Obituaries
Dr. Chan Sun Cho, B.Div. ’57, aged 103, passed away on January 26, 2021. Dr. Cho also graduated from the Boston University School of Theology in 1959 with a degree in Master of Sacred Theology.
John DeYoung, B.Div. ’63, aged 57, passed away on September 19, 1987. He was the fifth child of Aaron John and Margaret Zwiers DeYoung. John served in the US Army in Korea as a Cpl. On August 15, 1961 John married Ruth Shepard Meranda who brought Connie and Wesley Meranda into the family. John died an early death from a heart attack while pastoring in the United Methodist Church. The back of his gravestone shows a man on a horse – a circuit riding preacher.
Rev. David A. Dyer, M.Div. ’66, aged 85, passed away peacefully at his home in Napanee surrounded by family on Sunday June 11, 2023.
David was a dear husband to Charlotte. They spent over 25 years of marriage together. He was a loving father to John (Annette) and Valerie (Stephen), and a brother to Frank, Stanley (Margaret) and Paul. He was predeceased by his wife Caroll (1995), whom he married in 1960.
David was born on September 23, 1937, the 3rd son of the late Gerald and Alice (Lyons) Dyer. He was raised on a farm near Wyevale, north of Barrie. He answered the call to ministry in 1956, and attended Lorne Park College. While studying he was assistant pastor with the Goheens in Barrie 1959-60. And then he pastored the Belhaven Free Methodist Church 1960-61. From there he studied at Greenville College in Illinois and received his B.A. degree. While studying in Greenville he pastored the Irving Free Methodist Church 1961-63. And then on to Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, earning his M.Div. degree (1963 – 66).
David returned to Ontario and pastored:
- Richmond Hill 1966 – 1974
- Trulls Rd in Oshawa 1974 – 1980
- Cobourg 1980 – 1986
- Perth 1986 – 1993
- Napanee 1993 – 2000
- Yarker 2000 – 2007
David continued to minister and serve wherever he could, and was always willing to do pulpit supply.
David is now free from pain, rejoicing in the presence of Jesus.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (II Tim. 4: 7 – 8)
LeRoy was born in Mansfield, OH to The Rev. Burton Edward and Mary Jane (Probst) Kettinger. As a child and teen, he lived in Cleveland and Warren, OH and was active in the Ohio Conference of the Free Methodist Church enjoying Bible quizzing, preaching competitions, singing in church, and assisting his father with worship.
He attended Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester, NY and while there met Wilma Lawson. They were married on June 8, 1963, and in the reception line after the wedding was offered the opportunity to Pastor a Free Methodist Church in New Middletown, OH which he and Wilma accepted.
That began a wonderful career in ministry including appointments at New Middletown, Cleveland, OH, Director of Youth Ministries for the Free Methodist Church, Winona Lake, IN, Columbus, OH, and Seattle, WA, as well as graduating from Youngstown State University, OH and Asbury Theological Seminary, KY where he completed his Master of Divinity degree.
After pastoring the Seattle First FMC at Seattle Pacific University, LeRoy accepted a position at Roberts Wesleyan University where he worked for nine years as Vice President for Student Services. He also served as Dean of the Chapel, and during that time completed his Doctor of Divinity at United Theological Seminary, OH. The years at Roberts were some of his favorites, and the opportunity to minister to and build relationships with students were memories he cherished. Those years also included an interim appointment at the Lockport FMC, NY, and summers serving as the Camp Evangelist at church camps across the Northeast, Midwest, and Canada.
After Roberts, LeRoy returned to ministry as the lead Pastor of the Dearborn Free Methodist Church, MI, followed by a few more years working in higher education, consulting, and time as Pastor of Christ Chapel Wesleyan Church, Hamlin, NY. In 1998, he became the Senior Pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Auburn, NY, where he and Wilma began what resulted in 25 years of ministry in the Auburn community.
LeRoy loved his Auburn parishioners, friends, and network of ministers. He retired from the First United Methodist Church but never really retired. His most recent ministries included serving as Chaplain at Auburn Community Hospital, Chaplain of The Commons at St. Anthony, and Pastor of St. Andrews United Methodist Church, Mottville, NY, as well as officiating at numerous weddings and funerals.
LeRoy was someone who enjoyed people. You could often find him at a local diner with friends, participating in community events, taking part in a prayer breakfast with the local ministerial association, or spending time with his ever-growing family. He loved his family, ministry, and Auburn community, and throughout his lifetime kept a close association with his home state of Ohio spending summers at the Kettinger Cottage in Mansfield, OH.
LeRoy is survived by his wife of 60 years, Wilma; children: Kirk (Michelle), Kevin (Elsa), Valerie (Darby), Janelle (Rudy); 14 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and brother, Burt Kettinger.
Christine Dorothy Pohl passed away peacefully on June 5, 2023, at the age of seventy-two, at home and surrounded by family after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer. Christine was a deeply committed Christian, a renowned scholar, an active member of her community, and a loving daughter, sister, aunt, great-aunt, and friend. She will be greatly missed.
Love of Christ was the bedrock of Christine’s life, and she devoted herself, both personally and professionally, to knowing God. After growing up in Great Neck, New York, and graduating from Syracuse University she attended English L’Abri where she was greatly influenced by the work of Francis Schaeffer. There she learned to put her faith into practice, first by opening Rebirth Book and Craft Shop, where she touched the lives of so many through Bible Study and fellowship meals, then as the administrative assistant and acting director of Bread for the World Educational Fund, and later as the director of program development at Community Bible Church in Lawrence, New York, where she worked with refugees. Eventually, Christine’s formidable intellect led her to academia. She received her master’s from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 1986 and her doctorate from Emory University in 1993.
Christine’s chosen field of study was Christian social ethics, and her scholarly work left a profound impact. Her groundbreaking first book, Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition (1999), is widely credited with re-establishing hospitality as a subject of theological inquiry, and will soon be reissued in time for its twenty-fifth anniversary. Her other works include Living on the Boundaries: Evangelical Women, Feminism, and the Theological Academy (2005, with Nicola Hoggard Creegan), Friendship at the Margins: Discovering Mutuality in Service and Mission (2010, with Christopher Heuertz), Living Into Community: Cultivating Practices that Sustain Us (2012), and Good Works: Hospitality and Faithful Discipleship (2021, with Keith Wasserman), as well as numerous contributions to academic journals, popular media outlets, and anthologies.
Christine spent her entire teaching career at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, beginning as an instructor in 1989 and retiring as a professor in 2018. There, she was a popular professor, forming lasting friendships with her colleagues and students. She was the recipient of many prestigious grants, awards, and residencies, and was a highly sought-after speaker. Collaborating with colleagues was a particular source of joy for Christine, and she often worked with coauthors. In a testament to the enduring power of her scholarship, a book about her life’s work, Practicing the Kingdom: Essays on Hospitality, Community, and Friendship in Honor of Christine D. Pohl, was published just last year.
Family and friends were deeply important to Christine. Although she always retained a hint of her Long Island accent, she found a home and a community in Wilmore, with her parents and her brother’s family eventually joining her on the very same street. She was a devoted aunt, staying in touch with her nieces and nephews; she never missed a birthday and had a knack for finding just the right gift. She found particular meaning in Sunday meals with her brother’s family, and in afternoon tea with her close friends.
Christine was also active in several congregations over the course of her time in Wilmore, most recently Wilmore United Methodist Church. She enjoyed traveling, and her frequent conference presentations and guest lectures took her all over the world. At home, when she wasn’t reading or writing, she liked to receive visitors, contemplate the outside world from her sunroom, and work in her garden; she especially loved cosmos, peonies, hydrangeas, and irises, and she greeted each spring with pansies on her front porch. Upon entering Christine’s home, you would find it filled with books, flowers, potted plants, and decorative pineapples—a traditional Christian symbol of welcome.
Christine is survived by her family: siblings Louise, Elizabeth, and Ronald (Dorothy); nieces and nephews Luke (Susan), Paul (Kana), Jeremy (Katelyn), Hadley (Freddy), Madison (Danielle), Drew, Jessamyn (Mark), Chelsea (Joshua), and Dylan (Ashley); and many great-nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Gunther and Dorothy Pohl.
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