Larry Jewell lost his father at age thirteen, and his world fell apart. He became a wild, unrestrained young man. However, nine days before his twenty-first birthday, he experienced a life-changing moment. God forgave his sinful life and was beginning to transform him.
The new young man wanted to tell others that God could change their lives too. Although he had a limited education, he followed a designated course of study. This eventually qualified him to be ordained at the elder level as a pastor in the Free Methodist Church, which he served for twenty-two years.
Any truly effective pastor has a dedicated wife supporting him. Mary King's personal characteristics and her background were different from Larry's. Their formula to seek God's guidance for their lives is one we all should follow.
His turbulent teenage years gave him an intense desire to help young men. As he showed them how to build and fly model planes, he shared with them Christian principles for building good lives.
Pastor Larry and his family experienced a tragic loss a few days before a family wedding. Only God's grace carried them through his period.
In 1944, he moved his family into a remodeled 140-year-old log home. Then he began serving United Methodist churches mainly in that area. His twenty-one years in this ministry were terminated by cancer. On February 14, 1965, Larry died.