Herman Ahrens, editor and educator
Services will be held Saturday, March 12, for Herman C. Ahrens Jr., 91, an editor, educator, and lay leader of his church in Lansdale.
Services will be held Saturday, March 12, for Herman C. Ahrens Jr., 91, an editor, educator, and lay leader of his church in Lansdale.
Dr. Ahrens died Wednesday, Feb. 24, of a heart ailment at Abington Hospital-Jefferson Health.
Born in Port Washington, Ohio, he came from a family that valued religious faith. His father, the Rev. Herman C. Ahrens Sr., was a minister; one of Dr. Ahrens' sons is pastor to a United Church of Christ congregation in Columbus, Ohio.
A graduate of Harding High School in Marion, Ohio, Dr. Ahrens earned a bachelor's degree from what is now Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio, and completed a bachelor of journalism degree with honors from the University of Missouri in 1950. A quarter-century later, he received an honorary doctor of humane letters from Heidelberg.
During World War II, Dr. Ahrens saw action in Europe with the Army's 84th "Railsplitters" Infantry Division along the Siegfried Line and at the Battle of the Bulge. The Railsplitters crossed the Rhine River into Germany, where they served with the Allied Russian Army as an occupation force. He received a Bronze Star medal and a Purple Heart.
In 1950, Dr. Ahrens told his family he felt called to be editor of Youth, a national monthly publication for teenagers sponsored by a denomination that became part of the United Church of Christ.
During his 31-year tenure, the magazine received 20 professional awards for excellence. It had a paid circulation of 50,000 in the United States and Canada, and was read by members of 10 Protestant denominations and some Catholics. The magazine featured prayers, counseling advice, everyday stories, and humor articles for young people.
"During my years as editor of Youth magazine, my major concern was for the spiritual and personal welfare of the individual teen readers," he wrote in an online editor's note, an expansion of a magazine essay published in 2007 when the church turned 50.
Dr. Ahrens also served for a brief time on the staff of Christian History Magazine, and then spent eight years as commissioned minister of communication, or publicist, for the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ, based in Collegeville. He retired in 1992.
Dr. Ahrens was the author of three books, two educational booklets, and many articles about young people that appeared in various denominations' publications.
At the 50th anniversary of the United Church of Christ, Dr. Ahrens was honored as one of the 50 people who had contributed greatly to shaping the church, his family said.
Locally, he was active for 65 years as a teacher and youth group leader at St. John's United Church of Christ in Lansdale.
"Dad was a very kind person," said daughter Deborah Kay Ahrens. "I've been surprised - maybe I shouldn't be - by how many people my age he helped when they were in high school and college."
Dr. Ahrens was married to Carol Lorene Kellermeyer Ahrens.
In addition to his wife and daughter, he is survived by sons Paul Conrad Ahrens and the Rev. Timothy Carl Ahrens; six grandchildren; a great-grandson; and a sister.
A 2 p.m. visitation Saturday, March 12, will be followed by a 3 p.m. memorial service at St. John's United Church of Christ, 500 W. Main St., Lansdale, Pa. 19446. Interment is private.
Contributions may be made to St. John's United Church of Christ Music Fund at the address above.
610-313-8102