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Oldest Covenant Pastor Dies At Age 101
PLANTATION, FL (June 26, 2002) - A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m.
July 8
at Covenant Village of Florida for retired Covenant Pastor Walter W.
Johnson
who died Monday morning at the age of 101.
There will be a visitation at Village Center, Covenant Village of
Florida,
on July 7 from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
Johnson is believed to have been the oldest living pastor in the
Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). He was born January 10, 1901, in Los
Angeles. He felt God calling him to ministry in 1927 and began in 1928
as a
preacher at Chicago's Lakeview Covenant Church while attending North
Park
College and Seminary, according to a January 2001 Covenant web site news
story written by Colette Claxton.
After receiving his theology degree from North Park in 1931, Johnson
headed
to California and was ordained as a Covenant pastor in 1935 while
serving
at Berkeley Covenant Church in Berkeley. During his time in ministry, he
served in seven states and two Canadian provinces. He branched into
radio
ministry during his pastorate in Everett, Washington, starting a weekly
Christian program called Harbor Lights in 1945. Johnson preached while
his
wife, Esther, played the piano. Young people from the church shared
their
talents on various programs. His ministry at Everett, (Mission Covenant
Church) continued from 1936 to 1950, his longest pastorate.
Johnson ended his full-time pastoral duties in 1978 at the Evangelical
Covenant Church in Silverhill, Alabama. Shortly thereafter, he accepted
a
position as chaplain for Covenant Palms, a retirement community in
Miami.
He moved to Plantation when that community was integrated into Covenant
Village of Florida in 1981. He continued his work as chaplain while the
couple resided in that continuing care retirement community.
A special 100th birthday party last year included four generations of
Johnsons, along with a special guests Kurt Miericke, Southeast
Conference
superintendent, and Donn Engebretson, ECC executive vice president who
at
that time served as executive director of the Department of Ministry.
Johnson is survived by two children, Dan and David. David is a Covenant
pastor serving Bay Indies Evangelical Covenant Church in Venice,
Florida.
Dan's wife, Ruth, is a member of the ECC executive board. In addition to
his wife, Esther, who died January 31, 2001, Johnson was preceded in
death
by a son, Charles, and a daughter, Anne Marie.
Memorials may be directed to Covenant Village of Florida - Chapel Fund,
Covenant Village of Florida in Plantation, Florida, or to the Walter and
Esther Johnson Scholarship Fund at North Park Theological Seminary in
Chicago, Illinois.
Additional information on the memorial service may be obtained by
contacting the chaplain at Covenant Village of Florida, Jim Swanson, at
954-472-2860.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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