Rev. Dr. Jerry Dale Springston

Rev. Dr. Jerry Dale Springston, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, passed away peacefully on March 23, 2026, his 86th birthday, after an acute illness.

Jerry was born to Harley and Neva Springston, on March 23, 1940, in Denver, Colorado. He was the youngest of three, pesky little brother to Marcia Edwards and Cherie Hafer.

Jerry was a philomath. He loved to learn, read, and study. He graduated from South High School in Denver, Colorado. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota; his Masters of Divinity from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Kansas; and his Doctorate of Theology from Northern Seminary in Lyle, Illinois.

Jerry was a xenophile. He traveled extensively within and outside of the United States, traversing six continents and all 50 states. He especially loved road trips, racking up hundreds of thousands of miles on every vehicle he owned, primarily due to his propensity to “see where this road goes” or “take the scenic route.”

Jerry was a linguaphile. He loved words. His profession required him to be a great orator, but his passion for language made him a great storyteller. He was a polyglot, who learned seven languages in his lifetime, including Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Arabic, Swedish, Italian, and Tigrinya.

Jerry was an altruist who devoted his life to others. He was an inaugural member of the Peace Corps stationed in Eritrea, East Africa. He served the congregations of First Christian Church of Englewood, Colorado, Linwood Baptist Church, Linwood, Kansas, First Baptist Church, Charles City, Iowa, and First Baptist Church (Church on Northland) Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a combined 45 years. He retired in 2005. He spent the next 17 years serving as a minister-at-large for American Baptist Churches in Blue Hill, Maine; Grand Junction, Colorado; Fowler, New York; Spokane, Washington; Hornell, New York; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Roundup, Montana; Winnebago, Minnesota; Davenport, Iowa; and Marion, Iowa.

Jerry held numerous roles in nonprofit organizations, including President, Mid-American Baptist Churches; member of Rotary International (50 years), Club Secretary, Club President, Club Sponsor, and District Governor; Treasurer, Willis Dady Emergency Shelter; President, Linn County Corrections Chaplaincy; President, Linn County Association of Evangelicals; Member and President, Charles City Community School Board; Member, American Baptist Homes of the Midwest; and on-call chaplain, St. Luke’s Hospital.

Jerry is survived by his wife and best friend of 60 years, Therese “Terri” Coggins Springston; son, Troy Springston (Debbie Beuchat) of Farmington, New York ; daughter, Shannon Rosati (Rick) of Hopkins, Minnesota; his grandchildren: Aja Hughes (Patrick), Tabitha Wawrzyniak (Joe), Jacob Dedie, Claudia Dedie, Riley Rosati, Joshua Springston, Harley Rosati, Clarissa Springston, and Sydney Rosati; along with many cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

Visitation to be held on Thursday, May 14th 6 to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held on Friday, May 15th at 10:30 a.m. with luncheon to follow. Both events will be held at Cedar Hills Community Church. The funeral service will be livestreamed and can be viewed at the following link: www.youtube.com/cedarhillsCR

Memorial gifts can be made to Cedar Hills Community Church, or The Rotary Foundation.