Arthur L. Spafford Jr.

Arthur L. Spafford Jr.

6 April 1926 - 2 July 2020
Conference Cane: 2014
Age at death: 94 years, 2 months


Arthur L. Spafford

Born April 6, 1926. Served: 1949 Dayton, OH: Zion; 1951 Caro Circuit; 1954 Grand Rapids: Hope; 1956 Vicksburg; 1965 Sebewaing: Trinity; 1968 Dearborn: Good Shepherd; 1974 Ferndale: First; 1983 Farmington: First; 1991 Retired; 1992-1999 Northville: First. Died July 2, 2020.

Arthur graduated from Otterbein College in 1948 and from United Theological Seminary in 1951. He was ordained in Grand Rapids at the uniting session of the Michigan Conference of the Evangelical United Brethren Church. He inspired and encouraged many people for the Lord in the churches that he faithfully served. One of his great gifts was his voice – a deep and resonant bass often featured in his church choirs and as a soloist. On his retirement in 1991, close friend Rev. Al Bamsey highlighted aspects of his character that he admired: steadiness, calmness, a man of principle, great companion, humility, and one who is never loath to tell a story!

He married Frieda Johnson in August of 1948. They have three children: Barbara, Robert, and Thomas. Frieda passed away in 2005. He remarried at age 89 after reconnecting with Lois Sommer at their 65th Otterbein College reunion. They shared several happy years together, moving to the United Methodist Retirement Community in Chelsea in 2019. In January of 2015, he was awarded the Conference Cane, held by the oldest ordained clergy person with at least 35 active years of service in the Detroit Conference of The United Methodist Church. He will be lovingly missed by all his family and friends.

- Detroit Annual Conference minutes of 2021, p. 285

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