ELCA NEWS SERVICE
February 24, 2006
Stewart Herman, Jr., Former Seminary President, LWF Leader, Dies 06-026-JB*/JB
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Stewart W. Herman Jr., president of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) from 1964 until 1971, died Feb. 16 in Greenport, N.Y., following a long illness. Herman, 96, a retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and author, was well-known in international circles.
As the first president of LSTC, Herman guided the planning, fund-raising and building of the new campus, and helped the faculties and students of its five predecessor seminaries successfully make transitions to the new location and curriculum. LSTC is one of eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
In the late 1940s Herman served the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) as director of refugee services, coordinating work in Latin America. The LWF is a global communion of 140 Lutheran churches in 78 countries, representing 66.2 million Lutherans. Through Herman's international connections, LSTC formed affiliations with seminaries in Tanzania and Argentina.
"Dr. Herman was a warm and gracious individual," said the Rev. James K. Echols, LSTC president. "After I became president, he would periodically send me notes of encouragement and interest. They were always wonderful to receive. I give thanks to God for the life and witness of Stewart Herman."
"Stewart carried the legacy of his remarkable career with deep humility and grace," said the Rev. John H. Thomas, general minister and president, United Church of Christ, Cleveland, and Herman's son-in-law. "He would share the fascinating accounts of personalities and events when asked, but never wore them as a sign of privilege."
"One of my fondest memories is of taking Stewart with me to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Indianapolis (2001)," Thomas told the ELCA News Service. "It had been many years since he'd been to a Lutheran assembly, and he was fascinated with the new technologies and style of the meeting. He soaked up the warm hospitality afforded to him by ELCA leaders, and was surprised by the presence of many former colleagues from LWF work and students from the seminary, who were so delighted to see him."
News of Herman's death reached Thomas while he was attending the Ninth Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
"The following Sunday I preached at a Lutheran church in nearby Novo Hamburgo. Far from my own family, I nevertheless felt very close to Stewart in the company of the WCC family he helped to create and among the Lutherans of Brazil he used to visit," Thomas added.
Herman was born in Harrisburg, Pa. His father, Stewart Sr., was a Lutheran pastor there. In 1930 he earned a bachelor's degree from Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pa. In 1934 he earned a bachelor of divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (LTSG). Gettysburg College is one of 28 ELCA colleges and universities; LTSG is another ELCA seminary.
Herman earned a bachelor of theology degree from the University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France, and pursued additional graduate studies in Germany at the University of Goettingen and at the University of Berlin.
In 1936 he became pastor of the American Church in Berlin and served until 1939. When Germany declared war on the United States, Herman was interred at Bad Nauheim, Germany from December 1941 to May 1942 before returning to the United States. From 1944 to 1945 Herman served with the Office of Strategic Services, London.
From 1945 to 1948 Herman worked in the refugee and reconstruction division on the World Council of Churches in process of formation, Geneva, Switzerland. He joined the staff of the newly organized LWF in 1948 as director of refugee services. In 1952 Herman began a joint appointment with the National Lutheran Council and the LWF, coordinating Latin America work.
After he left LSTC, Herman and his wife Ethelyn retired to Shelter Island Heights, N.Y. He remained active as a trustee of the American Bible Society and in the Union Chapel, Shelter Island, where he preached occasionally.
He is survived by his wife, their children, Nicholas, Boston; Christopher, Washington, D.C.; Stewart III, Fargo, N.D.; Lynda Herman Thomas, Cleveland; and six grandchildren.
Funeral plans will be announced later. The family plans to hold a memorial service in late May.
* Jan Boden, LSTC director of communications, contributed to this report.
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