Funeral service for Mike Spain, 57, of Opelika, is Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005, at 11 a.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church. Burial is in Fort Mitchell National Cemetery. The Revs. Mike Roberts and Earl Ballard are officiating. Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. today at Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home. Mr. Spain, who died Monday, Sept. 26, 2005, at East Alabama Medical Center, was born Sept. 7, 1948, in Lauderdale County, AL.
If you are reading this in the obituaries, then the report of Mike Spain's death was evidently not exaggerated as in the case of Mark Twain. Nor was his death unexpected. Two years ago, he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, so Mike has had a while to think about this and to prepare. He thought about what will leave behind here on earth.
Mike has been blessed with a beautiful and loving wife for 35 years. Mike's marriage to Linda (Jackson) Spain has truly been one of those in which two people became one. Mike is also leaving behind two wonderful and loving children, Rachel Spain, of Lexington, Ky, and Jackson Spain and his wife, Holly Garner Spain, of Franklin, Tenn. He was very proud of all three of them. Mike's father, James M. Spain, and his stepmother, Jane Reding Spain, loved and supported Mike and Linda through their time of doctor's visits and hospital stays. His sister, Susan Lathem (Dennis), and his brother, Don (Marsha), and eight nieces and nephews have also been wonderful.
Having taught for 32 years in the Opelika City School System, Mike has also left behind here on earth some of the best friends and coworkers that anyone has ever had. The students, teachers and administrators of the Opelika school system have been like a second family. It has been gratifying to Mike to see students become the judges in our community and the secretaries and teachers and administrators in our schools. If a dollar value could be placed on family ties, friendship and fulfillment on the job, then Mike died far and away the wealthiest man in the world.
Mike did not die a fearless man, though. Though he had spent more than a year in Vietnam, Mike learned a new meaning of the word fear with the diagnosis of cancer in his brain. Fear, in fact, became a tangible companion. However, Mike left this world not fearless but holding on to his faith that God, who had never let him down, would not fail him or his family now. He had faith that salvation from sin and death was a permanent theme, not just an Easter theme. He had faith that God, through His Holy Spirit, would draw all his family and friends ever closer to Jesus. Mike's faith, as well as Linda's, has been bolstered by all prayers lifted-up on our behalf by our brothers and sisters in Christ at Trinity United Methodist Church and at many other churches in our community.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation to one of the following: Trinity United Methodist Church Mission Fund for Kenya Highlands Bible College Students, 800 Second Ave., Opelika, AL 36801, or The Spain Family Scholarship Fund, in care of Auburn Bank of Opelika. Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home is directing.
Updated:26 August 2024
Curator: Ed Moore