Melvin Peyton Southall's Obituary
Mel was born to Lola Elizabeth Kuykendall Southall and William Peyton Southall in a farmhouse in Headrick, Oklahoma at the start of the Great Depression and in the middle of the Dust Bowl. As the second of eight children he learned early on that life wasn't just about work, but about survival. Everyone had a job to do on the farm. The family moved to Blair when he was older and, there, he graduated from Blair High School, proudly playing on the basketball and baseball teams as a Blair Bronc.
While working on the construction of the dam at Lake Grapevine he met Billie Ruth Cummings and they were married on January 8th, 1951. Because he had joined the U.S. Army, he and Billie moved to Ft. Benning, Georgia, where he became a member of the 101st Airborne Division, jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, as he liked to say. While stationed at Benning, he was tapped to play on the Army Baseball team. He and Billie loved their time in Georgia, but when his service was finished, they returned to the Metroplex where he proudly joined the Dallas Police Department serving for 30 years and making life-long friendships.
While a police officer, he sacrificed, working every extra job he could to make sure that all of his children went to and finished college. But, along the way, he, too, managed to obtain his diploma in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University. Mel could build or fix anything, but, most importantly, believed in the power of education.
After Billie's death in 1992, he married Shirley Kutta and they then had thirty-one years together until her passing in 2024.
Mel is survived by his daughter, Dari Meyer and husband J.D.; daughter Cindy Anderson and husband Kyle; son Mark Southall and wife Kathy; sister Darla Brooks and husband Jerry; sister Barbara Biddy and husband Donnie; sister June Billington; grandchildren Geoffrey and Jay Goff; Peyton and Cooper Anderson; and Jake Southall; step great grand-daughters Madysen and Lacey Gaona, and a host of other family members.
The family would like to especially thank his caregivers Joseph Nyirongo, DaShanda (Mimi) Johnson, Charity Banda, and Linda Washington for their dedication and kindness toward our father for the last year of his life.
Visitation will be Friday, September 19th at Restland Funeral Home from 4pm-8pm.
Services will be Saturday, September 20th at 10:30AM at the Restland Funeral Home Memorial Chapel.
In lieu of flowers please consider donating to the Assist the Officer Foundation or a charity of your choice.
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