Earl Duane Forderhase

Marietta Monitor

November 25, 1994, page 4 Courtesy of Ray and Elreeta Weathers

Submitted by: Martha N. Reddout

Services were held Thursday, November 3, at House-Rawlings Funeral Home in London, Kentucky, for the Rev. Dr. Earl Duane Forderhase, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, London. He suffered a fatal heart attack at his home in London on November 1, 1994, at the age of 60.

Dr. Forderhase was born February 18, 1934, in Keytesville, Missouri, to the Rev. Dr. Earl August Forderhase and Goldie Barnes Forderhase. His father, a Baptist minister, had served pastorates in Baptist churches throughout Missouri between 1929 and 1972 and in Tennessee and Kentucky from 1972 to 1991.

Dr. Duane, like his minister father, was a graduate of William Jewell College, Liberty, Missouri; his father was co-captain of the Cardinal football squad in 1928-1929. Dr. Duane had also attended Southwest Baptist College in Bolivar, Missouri. His parents preceded him in death: Dr. Earl Forderhase on November 3, 1992, and Goldie Forderhase on January 30, 1994.

Duane Forderhase served as pastor of First Presbyterian Church, London, for three years. He had also served on a number of boards of benevolent organizations, private schools, and of Seton Home Health Service, Inc., and Tri-County Hospice, all in the London area. He was also a pastoral counselor for Tri-County Hospice.

He had a long and distinguished career both as minister and educator. Having received his M.A. degree in history and his Ph.D. degree in philosophy from the University of Oklahoma, he taught philosophy and religion at the University of Oklahoma, Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa, and Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, for 18 years. There, he also served as chairman of the Department of Philosophy. During that period he served both Baptist and Presbyterian Churches in and around Fairfield; in the communities of Marietta, Lindsay, Norman and Oklahoma City; and in Clarksville, Tennessee and surrounding areas, including the Western Kentucky towns of Hopkinsville and Pembroke. He was pastor of First Baptist Church, Marietta, from 1960 to 1962.

In addition to William Jewell College, he was a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas. During his seminary years (1956-59) he served either as associate pastor or as pastor of several churches in Texas and Southeastern Oklahoma.

Dr. Forderhase is survived by his wife, Carol of London; a son, Gregory Duane Forderhase, an attorney in Knoxville, Tennessee; a daughter, Alison Petre of Knoxville; and a brother, the Rev. Dwight Forderhase, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Lancaster, Kentucky.

Conducting the memorial service were: the Rev. William McAtee, Executive Presbyter of Transylvania Presbytery, Kentucky; the Rev. George Aichel, Assistant Presbyter; the Rev. Ronald Kidd, Youth Minister of First Presbyterian Church, London, and regional director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Kentucky; and the Rev. Dr. John Wesley, Pastor of First Christian Church of London. The elders of First Presbyterian Church, London, served as pallbearers and honorary pallbearers. Interment was in A.R. Dyche Memorial Park, London.