Dr. Melvina Ruffin

Dr. Melvina Phillips-Ruffin was born December 12, 1926, in Mooringsport, Louisiana.  She was the 13th child born to Sam Phillips and Mary Liza Davis Phillips.  Born with an undiagnosed illness she was not expected to live more than a few weeks, but God had other plans. At the age of three, she experienced an unimaginable tragedy when her mother died suddenly at the age of forty-two, just three months after giving birth to her 14th a child. Growing up in the Jim Crow south, the only option for education was a segregated school that stopped at the seventh grade; nevertheless, her desire for learning was so strong that she completed the sequence twice. As a young woman she was a faithful member of St. John Baptist Church where the name of her father, Sam Phillips, and her paternal grandmother Charity Phillips, are inscribed on the cornerstone.

In 1944, she married Howard Ruffin and soon became a mother of two children, born eighteen months apart; Patricia Ann and Howard Jr. However, two years later, her oldest sister, Cornelia sent their cousin Walter Phillips to rescue her from a meager existence on the backside of the Phillip farm. Determined to find a better life, she placed her few belongings and two children in the back of his car and journeyed until she arrived in Kansas City, Missouri in the fall of 1946. She found work at AAA Laundry folding clothes, but it required her to leave her babies at home unattended, so every break she would run 3-4 blocks to check on them until this became an unbearable situation. As a faithful new member of Spruce Missionary Baptist Church, she found the courage to believe in the infinite possibilities of a brighter future and eventually enrolled in the Madame C. J. Walker Beauty School. She graduated in 1952, just a few months before giving birth to her third child, Clyde, and became a pioneering entrepreneur when she opened “Melvina’s Beauty Shop”, which was a successful business for nearly forty years. In 1957, she joined Deliverance Temple Church of God In Christ under the leadership of the late Elder Wilbur Smith, where she was dedicated to working with the youth as a licensed Missionary and district Youth Leader, in collaboration with the late Elder A. L. Scott.

Determined to complete the education that she had been denied as a child, she enrolled in adult evening classes at Central High School in 1966 and received her diploma four years later. Her commitment to continuing her education was exemplary: AA degree, Calvary Bible College 1978, BA degree, Mid-America Nazarene College 1987, MA and PhD, Heart of America Christian College and Theological Seminary 1990, Doctorate of Pastoral Theology, Faith Bible College 1993 and in 1994 she was certified in “Street Psychology” by the Midwest Christian Counseling Center. As a Professor of Theology, Dr. Melvina Ruffin instructed many of the most prominent spiritual leaders in the Kansas City area.  Although she was known for having an iron fist in a velvet glove regarding Biblical scholarship, her students have stated that she was also able to nurture, inspire and empower the total person.

In addition to being a gifted educator, she was a woman of many talents: an excellent cook known for her signature macaroni and cheese, hot water cornbread and “whatever” soup; a seamstress, milliner, sketch artist, dancer, singer, and gardener, which was her greatest passion. Her ability to “grow things” was visible by the apple tree in her front yard, berries and onions by the front yard fence, squash and peppers along the sidewalk, volunteer watermelons outside the backdoor, okra, tomatoes, greens, and strawberries in the backyard.

Known for having a “sharp” mind, “quick” wit, “hilarious” conversation, “fun-loving” spirit and a “tell it like it is” attitude, she filled the world with joy that enriched the lives of everyone who was blessed to be in her presence. For this reason, all generations of our family as well as people from all walks of life called her Viney or simply, “Nadear.” In 1971, Dr. Melvina Ruffin was obedient when she recognized that God was calling her to transition into full time ministry. In partnership with the late, Sis. Hattie D. Lloyd, they founded Miracle Temple Christian Center where she served faithfully as the Senior Pastor—preaching, teaching, praying, counseling, loving, and having “church” for 52 years until February 25, 2023, when the Lord said;

“Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of thy lord.” Dr. Melvina Ruffin was preceded in death by her husband of 67 years, Howard Ruffin Sr. leaving to mourn the remaining four generations of our family: three children, Patricia Ann Donnell, Howard [Delores] Ruffin and Clyde [Sheila] Ruffin; twelve grandchildren, twenty great grandchildren and six great-great grandchildren.