ForeverMissed
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His Life

The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia

December 10, 2015

The Rev. Dr. LeRoy H. Aden, the Luther D. Reed Emeritus Professor of Pastoral Care at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) for nearly 30 years, died December 3, 2015, after a brief illness. He lived in Atlanta, Georgia, in retirement. His wife, the former Ruth Meyer, a long-time teacher at Germantown Academy (just outside of Philadelphia) before retiring, predeceased Dr. Aden earlier this year. 

LTSP president Dr. David J. Lose remembered, "I knew Dr. Aden while a student at LTSP and found him always to be an exceptionally caring teacher both in and out of the classroom. A generation of leaders was touched by his clear thinking and graceful living. His scholarship and teaching were very much appreciated, but his willingness to walk with students and congregational leaders through challenges great and small was what really set him apart." 

Aden's specialization was teaching about pastoral care, as reflected in several books he wrote including Preaching God's Compassion: Comforting Those Who Suffer (Fortress Press, 2002), which he co-authored with the Rev. Dr. Robert G. Hughes, then LTSP president and historically a teacher of preaching at the seminary. Aden counseled many seminarians at LTSP, and was greatly shaped by his experience in parish ministry leading up to his joining the seminary faculty. From 1956 to 1959, he was counseling minister at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago. He served in the same capacity for Chicago's Bryn Mawr Community Church from 1959 to 1963. Following his ordination by the Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia Synod of the LCA in 1965, he was called as associate pastor at First Lutheran Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1965-1967), and directed the congregation's Pastoral Counseling Center. While serving Bryn Mawr Community Church, he also served as Instructor and then Assistant Professor at The Divinity School, The University of Chicago (1959-1965), joining the LTSP faculty in 1967 as Associate Professor of Pastoral Care. He retired from LTSP in 1994. 

"LeRoy Aden was a wonderful colleague in many ways, and he and Ruth were really down to earth people," Robert Hughes recalled. "When I was doing my dissertation in the general area of death and dying and funeral preaching, he offered to team-teach a course we titled 'Ministry and Death' where I could try out some of my ideas and he could hone some lectures that later became a book. We later used the same process, a team-taught course, to prepare for writing Preaching God's Compassion."

 "On behalf of the Dean and the faculty, LeRoy agreed to be the person to counsel students with 'issues' of various kinds," Hughes remembered. "He did most of that work in his home office when he lived at the seminary. In general, LeRoy and Ruth were generous in opening their home to students. He regularly supervised a student small group, which met in his home. As a faculty member, he and Ruth were most faithful in following up on students he advised, often traveling to their ordinations and installations."

Ruth & LeRoy Aden

"When the Adens purchased a farm north of Allentown, Pennsylvania, where they lived before moving south after retiring, LeRoy relaxed by working on the land and the home," Hughes continued. "He was handy with a hammer and paintbrush, and, if I recall correctly, they did some planting as well. LeRoy was also particularly knowledgeable regarding finances and investments and served many years as the faculty representative on the Board of Trustees' finance committee." 

Aden graduated from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, in 1951 with a BA. He received a Bachelor of Divinity in 1954 from Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. He was awarded his MA in 1956 by the Federated Theological Faculty of The University of Chicago and received his PhD in 1961 from The Divinity School at The University of Chicago. In 1965 he did postgraduate work in Existential Psychology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

While teaching at LTSP, his professional associations included serving as President, Eastern Region, for the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (1970-1977). 

He was the author of many articles and several books in addition to Preaching God's Compassion. With J. Harold Ellens, he edited The Church and Pastoral Care (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989) and Turning Points in Pastoral Care: The Legacy of Anton Boisen and Seward Hiltner (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990). With Ellens and David G.Benner, he edited Christian Perspectives on Human Development (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992). And with Benner he edited Counseling and the Human Predicament: A Study of Sin, Guilt and Forgiveness (Grand Rapids,: Baker Book House, 1989). 

The Adens are survived by two adult children, David LeRoy and Elizabeth Ann. 

A memorial service is planned for Saturday, December 19, 2015, at 3:00 pm, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1208 Rose Creek Drive, Woodstock, Georgia, 30189. 

Condolences may be sent to Pastor Aden's daughter Elizabeth Aden-Buie, 602 Bentley Falls Court, Canton, Georgia 30114. 

Donations can be made in memory of Dr. Aden to the Dr. LeRoy Aden Endowed Scholarship in Pastoral Care by sending a check made out to "LTSP" and sent to 7301 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19119, marking the name of the scholarship fund on the memo line. To donate using your credit card, please contact Kathie Afflerbach, AIM, LTSP Director of Donor Services at kafflerbach@Ltsp.edu or 215.248.6324.

 

Memorial

December 9, 2015

Memorial can be given to The LeRoy Aden Scholarship Fund at the The Lutheran Seminary of Philadelphia. Be sure to put LeRoy Aden Scholarship in the memo line of the check or add a short note. This fund provides scholarship money to students currently attending the seminary.

The Lutheran Theologica Seminary at Philadelphia
LeRoy H Aden Scholarship Fund
7301 Germantown Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19119-1974 215.248.4616 800.286.4616  

 

Service

December 9, 2015
Service

There will be a service at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1208 Rose Creek Drive, Woodstock, Georgia Saturday December 19, 2015. The service will be at 3:00 PM and will be followed by a light dinner at the church.    

Hotels close by the church are: Hampton Inn Woodstock, 450 ParkWay 575, Woodstock, GA 30188  Microtel Inn and Suites by Wyndham, 305 Molly Lane, Woodstock, GA 30188 Embassy Suite Kennesaw Towne Center, 620 Chastain Rd NW, Kennesaw 30144

His Life

December 9, 2015

His family and his work

LeRoy H Aden, spouse of Ruth M Aden, mother of David Aden and Elizabeth (Beth) Aden-Buie, died on December 3, 2015 at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Georgia. He was born in Palmer, Iowa and spent all of his young life living in Iowa. LeRoy met Ruth Meyer at Wartburg College and they got married on Dec 17, 1951. LeRoy graduated in 1951 from Wartburg College with a BA and went on to attend Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque Iowa. After he graduated from Wartburg Seminary, LeRoy went to the Federated Theological Faculty at the University of Chicago where he received a PhD in Divinity. LeRoy spent most of his career as a seminary professor at The Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He taught many courses but pastoral care was his main interest. LeRoy retired from full time teaching in June 1994, although he still taught for many years part time. LeRoy wrote numerous books including Preaching God's Compassion, Guilt and the Search for Fullfilment, In Life and Death: The Shaping of Faith and Finding Meaning in an Uncertain World.

LeRoy and Ruth lived in Philadelphia, PA and then in Allentown when they retired. They bought a condo in Clearwater Beach, FL and spent many winters there until they moved to Clearwater full time in July 2011. In July 2014 they moved to Canton, GA to be closer to their daughter, Beth.

LeRoy is survived by his two children and their spouses; David and Phyllis Aden, Beth and Ken Aden-Buie, his 5 grandchildren; Jason Aden, Jesse Aden, Garrick Aden-Buie, Aubrey Aden-Buie and Britta Aden-Buie, his 6 great-grandchildren, and his sister, Mardella K. (Aden) Durst. Preceding him in death was his wife Ruth Meyer Aden, his sister, IvaLee M (Aden) Coleman, and his parents Nelly Anna (Reitter) and Reamer H Aden.