|
Rev. Kenneth J. ("Ken") Dale was born on March 3, 1926. He was ordained on June 17, 1951 in the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church (now the ELCA) before embarking with his wife Eloise on what became their life's work: serving as Lutheran missionaries in Japan until they retired at the end of 1995.
Born in the farmland of Nebraska, Ken’s life was marked by a quiet strength and a breadth of compassion he owed primarily to farm and family life centered around a strong Lutheran faith and community. He graduated from Bethany College in Kansas (where he met Eloise, his wife and partner in life and ministry), and then he earned his Master of Divinity from the Lutheran school of theology in Chicago, and later completed his Ph.D. at Union Seminary in New York.
For more than 35 years, Ken taught pastoral care and counseling at Lutheran College and Seminary in Tokyo, where generations of students learned not only from his scholarship but from his deep kindness. Ken also founded and directed a pastoral counseling center in Tokyo, leading it for 14 years and offering community-based therapy, education, and research to the benefit of thousands of individuals and families.
Ken was the author of many books – some published in English and some in Japanese – on counseling and cross-cultural faith and practice. His writing reflected the same attentiveness he brought to people: listening first, speaking carefully, and always seeking connection.
Ken and Eloise retired in 1996 and moved from Japan directly to Pilgrim Place, where they never stopped being creative, where Ken painted, wrote, swam, practiced Tai Chi, and stayed involved in parish life and social justice concerns. Through his 90s, like so many Pilgrims, Ken was still a teacher, a mentor, and a friend known and loved for his gentle presence, his stories, and his continued engagement in the world.
We hold his family and all who loved him in our prayers. Notes of condolences and messages may be sent to:
The Dale Family
c/o Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
1700 North Towne Ave.
Claremont, CA 91711
Memorial service information will be made available at a later date.
Obituary written by Ramona Cass.
| 
