Reverend Calvin Runnels born on January 28, 1966 in Chicago, Illinois passed away on Wednesday, August 31, 2011. He was the youngest of nine children born to Reverend Willie and Estella Runnels. In 1991, he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Media Communications from Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. He also received a Master of Divinity from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois in 1995. He was a certified Supervisor with the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education. Calvin was the first African American Chaplain Supervisor in the Department of Chaplaincy and Pastoral Education at Wake Forest Baptist Health.
Calvin served as an Associate Minister at Emmanuel Baptist Church before becoming the sixth pastor at First Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, NC.
Calvin is survived by his wife, Pamela; son, Hasting; his parents, Reverend Willie and Estella; two sisters, Gail (John) and Diane (Frederick); four brothers, Larry (Purnella), Michael (Jenetta), Greg (Anita), and Cliff; and a host of nieces and nephews.
Memorial services will be held at 1pm Saturday, September 3, 2011 at Emmanuel Baptist Church with Reverend Dr. John Mendez officiating. The family visitation will be held from 12noon until 1pm on Saturday at the Church.
Funeral services will be held at 10am Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at New Zion City Baptist Church, Chicago, IL. Reverend Runnels will be laid to rest at Oakridge Cemetery, Hillside, IL.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Hasting Runnels Education Fund at Bank of America.