David L. Mulder

David Lee Mulder, 85, passed away and went to heaven to be with Jesus, his Savior, on May 11, 2026, in hospice care at Prisma Richland Hospital.

He was born on March 29, 1941, to Claude and Dorothy Mulder. He grew up in Grand Haven, Michigan, a Dutch farming community. As a child, he worked in his father's feed store loading bales of hay, driving tractors and trucks, and later managing the Mulder Feed Store. He enjoyed having many relatives, including aunts, uncles, and cousins. He attended Christian schools from elementary through high school, where he played basketball on a championship team. Dave loved reading and sports, and he excelled at playing tennis on teams in Atlanta and Columbia until he was 77.

Dave graduated from Michigan State University with a Master's Degree in Public Administration and took a job at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. While attending Bible study at the Officers' Christian Union in Dayton, he met Donna Spratlin. God led them to each other, and they were married on October 9, 1971. They were later blessed with three daughters. After living for 12 years in Atlanta, they moved to Columbia. Dave became the Director of Contracting at Fort Jackson, where he worked for 23 years. Before retiring, he earned a Superior Award for Outstanding Performance in his contracting job.

Dave and Donna joined Shandon Baptist Church in 1982. Dave was privileged to teach adult Sunday school with his dear friend Jim Smith for several years. Dave served on Shandon's mission team to help Hurricane Katrina victims in 2025. He was very committed to supporting missions at home and abroad.

Dave's greatest gift was trusting Jesus, his Savior, when he was 22. Many times, in doctors' offices or hospitals, he shared his testimony of how God had spared his life from pancreatic cancer 29 years ago. Because of this, he was able to see his 11 grandchildren, enjoy many years with his wife and family, and take many wonderful trips. His faith in Jesus sustained him during the past five months, giving him strength to endure chemotherapy treatments for MDS (pre-leukemia). Even though the treatments were not successful, God took him to Heaven and healed him completely forever.

"Give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endures forever." — Psalm 136:1

Dave is survived by his loving wife of 54 years, Donna; daughters Stephanie (Jonathan), Melissa (Tony), and Rebekah (Sammy); and 11 grandchildren: Toby, Tucker, Sawyer, Joshua (Katie), Ashlyn, Zachary, Izraella, Zander, Raina, Skylar, and Lucas. He is also survived by his sister Judy Reeths (Milt), nephew Jereme Reeths, niece Michelle Reeths, great-niece Kinsey Jergensen, and brother-in-law Scotty Spratlin.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Samaritan's Purse International, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607, or to Shandon Baptist Church (Mission), 5250 Forest Drive, Columbia, SC 29206.

Service information is listed below. For those unable to attend, the service will be streaming live via the following link:

https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/f26053645260986