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In Memoriam: Unitarian Universalist Ministers 2003 - 2004Francis C. Anderson
Born in Framingham, he was the only child of Bessie and Frank Anderson of Wellesley. After graduation from Wellesley High School he attended Boston University for three years, then served in the Air Force for four years before completing his studies. He was captain of the 1946-47 BU Hockey team. He attended Crane Theological School at Tufts University, and was the Assistant Minister of the Brockton Universalist Church. He was ordained in 1952 by the Abington Universalist Church, where he served from 1949-1953. His interest in hockey remained strong, and he coached the first Tufts team and went on to play for local amateur teams. He was called to the ministry of All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church of Braintree in 1953 and served it until 1981. While in Braintree he was active in local programs such as resources for youth, interfaith activities, METCO, and education and was a leader in local UNICEF support. His political interest led him to be an activist both within and beyond the community. He not only attended civil rights demonstrations in Washington and Selma, Alabama and assisted in the establishing of the Braintree Fair Housing Committee, he also supported and encouraged other families to participate in such activities, as well as in demonstrations for peace. From 1981-1989 he served as the first minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah, where he was named Minister Emeritus upon his retirement. He then served the Hilton Head and Beaufort Unitarian Universalist Fellowships of South Carolina until his death. He loved to write and was a published poet. He remained active with his interests of tennis, golf, organic gardening and the care of animals through his local Humane Society. He is survived by his children, Mark Anderson, Kirk Anderson, Kent Anderson, Carolee Fogg, Wendy Swanson and Kristin Anderson; their mother, the Rev. Meredith U. Anderson, and their six grandchildren; his wife, Dorothy Cole Anderson; stepchildren David Burke, Gregory Burke, and Diana Horel; and two step-grandchildren. Services were held at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah, Georgia, September 6, 2003, and at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church of Braintree, Massachusetts, November 1, 2003. James L. Bosveld
He was born March 28, 1947 in Red Oak, Iowa. He is survived by his beloved wife Jennifer Bosveld; deeply loved sons (step), David Jeffrey DeRhodes (Tina) and Christopher Daniel Groce; 6 adored grand-children Nick and Katie DeRhodes, Krista Hause and Thomas Ball, and Hunter and Christina Groce; his father Louis Bosveld and brothers Roger Bosveld (Aggie) of Minneapolis and John Bosveld of Dubuque Iowa and their children, Jim’s deeply loved nieces and nephews; and his father-in-law, Robert Otis Miller, of Columbus. He is predeceased by his mother, Bernice Bosveld. A life-long labor and union activist in Iowa City and Columbus, he was past president of his AFSCME locals, and as a board member, was instrumental in launching Student Publications Inc./Daily Iowan collective bargaining. For twenty years he served the poor as the housing paralegal at Legal Aid Society of Columbus, and in that capacity he kept many families and individuals from losing their housing of last resort and helped others gain housing they otherwise wouldn’t have. In 2003, after receiving his M.Div. at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, he was ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister. He was CFO for Pudding House Publications, a highly successful literary publisher run by his wife, Jennifer. For 16 years they owned Pudding House Writers Center and Bed & Breakfast for Writers in Johnstown, OH. The book HUNGER ENOUGH: Living Spiritually in a Consumer Society was dedicated to him, and social justice and intentional living was the focus of his ministry. A Memorial Service was held on Saturday, April 3, 2004, 10:00 a.m., at the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Columbus, Ohio. Instead of flowers, donations were welcomed through Seth Reichenbach, attorney, for the Reverend Bosveld Memorial Fund for the Open Shelter of Columbus, the Hunger Enough nonprofit book distribution project, or three anti-death penalty projects. Contact: John E. Brigham He was a graduate of Tufts University and the Crane School of Religion in Medford, Mass. In 1966 he was awarded the doctor of divinity degree from Meadville Theological School of Chicago. Ordained in the Unitarian ministry in 1938, he served Unitarian and Universalist churches in Castine, Maine; Billerica, Mass.; Sioux City and Burlington, Iowa, and Rochester, N.Y. before coming to Quincy in 1976. He also held various offices in the Unitarian-Universalist denomination. His published volumes are "Windows of the Mind" and "Still Sounds the Buoy from the Sea." During his life, his concerns centered on social justice issues. He was president of the Sioux City chapter of the NAACP, and in Quincy he contributed to the activities of the Walter Hammond Day Care Center. He served on the steering committee for the POLIS study program of Quincy University. Survivors include his brother George T. and his wife Anne of Salisbury, CT; and three sons: Lawrence W. and his wife Mary of Morrow, Ohio; Jeremy J. and his wife Selma of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Daniel G. and his wife Donna of Canandaigua, N.Y. There are six grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. His parents and his sister Helen Trefethen preceded him in death. A memorial service was held February 7, 2004, in the Unitarian Church of Quincy, IL. Memorials may be made to the Quincy Unitarian Church. Jesse R. Cavileer
Mr. Cavileer was born December 7, 1916 in Forestville, Maryland, the son of Rev. Jesse Reuben Cavileer, a Methodist minister, and Daisy M. Cavileer. He graduated at the age of 16, second in his class from high school. He received an A.B. from Syracuse University and a B.D. from Union Theological Seminary. Mr. Cavileer received Preliminary Fellowship on April 3, 1952 and was ordained April 20, 1952 by the Unitarian Society of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio. He served congregations in Cleveland, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Missoula, Montana; and the Unitarian Church in Glasgow, Scotland. Upon his retirement in 1985, the Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he served from 1985 to 1989 named him Minister Emeritus. Social action was woven into the fabric of his ministry and continued to be after his retirement. He was active in civil rights as early as the 1940’s. He was a championship runner who qualified for the 1936 Berlin Olympics at the age of 19, however, a leg muscle separation and World War II kept him from competing. Mr. Cavileer is survived brother, David Cavileer, of Egg Harbor, New Jersey. A memorial service is scheduled to July 10, 2004 at the Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Maryell Cleary
Maryell was born August 14, 1922, in the small western New York town of Randolph. Her parents, devout Roman Catholics, were Hugh James Gribbin and Louise Simmons Gribbin. She was educated in local public schools and at Buffalo State Teachers College, where she earned a B.S. in education in 1943. She became a Unitarian in the First Unitarian Church of Richmond, VA, under the ministry of John MacKinnon. Graduate school beckoned and she enrolled in the University of Chicago and Meadville/Lombard Theological School, from which she graduated in 1950 with a bachelor of divinity degree. She was ordained in 1950 by the Free Religious Fellowship, a mainly Black Unitarian Church on Chicago’s South Side organized by the Rev. Lewis McGee. As churches were not open to female parish ministers at the time, she worked in religious education, married Joseph Byrne Cleary (the marriage ended in divorce), and had two children, Bruce and Kevin. Later she taught elementary school. By 1971 churches were open to women as parish ministers, and after further graduate study, she began almost 20 years of parish ministry, serving churches in Mequon, WI; North Olmstead, OH; Ft. Myers, FL; and Lyons, OH, as settled parish minister, and in Bloomington, IL; and East Lansing, MI, as interim minister. She was also minister-on-loan in Alton, IL, where she convinced a skeptical congregation that a woman would be a good minister. In several of these churches she was the first woman to serve as minister. At various times in her life, she also worked as a technical librarian, a freelance writer, a psychotherapist, and a religious education director. She actively supported abortion rights, women's rights, civil rights, and the environmental movement. She is the author of many articles, book reviews, and newspaper columns, especially in the area of women's rights, but also on the subject of mystery novels. After she retired in 1990, she edited the books A Bold Experiment: The Charles Street Universalist Meeting House and The Wonder of Life (an anthology of the work of Kenneth L. Patton) and both authored and published a memoir, A Depression Life. She is survived by her sons, Bruce, an editorial consultant who lives in Manhattan, and Kevin, a software designer living in Rochester, NY. A memorial service was held on September 13 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing. In lieu of flowers, the Rev. Maryell Cleary asked that donations be made to the Fund to Aid Retired Ministers and Widows (c/o Ralph Mero, 25 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108). John B. Isom
He was born December 2, 1909 on Sand Mountain, 8 miles north-northeast of Albertville, Alabama. In 1939 he graduated with a masters in theology from the Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky with, as he put it, "more questions than he had answers." After graduation he served as a Southern Baptist Minister on the "circuit" for three small communities in Southampton County, Virginia. After serving as an Army chaplain during WW II he became pastor of the Saxon Baptist Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina from 1944-1951. John left the Baptist denomination in 1951 to become a Unitarian minister. Not long after John left the Saxon Church, a group of Saxon members started a Unitarian Fellowship that is now the Spartanburg Unitarian Church. He served as secretary/substitute minister under Robert Weston at the Unitarian Church in Louisville from 1951-1953. From there he went to the First Unitarian Church in Wichita, Kansas (1953 - 1961). He left Wichita in 1961 to become pastor of the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines, Iowa, where he served until 1975. The congregation in Des Moines awarded him the title of Minister Emeritus upon his retirement. John left these words behind to be read at his memorial service: "By way of my scattered former parts, I will be playing roles in unknown new experiments of "Life as Such". I am now free to imagine them being as exciting and meaningful as my wildest fancy. It may be some lighter part of the present me will escape the confines of earth and roam for eons among the stars until it lands on another alive planet, and there, just maybe, be invited to play a part in creating another life just like the present me. Well, maybe a little better me. So long. I will meet you in the ashes, on the morning after sun and planets have returned to their microscopic origin." - John B. Isom www.johnbisom.com Arthur B. Jellis Born in Lexington, Massachusetts, on June 30, 1923, he was raised as an Episcopalian, and in 1941 graduated from Lexington High School. After graduation he joined the U.S. Navy, specializing in naval aviation, and became a blimp pilot. In 1943 he married Elizabeth Anne Dodge, his wife of thirty years. Following World War II, Mr. Jellis enrolled in Boston University, majoring in accounting, and there discovered Unitarianism. In 1951 he was called to the First Parish Church in Northborough, Massachusetts, which ordained him. He received his bachelor’s degree from Tufts University in 1952, and two years later received a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crane Theological School at Tufts University. In 1957 Mr. Jellis was called to serve as minister at the First Parish in Concord, Massachusetts. While there he became active in the peace and civil rights movements. In the early 1960’s he joined the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy, was a founder of the organization for the Boston area, and became a leading local advocate against nuclear arms. He was a founder of the Fair Housing Committee in Concord, and in 1964 responded to a call from the National Council of Churches for clergymen to go to Laurel, MS, to offer support for college students helping to register black voters. While there he was the first white minister to preach at an African-American church. In 1965 when Martin Luther King, Jr. appealed to the National Council of Churches, he again responded and went to Selma, AL, joining those who marched across the Pettus Bridge to Montgomery. He also became an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War, participating in numerous peace rallies from his hometown of Concord to Boston Common to Washington, D.C. He also continued graduate studies at Tufts, Harvard, and Boston University, earning his Master of Divinity degree and a degree in counseling. Mr. Jellis was an avid vegetable gardener and enjoyed a life-long love of woodworking, both interests fostered by his father. He made fine cabinetry, clocks, and tables, but his special interest was refurbishing old tools and building and restoring wooden boats. He is survived by five children: Julie Anne Medjanis of Harvard, MA; Jennifer J. Burke of Ayer, MA; Cassandra Werthman of Jackson, TN; Joshua C. Jellis of Freeport, ME; and Susan J. Veligor of Portland, ME; four stepchildren: Stephen Bayne of Chapel Hill, NC; Linda Bayne of Sutton Mills, NH; Christopher Bayne of Quakertown, PA; and Andrew Bayne of Chesapeake, VA; eight grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; one brother; and one sister. A memorial service was held on June 4, 2004, at the Harvard Unitarian Church in Harvard, Massachusetts. Calvin Raymond Knapp
He was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, was a graduate of DePauw University and Garrett Theological Seminary, and served in the United States Navy during World War II. He married Ruth Gregory on April 7, 1947. He is survived by his wife and by their four children, Gregory Knapp; Steven Knapp; Jane Walling; and Scott Knapp; as well as by three grandchildren. His vocational life is best seen in two distinct periods. The first, a cluster of Knapp Family partnerships, includes a livestock order buying business and the management of two livestock farming operations in southern Illinois. At the age of 38, however, he made important changes in his career. He chose to go to Garrett Theological Seminary and became a minister in the United Methodist Church, first serving Melrose Chapel in Quincy, Illinois. This was followed quickly by his Bishop’s appointment to the Metro Peoria Council of Churches. His involvement in ecumenical work there led him to become the minister of the historic Unitarian Church of Quincy, Illinois. Beginning in 1976 he served a series of part time ministries with three Illinois congregations: the historic Unitarian Church of Alton, and the Universalist churches in Hutsonville and Waltonville. He also served three congregations in Indiana: First Unitarian Universalist Church of Evansville; First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Terre Haute; and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Danville; and was a leader in the re-establishment of the Unitarian Church in Owensboro, Kentucky. One of his most important accomplishments was the organization of the Ohio River Study Group, a new study group for Unitarian Universalist ministers. In late autumn of 1998 he retired from his ministerial responsibilities, sold his farm, and moved to Nashville, TN, where he affiliated with the Greater Nashville Unitarian Universalist Congregation. There he became the enabler of Credo, a humanist study group, and was the initiator-leader of a series of four Jesus Seminar Study Groups. A memorial service was held April 10, 2004 at the Greater Nashville Unitarian Universalist Church. Memorial donations can be made to the GNUUC Memorial Garden Fund, 374 Hicks Road, Nashville, TN 37221. Nathaniel P. Lauriat
Nat graduated from Harvard University with a BA in 1943. He received his Bachelor of Divinity from Meadville Theological School in 1945 and was awarded a Doctor of Divinity from Meadville-Lombard in 1972. He served the First Unitarian Church of San Jose, California from 1945 to 1951; the Unitarian Church of Northampton, Massachusetts from 1951 to 1956; the Church of Our Father, Unitarian, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania from 1956 to 1963; the Unitarian Church of Hartford, Connecticut from 1963 to 1985; and the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Sun Cities from 1985 to 1995. He served briefly as interim minister at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Flagstaff in 1999 and was a regular in that pulpit in recent years. At his retirement from the Sun Cities church, the congregation made him their Minister Emeritus, as had the Hartford church in 1987. Retirement for Nat meant regular preaching in a variety of pulpits. He remained active both mentally and physically, enjoying writing, his commitments for social action, volunteering at the Sedona Library and visiting his daughters and friends until just weeks before his death. Born March 22, 1922 in Newton, Massachusetts, Nat had been an Arizona resident since 1985. A life-long Yankee, he grew to love the desert. He is survived by two daughters, Anne Lauriat of Belmont, Massachusetts and Sally Marx of Spencer, New York; one brother, Charles E. Lauriat (Nancy) of Washington, Connecticut; two grandchildren and two great grandchildren. His wife of 50 years, Jane (Welch) Lauriat, died in 1995. His youngest daughter, Peggy, died in 1982. A memorial service was held in Nat’s honor on February 28, 2004, at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Surprise, Arizona. Donations my be sent to the Sedona Public Library, 3250 N. White Bear Road, Sedona, AZ 86336 or to the charity of one’s choice. Duncan E. Littlefair
Duncan was born October 4, 1912 in Toronto, Canada. He received a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University, a Bachelor of Divinity from the University of Basel and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Though brought up Presbyterian and Baptist, his studies led him to question traditional Christian views and he embraced a scientific and natural theology. Duncan thrived on controversy, especially in the Calvinist Dutch Reformed climate of Western Michigan. He challenged city politicians and community leaders to higher standards, and inspired the foundation of branches of many liberal institutions in the area, including Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. The large sanctuary of Fountain Street became a liberal center, welcoming leaders from Winston Churchill and Eleanor Roosevelt to Stokely Carmichael. He served the Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan for 35 years. Following his retirement in 1979 he stayed in Grand Rapids and remained active in the church. He also hosted a series of weeklong sessions in which the church invited other Unitarian Universalist ministers to "come and sit at his feet" and discuss ministry. In these weeks he was frequently able to help ministers re-frame and revisit their own work from a different, and always enthusiastic, perspective. Five children, Margo, Wendy, Candace, Christopher and Alan, survive him. His wife of 51 years, Gertrude Backes, predeceased him in 1990. Robert Lester Mondale
Born May 28, 1904 in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, he was the son of the late Theodore Sirgurd and Jessie Alice (Larson) Mondale. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Hamline University and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from Harvard University. Lester was ordained in 1929 by the New North Church in Hingham, Massachusetts. In addition to Hingham, he served congregations in Kansas City, Missouri; Birmingham, Michigan; White Plains, New York; Tempe, Arizona; and Quincy, Illinois, before retiring in 1969. A well-known humanist, he was the youngest signer of the Human Manifesto in 1933. Surviving Lester are his wife, Maria; four children, Tarand Swenstad of Odin, Minnesota; Karen Smead Mondale of St. Louis, Missouri; Julia Jensen of St. Cloud, Minnesota; and Ellen Smead Mondale of Bethesda, Maryland; three brothers, Clarence Mondale of Washington, D.C.; Walter "Fritz" Mondale of Minneapolis, Minnesota; and William Morton Mondale of Salem, Oregon. He also leaves a host of grandchildren, other relatives, and many friends. R. Paul Mueller
A 1985 graduate of Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Connecticut, he received his Masters of Divinity degree in 1988 from Andover Newton Theological School, Newton Centre, Massachusetts. Ordained June 5, 1988 by the Unitarian Universalist Society East in Manchester, Connecticut, he interned at the First Parish Church in Bedford, Massachusetts, and served as minister to the congregation of the Unitarian Society in East Brunswick, NJ, from 1989 until his death. He was formerly chairman of the East Brunswick Clergy Council, and taught church history at Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA, New Brunswick Seminary, Drew University in Madison, WI, and Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Mueller is survived by his wife of 38 years, Margaret Mueller. Also surviving are his son James Mueller of Somerset, New Jersey; daughter Elizabeth and son-in-law Chris Rossano of Chelmsford, Massachusetts; and three grandchildren. William J. Petersen
Mr. Petersen was born August 26, 1929 in Lompoc, California, the son of William J. Petersen Sr. and Anna Chistiane Peterson. He received degrees from Santa Barbara Junior College (AA); University of California, Santa Barbara (AB); and Starr King School for the Ministry (BD). Petersen was ordained September 20, 1970 by the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stanislaus County, Modesto, California where he served from 1970 to 1975. He is remembered as an energetic, concerned and stimulating minister. In the 1950’s prior to entering the ministry he was a computer programmer and a programmer-analyst for the University of California Laboratory in Livermore, the ISD, and for the URS Corporation in Burlingame. Following his retirement from the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stanislaus County, he became a "self-employed farmer." He volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and for the public library. His hobbies included music (he played the trumpet and guitar) sculpting, backpacking, and gardening. He was an active and affectionate husband, father and grandfather. Surviving Mr. Petersen is his wife, Mary Ann Peterson; two daughters, Laura and Robin; two stepchildren; K. Diane Brewer and Daniel Brewer; three wards, and 11 grandchildren. In addition to the family service on October 12, a memorial service was held November 22, 2003 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stanislaus County in Modesto, California. Raymond J. Pontier
Born in Clifton, New Jersey on December 6, 1914 to Trina List Pontier and Jacob Pontier, he served the cause of peace and justice throughout his life. During a testimonial dinner given by his friends on June 20, 1973, a quotation by Albert Einstein was used to recognize his contributions: "It is given to many men to see the problems of our day. It is given to very few to have the courage to do something about them." His family released the following statement: "Ray’s sense of justice, fairness, devotion to the truth, his compassion for humanity, his love and joy for his family rang out throughout his life. He will be very much missed." A graduate of Central High School in Paterson, New Jersey and Rutgers University, Pontier received his Masters of Divinity from New Brunswick Theological Seminary in 1941. He served as a minister in the Reformed Church of America (RCA) for 33 years before transferring his credentials to the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1975. He then served the Lakeland Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Wayne, New Jersey and was named Minister Emeritus by the congregation there in 1989. He founded the Upper Delaware Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Milanville, Pennsylvania in 1987 and served as its minister until 1996, and he continued to preach on a regular basis at UU fellowships in Florida through 2003. Pontier served on the board of the Clifton Family Mental Health Clinic and was President of the Particular Synod of New Jersey RCA in 1966. He chaired the Christian Action Commission of RCA from 1966-1969 and served as statewide coordinator of the New Jersey Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights from 1975 to 1982. He was a member of the Lakeland Unitarian Universalist Congregation, a lifelong member of the American Civil Liberties Union and past member of the board of the New Jersey ACLU, and a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Bertrand Russell Society, New Jersey SANE, and numerous organizations working for peace and justice. He received the "Certificate of Merit" from the B’nai B’rith Women Garden State Council in 1962; the "Citizenship Citation for Meritorious Service" from B’nai B’rith; the "Maurice F. Karp Memorial Citizenship and Civic Award" from the Greater Clifton Lodge B’nai B’rith in 1965; and the "Honored Alumnus Recognition" from the Alumni Association of New Brunswick Theological Seminary in 1969. A prolific writer, he was the author of two books, "On the Cutting Edge" (1978) and "Rescuing Jesus from His Friends" (1999). In addition, he wrote a monthly column for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson newspaper "The Beacon" for many years, and was a regular contributor to other periodicals. Survivors include his wife, Barbara Van Buskirk Pontier; his children Sharon Pontier of Newton, New Jersey; Glenn Pontier and wife Elizabeth Bucar of Jeffersonville, New York; and Gregory Pontier and wife Deborah Mercer of Lambertville, New Jersey; and seven grandchildren. Peter S. Raible
In a career spanning five decades, the Rev. Peter Raible embodied the motto that one should practice what one preaches. From the pulpit of Seattle's University Unitarian Church, where he was senior minister for 37 years, he delivered sermons ranging from matters of social justice and individual conscience to religious traditions and historical figures. Mr. Raible traveled to Selma, AL, in 1965 to join civil-rights marchers, spoke out against the Vietnam War, and guided the church to defy the U.S. government and offer sanctuary to people fleeing Central American civil wars in the 1980s. He also spoke out for gay rights, helped found the Interfaith Council of Washington, and worked to build the institutional strength of the Unitarian Church. The Rev. Raible inherited his calling. He was born Nov. 22, 1929, in Peterborough, N.H., where his father, Robert Jules Raible, was a Unitarian minister. The younger Rev. Raible exhibited a precocious intellect, entering the University of Chicago at 14 and earning a degree in philosophy before going on to earn degrees at the University of California and the Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, CA. In 1961, in his early 30s, he was hired to lead the University Unitarian Church, today the largest Unitarian church in Washington state with more than 600 members. There he established a reputation as a powerful and learned speaker, and one willing to tackle the pressing social issues of the day. "He was known throughout the country as a fine preacher and denominational servant," said the Rev. Jon M. Luopa, who now holds the Rev. Raible's post at the church. "He was considered one of our giant timbers in our forest." He retired as the church's senior minister in 1997, taking on the title of Minister Emeritus. He continued to preach at a host of other Unitarian churches, spending time in St. Louis, MO, and Tulsa, OK, before returning to the Seattle area. In 2002 and 2003 he preached at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Bainbridge Island and North Kitsap. The Rev. Peter Raible is survived by children Stephen Raible and wife Susan Brand of Stanwood; Robin Raible of Seattle; Robert Raible and wife Palmer Raible of Danville, Calif.; and the Rev. Deborah Raible and husband Kevin Clark of Seattle. He also had eight grandchildren. A memorial service was held Sunday, June 6, at the University Unitarian Church in Seattle. Malcolm R. Sutherland
Malcolm was minister of the Harvard Unitarian Church in Harvard, MA, for 19 years (1973-1994) and was named Minister Emeritus on his retirement. Prior to coming to Harvard he served as President, Dean of Faculty, and Robert Collier Professor of Church and Society at Meadville Theological School of Lombard College, affiliated with the University of Chicago, from 1960 to 1975. He was Executive Vice President of the American Unitarian Association (now the Unitarian Universalist Association) from 1958 to 1960; Minister of the First Parish in Milton, Massachusetts from 1954 to 1960; first settled Minister of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church in Charlottesville, Virginia from 1945 to 1954; and Minister of the Universalist Church of Hoopston, Illinois, from 1943 to 1945. While in Boston, he served 25 years for the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, in Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Mexico. He also served on the Board of Directors of Beacon Press, and as Chair of the Editorial Advisory Committee of the Christian Register (now the UU World). While in Chicago, he was co-chair of the Publication Board of Zygon, President of the Institute on Religion in the Age of Science, co-founder of the Center of Advanced Study of Theology and Science, and was elected governor of Manchester College, Oxford University, England. He was founding trustee and vice president of the Dana McLean Greeley Foundation for Justice and Peace; a member of the International Association for Religious Freedom since 1968; officer of World Conference on Religion and Peace; member of the Screening Committee of Niwano Peace Foundation in Tokyo for 15 years; and received a distinguished service award from Konkokyo Churches of America. Malcolm received his Baccalaureate degree from Miami University in Ohio, Masters in Social Work from Case Western Reserve University, Divinity degree from the University of Chicago, Doctor of Divinity from Meadville Theological School, Doctor of Laws from Emerson College in Boston, and Doctor of Humane Letters from Lombard College. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary Anne (Beaumont); his son, Malcolm Sutherland, III; his daughter, Maryanne B., daughter-in-law, Linda; and three grandchildren. A memorial service was held December 6, 2003, at Harvard Unitarian Church, Harvard, Massachusetts. Norma G. Veridan
Norma was a lifelong, fourth generation Universalist who grew up in the Fitchburg, MA, congregation, winning awards for perfect attendance in Sunday school. Early on she was active in youth activities at the local and regional levels, including serving as a waitress at a Universalist Camp, Ferry Beach in Maine. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Jackson College of Tufts University. Her sense of social commitment, coupled with the loss of her older brother, Dana, Jr., who was killed near the end of World War II, led her to volunteer in international work camps with the Unitarian Service committee and the American Friends Service Committee in the late 40’s and early 50’s. She married Milos M. Velimirović in 1956 and the couple moved to Hamden, CT, where their three children were born. The family later moved to Madison, WI and then on to Charlottesville, VA, where Norma served as religious educator for the Unitarian Universalist congregations in those communities. After her divorce in 1976, Norma served as religious educator in Arlington, VA, and Dallas, TX. A graduate of the UUA Independent Study Program, she was ordained by the First Unitarian Church of Dallas in 1986 and continued to serve the congregation as MRE until her retirement in 1995. She then served as the first Religious Education Consultant for the Massachusetts Bay District until her retirement in 2001. As a Minister of Religious Education, she chaired the Independent Study/Modified Residency Program at Meadville Lombard Theological School and served as a trustee on the Meadville Lombard Board. A long time member of the professional Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA) she served as a Board member and as its President from 1995-97. Additionally, she served as the first Chair of the LREDA Grant Program and was instrumental in its development. She was a colleague and mentor to many religious educators and countless students preparing for the parish ministry and the ministry of religious education — known for her wisdom and insight, her caring and her sense of humor. She is survived by her son Milo Velimirović and his wife Ingrid Iverson of La Crosse, WI; her daughter Mira Velimirović and husband Max Pross of Santa Monica, CA; her daughter Nada Velimirović and her partner G. Denise Stripling of Oakland, CA; four grandchildren Mirko and Ulric Velimirović, and Milena and Isaac Pross; her brother and sister-in-law Bill & Marcia Goodwin of Fitchburg, MA; and four nephews, Lin, Todd, Kim, and Dana Goodwin. Near the end of her life, Norma was asked what legacy she would leave. She answered, "The education of religious educators." Many years previous, when asked what she wanted to do with her life she had answered, "To be a damn good religious educator – the best religious educator I can be." Rhys Williams
He was ordained February 27, 1954 by the Unitarian Church of Charleston, South Carolina where he served from 1953 to 1960. In 1960 he was called to First and Second Church in Boston and served there until his retirement on January 31, 2000. The congregation named him Minister Emeritus on February 1, 2000. Robert L. Zoerheide
The son of Frank and Grace Zoerheide, he was born on June 27, 1914, and was raised on his father’s farm in Kent City, Michigan. Dr. Zoerheide was ordained June 7, 1943 by the First Unitarian Church of Chicago. He served congregations in Hoopeston, Illinois; Peterborough, New Hampshire; Syracuse, New York; Lexington, Massachusetts; Baltimore, Maryland; and Bethesda, Maryland. Upon his retirement in 1985, the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore named him Minister Emeritus. While working his way through Western Michigan College, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1940, he and his brother owned a butcher shop and smokehouse where they made sausage. It was in the butcher shop that he met the pastor of the Unitarian church in Kalamazoo who so impressed him that he and his wife began attending the church. By 1943 he was a graduate of the Meadville Theological School, and took additional graduate courses at Harvard University. He received an honorary doctorate from Meadville in 1975. During World War II, he was director of a Unitarian service committee project that assisted Japanese-Americans who had been relocated to internment camps. After the war, he and his wife moved to Czechoslovakia, where they established work camps that assisted European Unitarians in restoring bombed villages. Other issues he concerned himself with included the United Nations, feminism, mental health and gerontology. He helped establish and served on the board of Pastoral Counseling Services in Baltimore. During his tenure in Baltimore, he was credited with keeping the First Unitarian Church in downtown Baltimore. In addition to his wife of 66 years, Jean (Spaulding) Zoerheide, Dr. Zoerheide is survived by two sons, Todd K. Zoerheide of Brewer, Maine; and Mark E. Zoerheide of Alum Creek, Pennsylvania; a daughter, Vickie J. Dykes of Iona, Michigan; a brother, the Reverend Jack Zoerheide of East Swansey, Michigan, who is also a Unitarian Universalist minister; a sister, Betty Goodman of Beverly Hills, California; six grandchildren and two great-grandsons. Another daughter, Robyn L. Reklitis, died in 1996.
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Unitarian Universalist Association
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The Rev. Francis C. Anderson, Jr., 81, died peacefully in his sleep on August 27, 2003 at his home in Savannah, Georgia. 
The Rev. James Louis Bosveld, 56, formerly of Johnstown and Columbus Ohio, and of Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Mason City, Iowa, died Thursday, March 18, 2004. 
The Rev. John Winthrop Brigham, 89, of Quincy, Ill., died Jan. 23, 2004, in his home. Born November 26, 1914, in Concord, Mass., he was the son of Harry Winthrop and Abby Chamberlain Trefethen Brigham. On November 18, 1938, he was married to Anna Louise Dege of Quincy, who survives. Since his retirement in 1982 he served as minister emeritus of the Quincy Unitarian Church and the Burlington, Iowa, Unitarian Fellowship.
The Reverend Jesse Raymond Cavileer, died Friday, June 4, 2004. He was 87 years of age.
The Rev. Maryell Cleary (nee Mary Louise Gribbin) died July 1, 2003, in Lansing, MI, after a long illness. She was 80 years old. 
The Rev. John B. Isom died on April 23, 2004, in Tucson, Arizona from complications following surgery for a broken hip. He died peacefully surrounded by his family. We are so very proud of him and will miss him terribly. - John's family
The Rev. Arthur Boyd Jellis, 80, died on May 28, 2004, in Concord, Massachusetts, of a brain aneurysm. He had devoted his life to campaigning for peace, fighting against nuclear warfare, and supporting human rights.
The Rev. Calvin Raymond Knapp died on March 13, 2004 at age 78. 
The Rev. Nathaniel Page Lauriat, 81, of Sedona, Arizona, died February 22, 2004, two weeks after being diagnosed with cancer. Nat had a long and fruitful career as a Unitarian Universalist minister, and is remembered with great affection by all of the congregations he served.
On January 17, 2004, the Rev. Duncan E. Littlefair died at home of complications following surgery. He was 91 years of age.
The Rev. Robert Lester Mondale, of Madison County, Missouri, died August 19, 2003 at his home. He was 99 years of age.
The Rev. R. Paul Mueller died February 15, 2004, at his home in Somerset, New Jersey, as the result of a heart attack
The Rev. William Jennings Petersen, Jr. died Tuesday, October 7, 2003, from an aggressive brain tumor. He was 74 years of age.
The Rev. Raymond Jacob Pontier of Lakeland, Florida, a Unitarian Universalist minister and activist for peace and justice, died Monday, January 12, 2004 in Lakeland. He was 89 years old.
The Rev. Peter Spilman Raible died Monday, May 17, 2004 in Seattle of congestive heart failure. He was 74.
The Rev. Dr. Malcolm R. Sutherland passed away peacefully at his home in South Brooksville, Maine on November 19, 2003.
The Rev. Norma G. Veridan died in Oakland, California in January of 2004, surrounded by her family after a long struggle with cancer.
The Rev. Dr. Rhys Williams died Sunday, July 20, 2003, from pancreatic cancer. He was 74 years of age.
The Rev. Dr. Robert L. Zoerheide, former minister of the First Unitarian Church in Baltimore, Maryland, died November 2, 2003 of respiratory failure.
