Lyonel M. Watkins Jr., a pastor, died May 1. He was 86.
Lyonel was born December 13, 1936, in Clawson, Michigan, to Lyonel and Helen Watkins. Due to difficult circumstances in their family at the time and it being in the middle of the Great Depression, the doctor suggested she abort the baby. Lyonel later wrote an article about that titled “If My Mother Had Believed in . . . ,” published by Regular Baptist Press.
Lyonel graduated from Detroit Bible Institute in 1960, Pillsbury Baptist Bible College in 1971, and Northland Baptist Bible College in 1992.
Over 44 years of full-time ministry, he pastored several churches throughout the Midwest, including Calvary Baptist Church, Chatfield, Minnesota, and Faith Baptist Church (now Grace Fellowship Church), Mattoon, Illinois. In retirement, he continued ministering through interim opportunities and filling pulpits for another 12 or so years.
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Margaret “Peggy”; two sons, Kelly and Kerry (HR director and head of operations for Regular Baptist Ministries); eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
