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In Memoriam: Unitarian Universalist Ministers 1999 - 2000James Robert Bath
In 1947, after having considered himself a Unitarian for several years, he transferred his ministerial fellowship to the American Unitarian Association. He served Unitarian churches in Grafton, Massachusetts and Houlton, Maine. Then, after receiving fellowship as a Universalist minister in 1950, he served Universalist churches in Oakfield and Dexter, Maine, and Norwich, Connecticut. In 1960, he was called to the Unitarian church of East Bridgewater, Massachusetts. After the merger of the two denominations, he served UU churches in Jamestown and Dunkirk, New York, and Oakland, Maine. He retired in 1976. He was an athlete and a musician. He sang in choirs and quartets, and directed an award-winning youth choir. Among other denominational activities, the Rev. Bath served as a Trustee of the Maine Unitarian Association, and as a Trustee of the Universalist Publishing House. He also served on the Fellowship Committee of the Maine Universalist Church. In 1933, he married Phyllis Wentzell. They had three children—daughters Joan and Eleanor, and son Ivan. Joan predeceased him in 1993. The others survive him, along with seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Some years ago, the Rev. Bath wrote: "Sometimes our faith can be a lonely thing, we are so much alone, so much of the time, for our spiritual integrity. For this reason, we value very much the fellowship and association with like-minded souls... The communion of liberal souls is a very real thing. However, easy peace and assurance is an illusion." Leroy A. Congdon  Born
in Deerfield, New York, the Rev. Leroy A. Congdon received a B.S.
from St. Lawrence University in 1936 and a B.D. from St. Lawrence
Theological Seminary in 1938. He was fellowshipped as a Universalist
minister, and served congregations in Edwards, New York; Gardiner
and Greene, Maine; and Wakefield, Massachusetts.
In 1939, Rev. Congdon married Lucille Manson. They had two sons, Donald and David, and a daughter, Diane. During World War II, he served in the U.S.O. After the war, he returned to the ministry before joining the YMCA in St. Louis, Missouri. Working for the YMCA for 27 years, he developed its camping programs and was director of six camps. Upon his retirement in 1983, Roy and Lucille returned to Gardiner, Maine, where he resumed some ministerial duties. He was named Minister Emeritus of the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Augusta, Maine, in 1994. He was a member of the Audubon Society, Retired YMCA Executives, and the UU Retired Ministers Association. The Rev. Congdon died in Goshen, Indiana, after a brief illness. He is survived by his sons and daughter, eight grandchildren, and one great- grandchild. His wife, Lucille, predeceased him. A memorial service, led by the Rev. Gordon Gibson, was held on November 6, 1999, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Elkhart, Indiana. John Charles Godbey  The
Rev. Dr. John Godbey was born in Richmond, Kentucky, and grew up
in several small towns in Nebraska. Two inner ear infections left
him profoundly deaf at the age of five. Nevertheless, he was a regent
scholarship winner for the state, and went on to earn a B.A. from
Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1949.
He received a B.D. from Meadville Theological School in 1958 and an M.A. in 1962. That same year, he was appointed instructor at Meadville, and became a full professor upon completion of his Ph.D. in 1968. Dr. Godbey was an expert on the Radical Reformation and the histories of Unitarianism and Universalism. He was welcomed into final fellowship in the Unitarian Universalist ministry in 1969. He continued to teach at Meadville/Lombard Theological School almost until his death. From 1974-79, he served as Academic Dean of the school, but stepped down to return to the research and teaching he loved. Though he officially retired in 1996, he continued to teach part-time for two more years. When Parkinson's disease made it too difficult for him to go over to the academic building, he taught a class in his living room. Dr. Godbey was active in the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF), organizing and attending meetings in England, Holland, Germany, Japan, and throughout the United States. He strove continuously to bring Transylvanian ministers and students to the US to study at Meadville-Lombard and the University of Chicago. In 1990, the University of Kolosvar, Romania, awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Sacred Theology for his work on their behalf. Some of the many professional organizations with which he was involved include the Prairie Group of UU Ministers, Collegium: Association of Liberal Religious Scholars, the Medieval and Renaissance Conference, and the Society for Historical Research. He was elected Distinguished Scholar for the 1995 Collegium. He was a devoted husband, having been married to Greta Godbey for 45 years. He was a loving father to sons Bernard, Charles, and Nicholas, and daughter Margaret, as well as a doting grandfather to his five grandchildren. A memorial service was held on November 12. 1999, at the First Unitarian Church of Chicago. The Reverends Nina Grey and Lindsay Bates, Dr. J. Ronald Engel, Dr. John Hayward, Dr. Spencer Lavan, and Dr. Barbara Jo Sorensen participated. Arthur W. Foote  The
Rev. Dr. Arthur W. Foote was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the son
of the Rev. Henry Wilder Foote and his wife, Eleanor Tyson (Cope).
His grandfather, also Henry Wilder Foote, was the minister of King's
Chapel for much of the 19th century. Dr. Foote died at his home
on Clark Point, Southwest Harbor, Maine.
Dr. Foote was educated at Harvard, receiving his A.B. in 1933. He earned his B.D. from Meadville Theological School in 1936 and received an honorary D.D. from that institution in 1956. He was ordained in 1936 by King's Chapel in Boston, Massachusetts and served the First Unitarian Church in Stockton and First Unitarian Society of Sacramento, California concurrently from 1936 to 1945. For 25 years, from 1945 until his retirement in 1970, he was the minister of Unity Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which named him Minister Emeritus. Dr. Foote served as Chair of the Board of Meadville Theological School in the 1960's, was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Hymnbook Commission in the 1950's, was on the Board of Directors of the American Unitarian Association, and contributed in many other ways to the Unitarian Universalist Association and to the communities in which he served. He was author of the 1954 Lenten Manual, Taking Down the Defenses, and of two chapters in Bradford Gale, ed., Contemporary Aspects of Liberal Religion, published by Beacon Press in 1960. Since retiring to his wife's ancestral home in Maine, Dr. Foote pursued a second career as a stoneware potter until 1987. His wife, Rebecca Carroll Clark Foote, died in 1993. Surviving Dr. Foote are his children, Frances Stehman of Mt. Desert, Maine; Nathan C. Foote of Southbank, British Columbia and Caleb Foote, of Oakland, California. Also surviving are a brother, eight grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. A memorial service led by the Rev. Davidson Loehr was held at Unity Church, Saint Paul on January 22, 2000. William Parker Horton  The
Rev. William P. Horton was born in Watertown, New York and died
in Northborough, Massachusetts.
He received an A.B. from Syracuse University in 1940, an S.T.B. from Harvard Divinity School in 1949 and an M.A. from Boston University in 1959. He was ordained by the Second Congregational Meeting House Society, Nantucket, Massachusetts on June 6, 1949 and served that congregation as its minister from 1949 until 1952. From 1952-1956 he was minister to the Ware Unitarian Church, in Ware, Massachusetts. From 1956 until his retirement he was a Writer-Editor for the US Army Corps of Engineers, preparing reports on flood control and environmental assessments. During that same period, and until his death, he practiced his ministry by preaching and providing pulpit supply to Unitarian Universalist Congregations in New England and by remaining active in Central Massachusetts District ministerial chapter meetings. He was an active, supportive member of the Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson, Hudson, Massachusetts. Rev. Horton is survived by his wife, Marjorie F. Horton and four grown children, William C. Horton of Phoenix, Arizona; Jonathan C. Horton of Marlborough, Massachusetts; Holly M. Horton of San Diego, California and Heidi F. Horton of Concord, Massachusetts. A memorial service was held on March 21, 2000 at the Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson. The Reverend Stephen Cook officiated. Ralph O. Johnson  The
Rev. Ralph Johnson died on October 28, 1999, when, after a valiant,
lifelong struggle with severe depression, he succumbed to the overriding
power of his illness.
It was this personal struggle that made him a minister of uncommon compassion and sensitivity, having a significant impact on many lives, particularly those dealing with hardship and grief. He will be greatly missed by his wife of 28 years, Helene, his son Blake, his mother, numerous other relatives, friends, and colleagues, as well as many members of churches in the Twin Cities area, who knew him as a talented preacher and caring friend. Rev. Johnson served Unitarian Universalist churches in Hanska and Wayzata, Minnesota, and was often called upon to serve as a resource to congregations and colleagues throughout the state and beyond. He grew up in West St. Paul; was Sibley High School valedictorian; graduated cum laude from Carleton College (along with his wife); spent five years in the educational travel business; and attended United Theological Seminary, receiving his M.Div. degree in 1984. His joys included tennis, traveling on three continents, singing, performing in musical theater, community involvement and, above all, his family. He had a passion for learning, spirituality, and nature. His varied interests and accomplishments were a tribute to his resilience. A memorial service was held on November 4, 1999 at the Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis. Dr. John Cummins and the Reverend Ted Tollefson officiated. Philip Ward Pennington  "The
liberal minister must be his authentic self. He is neither the 'agent
of God' nor the servant or institutional representative of the church.
He can only be, speak for, and act as the person he is himself.
As true man, he is both rebel and lover: a free spirit, an inquirer,
a builder of community, a passionate lover of life and of people."
The Rev. Philip Pennington was born in Guymon, Oklahoma, and educated at the University of Wichita (BA) and the Chicago Theological Seminary (BD). He was ordained in 1941 at the Congregational Church of Farragut, Iowa. He served Congregational churches in Farragut and Creston, Iowa; Redvale, Paradox, and Flagler, Colorado, and Granville, Illinois. He also served as Chaplain in the US Army Air Force from 1942 - 46, serving in England during World War II from 1943-45. In 1961, Rev. Pennington transferred to the Unitarian Universalist ministry. He served Unitarian Universalist churches in Bangor, Maine and Boulder, Colorado. In 1971, he left the parish ministry to work as a wood carver. He retired in 1975. He served as president of the Rocky Mountain UU Ministers Association chapter, served on the Planning Committee for the Rocky Mountain Summer Assembly, and was an advisor at the Liberal Religious Youth Federation Summer Conference. In addition to wood carving, his interests included hiking, camping, mountain climbing, and traveling. Rev. Pennington is survived by his wife, Harriet, whom he married in 1941, three daughters, a son, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. A memorial service was held on June 27, 1999 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Fe, New Mexico. His son, Robert Pennington, officiated. D. Roen Repp  The
Rev. D. Roen Repp died November 3, 1999 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He was 67 years of age.
Born in San Jose, California, he graduated from San Jose State University, received his M.Div. from Starr King School for the Ministry in 1960 and a Masters in Asian Studies at the University of the Pacific in 1967. He was ordained in 1960 at the Palo Alto Unitarian Fellowship, where he subsequently served as Associate Minister. He was a U.S. Army Chaplain in the U.S., Korea and Vietnam, Minister at the Marietta Ohio Unitarian Society in 1965-1966 and Interim Minister in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1982-83. From 1967 to 1982 he was a career professional in UNICEF, working on major assignments in Madras, India, Bogotá, Colombia, Islamabad, Pakistan and Nairobi, Kenya. From 1983 to 1999 he worked as a mediator, country representative in Israel and Pakistan for two United States-based foundations, and as a development consultant. His special interests included inner human development, pursuing a balance of spiritual, mental, emotional and physical aspects of life and involvement in useful work that helped and promoted life. His personal view of life processes, in his own words, are: "I see there are two fully balanced, absolute realities as far as my personal life is concerned - i.e., this particular accident of life, of DNA and nurture that is myself, and the equally real context of life from which I arose. The physical part of me will die in due course but the context - the equally real, mind you - will continue in timelessness. Whitman has said that we must be committed not only to ourselves, but to that which 'creates, sustains, heals, saves and organizes'. I rest comfortably on the fact that I am both the light bulb and the electricity that lights the light bulb and that both share in the same reality of light." He is survived by his wife, Jane Schuler-Repp, two daughters living in northern California, India Hill and Tamara Repp, two stepdaughters in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Leslie and Katy Eveland and one grandson, Andrew Hill. Memorial gatherings were held on November 13, 1999 in Sea Ranch, California and November 15, 1999 on San Francisco Bay. Fred A. Russell, Jr.  The
Rev. Fred A. Russell, Jr., died at Palms of Pasadena Hospital in
Saint Petersburg, Florida.
Born into a Universalist family in East Peru, Maine, he grew up in Elm Street Universalist Church in Auburn, Maine. From 1943 to 1946, he served in the United States Army and attended the United States Air Force Chaplains School in 1948. The Rev. Russell earned his B.A. from the Saint Lawrence University in 1950 and his B.D. from Saint Lawrence Theological School in 1951. His ordination by the Maine Universalist Convention on July 22, 1951 made him the first minister so honored by his home church in Auburn. He was called in 1951 to the First Universalist Society in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as Association minister, and subsequently served congregations in Claremont, New Hampshire and Framingham, Massachusetts. Chaplain (Captain) Russell joined the United States Air Force in 1958, serving at bases in Texas, and Germany and other sites until 1962. He returned to the parish ministry in 1965 in Saco and Biddeford, Maine, accepted a call to the First Congregational Unitarian Society of Westborough, Massachusetts in 1972. The First Unitarian Universalist Church of Milford, Massachusetts called him in 1984, naming him Emeritus Minister on his retirement August 31, 1992. Long active in denominational leadership, the Rev. Russell spent several years on the faculty of the Ferry Beach Park Association in Saco, Maine and of the Mid-West Institute of Bridgman, Michigan. He also served on the Massachusetts Universalist Convention's Legislative Committee, as an advisor to the New Hampshire Universalist Convention Department of Youth Activities and many other Unitarian Universalist organizations. He was involved in putting together the 1964 blue hymnal, Hymns for the Celebration of Life. Community organizations benefiting from the Rev. Russell's leadership included the University of Minnesota Tri-U Board, the Radio Broadcasting Association of the Arundel Clergymen's Association, the Biddeford-Saco Boys' Club and the Civitan Club of Westborough, Massachusetts. Survivors include his life partner, Howard V. Brown of Saint Petersburg, Florida; his brother, Richard T. Russell of Sanford, Maine; his sisters, Geneva G. Raymond of Livermore, Maine and Madeline R. Jordan of Lewiston, Maine. A memorial service was held at the First Universalist Church of Auburn, Maine. The Rev. Maurice Cobb officiated. The Rev. Russell was also memorialized by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Saint Petersburg, Florida in its Sunday service February 27, 2000. The Rev. Dee Graham officiated. -- The Rev. Dee Graham Theodore R. Smith, Jr.  "The
liberal church is to be... a laboratory of living, a place for investigating
humanness with mutual respect. Under the protection of such mutuality,
the liberal church ought to be a fellowship in which it is safe
to be—that is, to be oneself without fear of ostracism. As
a place for humanness, it should be a place of fallibility, where
it is permissible and safe to be wrong, to be honestly oneself,
even when to be oneself opens one for criticism."
The Rev. Theodore Smith began his professional ministry as a Methodist. After receiving a degree in metallurgical engineering in 1954, he received an M.Div. at Drew Theological Seminary and was ordained a Methodist minister in 1957. He served Methodist churches in Marietta, Ohio, and Hurleyville, New York, before transferring into Unitarian Universalist fellowship in 1965. While still a Methodist, he also served as campus minister at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey and as chaplain at Middletown State Hospital in Middletown, New York—the first of a number of chaplaincy and counseling positions he would hold throughout his life. Upon transferring into the Unitarian Universalist ministry, he served UU churches in Westfield and Rutherford, New Jersey, and Yonkers, New York. In 1968, he returned to chaplaincy and counseling work. He held positions at the Foundation for Religion and Mental Health in White Plains, New York, Central Counseling Service in New York, New York, Westchester Institute for Training in Counseling and Psychotherapy in Rye, New York, and Hudson River Counseling Service in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. In 1976, he went into private practice. The Rev. Smith served on the board of the Metro New York Chapter of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, and on the Middletown Area Association of Clergy. He was active in the Metro New York UU Ministers Association. He was a marathon runner and had many cultural interests, including painting and music. He was also an accomplished poet, and had an interest in the field of poetry therapy. He died after suffering a heart attack at the age of 67. He is survived by his wife, Nina Morin Smith of Brewster, New York, and sons Theodore R. Smith III and Remi Merlo Smith. A memorial service was held on June 5, 1999, at the Fourth Universalist Society of New York. The Rev. John Brown officiated. Dorothy Tilden Spoerl  The
Rev. Dr. Dorothy Tilden Spoerl died December 2, 1999 at age 93.
Born March 29, 1906 in Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Spoerl received a B.A. degree from Lombard College, an M.A. from Boston University, a Ph.D. in psychology from Clark University, a S.T.D. from Starr King School for the Ministry, and a D.D. from Meadville/Lombard Theological School. Ordained a Universalist minister in 1929, she was in fellowship with both the Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association. Dr. Spoerl served congregations in Detroit, Michigan; Springfield, Massachusetts; Bath and Orono, Maine; and Hartland and Woodstock, Vermont. From 1946 to 1957, she taught psychology at American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts and from 1965 to 1966, taught at the Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, California. Dorothy Spoerl was known not only as an outstanding minister, preacher, and teacher, but also as a revered religious educator. Early in her career, she directed religious education at the Unitarian Church in Boston (Bulfinch Place). In 1938, she co-authored with Sophia Lyon Fahs, the popular Beginnings of Life and Death, a curriculum for elementary children, later to be combined with Fahs' Beginnings of Earth and Sky, into one volume. From the late 1950's to mid-1960's, Dorothy Spoerl wrote and edited curricula programs for the merged Unitarian Universalist religious education programs, and many pamphlets and booklets for parents and teachers. In 1966, she became the UUA's Adult Program Editor. Dr. Spoerl was the widow of the Reverend Dr. Howard Davis Spoerl, who died in 1957. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Walter and Elsie Spoerl of Charlestown, New Hampshire, and grandchildren Jennifer and Howard Spoerl. A celebration of her life was held at Ferry Beach, Saco, Maine on May 20, 2000. -- The Rev. Elizabeth Anastos Elizabeth Irene Tarbox  The
Rev. Elizabeth Tarbox was born in Hertfordshire, England and emigrated
from England to the United States in 1968. She died at her home
in Duxbury, Massachusetts.
She was a member of the First Parish Church in Duxbury when she decided to enter the Unitarian Universalist Ministry. She received a B.A. from Bridgewater State College in 1986 and an M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School in 1990. The Rev. Tarbox was ordained in Duxbury on June 10, 1990 and began her settled ministry at the First Unitarian Society of Middleborough, Massachusetts in August 1990. She served in Middleborough until September 1997. She was called to ministry at First Parish Unitarian Universalist, in Cohasset, Massachusetts. As her struggle with cancer deepened, she resigned from the ministry in Cohasset in February 1999 and was subsequently named Minister Emerita by the congregation. Elizabeth was the author of two widely read UUA books of spiritual meditations, Life Tides and Evening Tide, and was a columnist for The Patriot Ledger, a regional newspaper serving communities south of Boston. She was much loved and admired by those she served and by her colleagues in the ministry for her deep spirituality, tender caring, and commitment to justice. She is survived by her daughter, Sarah Irene Tarbox of Waltham, Massachusetts; a sister, Valerie Ann Peck of Plymouth, Massachusetts; a brother, John Thorpe of England; and her former husband, Charles Tarbox of Plymouth, Massachusetts and several nieces and nephews. A memorial service led by the Reverends Carol Rosine and Colin Leitch was held on Saturday, November 6, 1999 at the First Parish in Cohasset, Massachusetts. Daniel William Weck  The
Rev. Daniel W. Weck, who was born in Chicago, Illinois as the youngest
of five children, said that his immediate family was the most important
element in shaping his outlook and himself.
After high school he volunteered for duty in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II in the Pacific. After the war, he used the G.I. Bill to attend San Jose State in California, pursued a double major in history and journalism, and received his A.B. in 1948. It was during that period that he, as an active Catholic, had a crisis of faith, read Emerson's Divinity School Address and Wilbur's Socianism and its Antecedents and became a member of the San Jose Unitarian congregation. After graduation he worked as a journalist in San Francisco, attended the Oakland Universalist Congregation, and eventually enrolled at Starr King School for the Ministry from which he received an M.Div. in 1958. Rev. Weck was ordained by the First Universalist Church of Norway, Maine in May 1958 and served that congregation until 1961. Subsequently he served congregations in Rumford, Maine; Brewster, Eastham, Northampton, Northfield, Massachusetts; and Newberry, South Carolina, while at the same time working in journalism. He is survived by his wife, Margaret Toms Weck; his stepsons, Mathew and Nathan Bowers; a brother, Frederick and a sister, Nina. A memorial service was held at the Clayton Memorial Unitarian Universalist Church, Newberry, South Carolina on March 11, 2000. The Rev. Patrick D. Price officiated.
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