Mildred Grace Trevolt was born April 17, 1931 in Montreal, Canada to James and Ruth Dawber. Her father was a young man when he came to know the Lord in Liverpool, England. He moved to Canada where he met Ruth. God had called him to be a Gospel preacher. After Grace was born, he was asked to come to El Paso, TX to work with another man in Gospel outreach. They moved to the United States when Grace was 5. After a few years there, they moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. They eventually settled in Kansas City, Kansas.
Her father would spend much time preaching during the summer. Because of her mother's health problems, she would spend time with the Brown family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This was a dear and precious family that her father had met while preaching. While there she would also spend time with Mr. and Mrs. Jay Walden at the Christian orphanage in Colorado Springs. They were very kind to Grace and loved her like one of their own. She developed a great love for the Colorado mountains and the blue skies. She would often tell her children on a beautiful day that the sky was a “Colorado Blue”. As a side note, her family would often say that she had half of Colorado in the garage because she would always pick up rocks whenever the family would take a trip to Colorado.
She remembers hearing the beautiful news of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ ever since she was a small child. There came a day in her youth that she realized that she was a lost sinner and came to know the Lord as her Savior. She was so afraid of spending a lost eternity in hell. She knew that the Lord Jesus had died on the cross for her sins and she believed that that was done for her. She would often say that as a child, she was "scared into heaven". In her life, no one ever doubted that Grace knew the Lord intimately. Her life manifested her love for her Savior.
She attended Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kansas. However, because of her mother's epilepsy she had to leave school at 16 to care for her. Also, at that time, there was a new precious addition to the family. Her brother, Jimmy, was born when mom was 16. Mom would take care of her mother and help take care of her little brother.
By this time, her father was now working for Intercollegiate Press. This was a company that published school announcements, school yearbooks and other printed material across the United States. Grace become a very talented artist. The family have portraits of various family members that she had drawn. Grace had also developed a very unique talent drawing detailed buildings. When she was in her early twenties she was also hired by Intercollegiate Press to draw school buildings for yearbooks and announcements. What was so unique is that she had to draw these buildings at the size they would be on the announcement or in the yearbook. There were no computer graphics. She had to draw the pictures to scale. To make it even more difficult she could not do this with pen or paper. On little metal plates no bigger, than 3" x 4”, she would take a small metal pin and etch the drawing on the metal plate with a large magnifying glass. The drawings were immaculate down to the individual blades of grass.
In 1953, through a friend, she met a young man that was just returning home from the Navy. They dated and fell in love. But, there was a problem. Keith did not know the Lord at that time. He was a good man, but he was not saved. Her father advised her that this would not be a wise choice because he was not saved. Grace knew this, but she loved Keith. When they went to the minister for premarital counseling, Grace did not tell Keith that the minister was going to give him the gospel. He wasn't very pleased. However, that was soon to change.
Grace married the love of her life, Norman Keith Trevolt on May 16, 1954. Shortly after they had been married there was an event that occurred that changed their lives. One night, Keith could not sleep and was troubled. He was very anxious and concerned but was not sure what he was concerned about. After several hours of restlessness, Grace calmly and quietly asked him if he wanted to get saved. He emotionally exclaimed, "that's it!". He immediately knelt on the floor and asked the Lord to save him. That changed their lives forever. They faithfully and joyously served the Lord Jesus Christ for 59 years together before the Lord called Keith home. In her later years she would repeat that story often. It was on that night that their life was changed for eternity. Even though she would have problems with early dementia, she never forgot that story. When she would tell her children the story her face always beamed, and she always had a big smile.
In 1955 they had a son, Keith II and in 1957 they had a daughter, Kathy. She devoted her life to serving her husband and children. After they had grown and left the home she enjoyed working with her husband. Keith had been with an advertising agency called "The Shopper" and eventually had his own business "Keith Trevolt Sales". In both of those businesses, Grace would work side-by-side with him when she wasn't serving people in her home.
She was the perfect hostess and always made sure her family and friends were well taken care of; her family often joked that she basically ran a bed and breakfast. Grace was constantly serving others, whether with a well-cooked meal or a much-needed piece of advice. She always wanted to make sure that anyone who came in their home was welcomed as family.
Grace and Keith attended the Bible Chapel at Shawnee. They both loved and relished the time with the saints there. Both would oftentimes mention how thankful they were to the Lord for those precious believers meeting at the Bible Chapel. When it came time for them to move to Wichita, they were emotionally torn. They knew that they would be with their children, but they did not want to leave their family at the Bible Chapel.
It became apparent, because of health concerns, that they needed to move to Wichita to be cared for by their children. In 2011 they left their home in Kansas City, where they had met, built a home (that they lived in for over 50 years) and raised a family. Grace loved being with her children, grandchildren and her great-grandchildren. She would ask almost every day if the grandchildren or great-grandchildren were coming over. She loved to be with her family.
After Keith went home to be with the Lord, there was a particular topic that she would often repeat. She was always looking for the coming of the Lord. She would say, "today could be the day that the Lord will come". She was always excited to talk about that. Near the end, due to serious health problems, she would quietly say "I wish the Lord would call me home". On December 6, 2017, early in the morning, her precious Lord and Savior called her home. She is looking on the face of the Lord Jesus Christ who loved her and gave Himself for her. She is also with Keith and they will never be separated again. Keith wrote in one of his anniversary cards to her, "Happy anniversary! It's wonderful to know we will spend an eternity together!"
“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”
Revelation 14:13
Grace was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Norman Keith Trevolt; her brother, Brian Dawber; her granddaughter, Michelle Trevolt; and her niece, Jenny Freeman.
Grace is survived by her son, Keith Trevolt and his wife Becky of Andover, Kansas; daughter, Kathy Trevolt of Andover, Kansas; her grandchildren, Rachel Peay and her husband Eddie of Andover, Kansas, Amy Morrison and her husband Josh, of Valley Center, Kansas, and Keith Trevolt, III of Andover, Kansas; her four great-grandchildren, Kaden, Darian, and Jordan Peay and Henry Morrison; her brother, James Dawber and his wife Karen of Lawrence, Kansas; as well as three nephews, two nieces and other relatives and friends.
Mildred Grace Trevolt, 86, of Andover, Kansas, passed away December 6, 2017. Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m., Saturday, December 16, 2017, with visitation time from 12:30-2:00 p.m. at Chapel Hill – Butler Funeral Home, 701 North 94th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66112. Interment will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens. Memorial contributions may be made to Northside Bible Chapel.
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