The Rev. Dr. Harold George Banks passed into glory on July 18 with his family by his side in Torrance, California.
Born March 15, 1945 in Pennsylvania, Harold Banks attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, earning a BA in Social Science in 1968. He received an M.Div in 1971 from the Hamma School of Theology at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, and was ordained June 13 of that year at Zion Lutheran Church in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania. He went on to receive his Doctor of Divinity at Indiana University in 1981 and an MBA from Pepperdine University in 2001.
Pastor Banks dedicated his life to assisting others, serving as a chaplain in the US Navy for 22 years and leading several parishes within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in the Florida-Bahamas Synod. He retired in 2013 and served as a supply pastor and organist at First, Torrance and St. John, Gardena.
He is survived by his spouse, Rodney Nishikubo; his sons Matthew and Michael Banks, two grandsons, two granddaughters, and a great-grandson.
A memorial service will be held at Christ the King Lutheran Church of Torrance, located at 2706 W. 182nd St., Torrance, CA 90504, on Saturday, August 6, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. All are invited to come honor his memory and give thanks for his presence among us.
