wife, Lorrita “Rita” Smith. They were married in 1963.

Royal had been granted a five-year Indentured Servant Grant to serve in ministry for the Evangelical United Brethren Church of North Dakota, so he and his new bride settled in Bowbells, North Dakota after their wedding. There, Royal served three small congregations in this farming community just south of the Canadian border for five years. It is also here where he and Rita started their family in 1965 with the birth of their first child, Paul.

Royal then moved his family back to the Chicago area, serving Trinity Methodist Church in Lindenhurst, Illinois for six years. There they were blessed with a daughter, Sonja, in 1969. Royal’s growing reputation and successful ministry next led to his appointment to the famous downtown church, The First United Methodist Church of Chicago (The Chicago Temple) for 13 more years. There, he led the implementation of D. James Kennedy's Evangelism Explosion throughout the city. In 1979, he received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Bethany Theological Seminary in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Following his time in Chicago, Royal was appointed to Friendship United Methodist Church in Bolingbrook, Illinois, where he served for another 14 years. He grew the congregation from 180 to 330 in worship and helped seed a new congregation in Bolingbrook by giving up 25 members. Royal and Rita retired from full-time ministry in October 2001 after 38 years together.

Sadly, Royal lost his wife Rita to cancer in February of 2002. However, he continued to serve as a minister-at-large for his local church conference. In the summer of 2003, he was appointed to the national position of Distinguished Evangelist in Residence for the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church. His work included representing the Foundation for Evangelism, traveling across America to conduct workshops on evangelism and church growth. During this period, he was invited to First United Methodist Church in Jefferson City, where he was blessed to meet Evelyn Watson. They married in November 2004, at which time Royal lovingly and graciously accepted Evelyn’s two children (Laurie, Donnie), their spouses (Jerry, Chantelle) and grandchildren.

Royal and Evelyn lived in Bolingbrook, Illinois, where they began their ministry together, continuing with the General Board and Foundation. In early 2005, they served as interim pastors at Hope United Methodist Church in Joliet, Illinois. They also worked with the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church, implementing Natural Church Development and consulting with churches to encourage growth.

After retiring from this work, they moved to Missouri in 2009 and began working with the Missouri United Methodist Conference, where Royal worked extensively as a church consultant with the Center for Congregational Excellence on the Small Church Initiative. After five years of traveling throughout the state coaching churches and pastors in church growth Royal retired again but was called out in October 2014 to serve as the pastor of Russellville United Methodist Church in Russellville, Missouri. There, he and Evelyn doubled the worship attendance. Royal ended his pastoral ministry just like he started: serving a small-town country church, very much like the one he came to faith in as a child. His final retirement came in October 2017.

  Royal authored numerous articles, in addition to three books: “Evangelism in the Small Membership Church,” “100 Days of Hope,” and “The Amazing Gift of Prayer.”

Royal was an avid reader who enjoyed music and took great pride in maintaining his lawn. He had a special fondness for pruning roses. A fierce competitor by nature, he especially relished card games. Above all, he cherished family get-togethers with his grandchildren, creating countless everlasting memories with them.

Royal had a pastor’s heart, always on call and ready to help anyone in need—Royal loved people. Generous and giving in spirit, he embraced everyone with an accepting heart. As a believer in Jesus for over 80 years, his thankful demeanor reflected his deep faith. Royal consistently expressed gratitude to those who enriched his life, his heart brimming with appreciation.

He is survived by his wife Evelyn of the home; son, Paul Speidel (JoAnn); daughter Sonja (Speidel) Greiwe (David); five grandchildren; David Speidel, Nate Greiwe (Kathleen); Daniel Greiwe (Olivia), Charis Greiwe, and Ben Greiwe; four great grandchildren; stepdaughter, Laurie Koestner (Jerry); stepson, Donnie Watson (Chantele); eight step-grandchildren; and five step-great- grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his first wife Lorrita; his parents Gottlieb and Maria Speidel; two brothers, Lawrence and Walter Speidel; and one sister, Iona Bauer (Norm).

Visitation will be held at First United Methodist Church in Jefferson City, Mo. from 11:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. Saturday, July 27, 2024, with his funeral service following at 12:00 p.m. with the Reverend Trevor Dancer officiating.

Another visitation will be held at Friendship United Methodist Church in Bolingbrook, Il. from 3:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Sunday, July 28, 2024, with a funeral service following at 4:00 p.m. with the Reverend Anna Shin officiating.

Royal will be laid to rest in Hillcrest Cemetery in Bolingbrook, Il.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Royal and Rita Speidel Endowed Scholarship. Please make donations to Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Atten: Development Office, 2121 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Il 60201 and write in the memo line, Royal and Rita Speidel Endowed Scholarship.

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