Dale I. Royal was born in St. Paul, NM in
1929. His parents were John D. Royal and Edith Hulett Royal. The early years
were spent in the Dakotas where his grandparents lived on adjoining ranches. In
1937 the family moved to Lansing, MI.
In 1946 Dale joined the United States
Navy. Boot camp was completed at Great Lakes. He graduated from Yeoman School
at San Diego, CA in 1947. He served in San Francisco, did an 18 month tour on
Guam, and then was assigned to the W. A. Mann, AP-112. He was honorably
discharged in May of 1950.
In August of 1949 Dale and Elenora Roberts
were joined in marriage by J. Curtis Manor at the old Banghart Church of Christ
in Lansing MI, where Elenora's father later served as an elder for many years.
They have two children, Charles D. Royal and Deborah D. Royal Born. They also
have two grandchildren, Katherine and Rebecca.
Dale graduated from Florida Christian
College in 1953 with a major in Bible and a minor in Religious Education. While
in Visalia, CA, he graduated from College of the Sequoias majoring in the
Liberal Arts. While in Hawthorne, CA he attended Pepperdine University and
continued working in the field of speech and religious education. He graduated
from Eastern Michigan with a double bachelor (BA and BS) majoring in English
Language and Literature, and Speech and Drama. His master degree (MA) was in
Communications, after which he continued work in Educational Administration.
The first congregation where Dale preached
was with the Zephyr Hills, FL Church of
Christ while still a student at Florida Christian College in 1952. After
graduating from FCC with a major in Bible and a minor in Religious Education
(1953) he accepted the work with the Main Street Church of Christ in Kalamazoo,
MI. In 1954 he began work with the old Cross Street Church of Christ in
Ypsilanti, MI. Upon outgrowing the Cross Street building a new congregation was
established in Willow Run with blessings of the Cross Street elders. Bob Oliver
was selected to work with Cross Street congregation and Dale went with the new
congregation.
In 1957 he began preaching with the church
in Avon Park, FL. After five years in Avon Park, the work with the Noble Avenue
Church of Christ was accepted in Visalia, CA. Glenn Wallace was preaching with
the Central Church of Christ this time. In the mid-sixties a move was made to
Hawthorne CA, and later in the same decade he moved to Clifton AZ.
In 1970 Dale was invited to return to the
Cross Street congregation in Ypsilanti, MI. In 1974 the Ypsilanti School of
Preaching was established with Dale as the director. In 1979 the eldership of
the Eastside congregation (which is now at Pioneer and Bell) in Elk City, OK invited Dale to work with the
congregation there, where he continues today.
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