Obituary of Herbert Raymond Schaal

Rev. Herbert R. Schaal, 92, died March 2021 at his home in Lodi, California. He was born in 1928 and grew up in a sod house north of Burlington, Colorado. He lost his mother Emma in a home fuel explosion when he was 7 years old, and had to grow up fast helping his Dad and his older brother with all the farm chores as well as doing much of the cooking and housework. They were sustained through this difficult time by their relatives and friends at Hope Congregational Church near Bethune, Colorado, where Herb was confirmed in 1944. Upon graduation from high school at age 16, Herb was offered chemical and mechanical engineering scholarships to the University of Colorado (Boulder), but with WWII still raging and his brother being drafted, he chose to stay home and help his father with their farming and livestock operation. The next seven years working with his dad Jake and his brother Ted (after Ted returned from the service) gave Herb a deep knowledge and affection for all aspects of farming and ranching. But by age 20, he felt the call to full-time Christian ministry and in the fall of 1951 he enrolled in the School of Theology at Yankton College in South Dakota. It was there that he met his future wife and life partner, Doris Kiel. They were married in June 1954 at the First Congregational Church in Yankton, a blessed union that would last 50 years until Doris’ death in December 2004. During the summer of 1954, as newlyweds, Herb and Doris were sent to serve Immanuel Congregational Church in Rocky Ford, Colorado. Over the next two years, while continuing their studies at Yankton, they also served Zion Congregational Church in Norfolk, Nebraska on the weekends. Herb received his Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude in the spring of 1955, and his Bachelor of Theology with honors in the spring of 1956. They were then sent to serve in Crook, Colorado, where Herb was officially ordained in November 1956, at age 28. In 1957, their United Church of Christ Mission Board asked them to consider going to Argentina to lead the seminary and extensive mission field there. With two young sons by that point (Mark and Dwight), leaving behind all their family and friends in the U.S. was a daunting decision. Nevertheless, in December 1958 they boarded a freighter ship in New Orleans in what turned out to be a 51-day voyage through the Caribbean and down the coast of South America, arriving in Buenos Aires in February 1959. From there it was a 500-kilometer trip north to the city of Concordia, on the west bank of the Uruguay River. Concordia served as their base for the 13 years they spent as missionaries, including a one-year furlough back in the U.S. during 1965. Initially Herb and Doris lived and worked in the seminary, preparing students from Argentina, Brazil, and Europe for mission-building and ministry. Herb taught 21 hours per week in the classroom, using only German and Spanish. On weekends, Herb and his senior students served some 15 to 16 different congregations. Herb helped new colonies and congregations to plan and build 18 churches and chapels, 12 parsonages, and one large evangelization hall throughout the mission field across 7 provinces in northeastern Argentina. With the help of native pastors, they conducted some five regional evangelizations in those provinces. Herb also did much liaison work with churches in the U.S. and Europe in support of the Argentine mission. Herb and Doris’ third child, Patricia, was born in 1959 in Concordia, and their fourth and youngest, Jim, was born in 1965 in Burlington, Colorado, during their furlough year. As the kids reached school age, the family moved from the seminary to a parsonage across town, and the children attended the nearby public schools (all in Spanish), which Doris supplemented with home schooling in English using the Calvert School curriculum. The years in Argentina were intense and demanding for Herb and his young family, but also among the most rewarding and memorable of his long career in the ministry. Herb and Doris were able to return to Argentina for a 3-week visit in 1990, and in 2008, upon his 80th birthday, Herb again returned, this time with his four grown children, for another 3-week trip. On both occasions, the love and fellowship extended by the many old friends and new church leaders and members he met with was the highlight of the trip. Herb and his family returned to the U.S. for good in July 1971. In the next 25 years, he and Doris served parishes in Lodi, California; Billings, Montana; Quincy, Washington; and American Falls and Rockland, Idaho. In mid-1996, they “retired” to Lodi, California, but soon were “re-treaded” and served as interim minister in Salida, Angels Camp, and at Zion Reformed Church in Lodi. Herb then served as Zion’s Visitation Pastor for a time before finally retiring to only the occasional pulpit supply (e.g. St. Matthew’s Lutheran in San Francisco), wedding officiant, and memorial service requests. Losing Doris after 50 years of marriage and work partnership, and too soon in their retirement years, was a very difficult experience for Herb. Fortunately they were able to enjoy six or seven good years in their own home in Lodi (the first home they actually owned!), with lots of visits to and from friends and family around Lodi, the Bay Area, and the country. Doris had been the first to embrace the new technology of computers, purchasing and using the first Macintosh PC model. A few years after Doris passed away, Herb was given a laptop PC, and introduced to the world of the Internet and email. He soon became a master at using the Internet to research his favorite topics (history, languages, genealogy, firearms, farm equipment, geography, …), and in using email to re-connect with friends and family around the world. Even before becoming proficient with email, Herb never missed sending birthday and anniversary greetings, graduation congratulations, condolences, or noting other special occasions for family and friends. His life’s work was dedicated to his faith in the Lord, and his life’s pleasure was taking care of his family and sharing with family, relatives, and friends. His knowledge and memory were legendary; he translated many old German handwritten letters for friends, he could tell you every detail of every farm implement from the 40’s and 50’s, ditto for WWI and WWII firearms, and he remembered every birthday, anniversary, or death date for family relations near and far. His children would often joke that we should hook him up to a computer to download all that knowledge for posterity, but fortunately he documented much of it himself in notes and emails. Herb was not looking to leave our earthly existence quite yet, but would say he had a good and full life, and with his faith in God and eternal life, was ready to join his beloved Doris in God’s eternal home.