Rev. Dr. Douglas Earle Wingeier

Rev. Dr. Douglas E. Wingeier, of Asheville, NC, died on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022, at age 92. He was born in Lowell, MI, in August 1930, the son of Dan A. and Ellace Earlene Wingeier. Dr. Wingeier is survived by daughters Ruth (John King) of Long Prairie, MN, and Martha Emily of Boulder, CO, sons Stephen (Dawn Aura) of Atlanta, GA, and Philip (Diana Rayo) of Silver Spring, MD, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandson. He was preceded in death by his wife Carol, his parents, his sister Joan Dannette (Wingeier) Smith of Lyons, CO, and two infant granddaughters. He was a retired clergy member of the Michigan Annual Conference, United Methodist Church. Dr. Wingeier attended the Lowell (MI) Public Schools, graduating as valedictorian. He was a graduate of Taylor University (BA) and Boston University (MDiv, Ph.D., Distinguished Alumnus), and did post-doctoral study at Chicago Theological Seminary. During his ministerial career, he served churches in Natick, Westford, and Needham, MA, Tulsa, OK, and Burlington, WI. Doug and Carol served eight years as Methodist missionaries in Singapore, where he taught at Trinity Theological College. Later they served for shorter periods in Samoa, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Central America, Haiti, Palestine, Hong Kong, and the Philippines, during which Doug did volunteer teaching and research. He also served with Christian Peacemaker Teams in Palestine, Mexico, and Colombia. During his 27 years on the faculty of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL, Dr. Wingeier taught Christian Education and Practical Theology, and, as Associate Dean, directed the Doctor of Ministry, Continuing Education, Field Education, and Summer School programs. After retirement, he taught Missions for ten summers in the Course of Study School at Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington DC. He authored numerous articles in journals and magazines, and ten books, including Working Out Your Own Beliefs; Keeping Holy Time; and Marks of Mission. The Wingeiers retired to North Carolina in 1997, living first at Lake Junaluska and then at Brooks-Howell Home in Asheville. In his retirement years, Doug was active in several churches, most recently Asheville’s Central United Methodist Church, and in peace, justice, and environmental groups such as the Haywood Peace Fellowship, Just Peace for Israel and Palestine, the Creation Care Alliance, Christians for a United Community, and the United Nations Association. He also engaged in frequent protest and solidarity actions at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning GA, the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge TN, the militarized Arizona-Mexico border, the Pentagon, and the World Trade Organization in Washington DC. During his long life, Doug Wingeier gave courageous witness to the plight of the poor and the victims of war. He was unstintingly compassionate and open to listening and learning from all he encountered. His commitment to peacemaking, justice-seeking and environmental healing spoke quietly but clearly of deep faith in the Creator and the human family. He left an inspiring legacy and will be widely missed by family, friends and colleagues around the world. True to form, Dr. Wingeier chose not to be embalmed or immediately cremated, but to donate his body to Wake-Forest Medical School for education and research, continuing his life of service beyond death. His cremated remains were returned to his family in March and will be interred beside his beloved wife of 67 years, Carol, at the Curtis Family Cemetery in Calhoun, Georgia, on Saturday, July 15, at 2:00 pm. For more information, contact Ruth Wingeier at wingking55@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to the Doug and Carol Wingeier Field Education Fund at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, 2121 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, IL 60201 (https://www.garrett.edu/alums-and-donors/give/); Pisgah Legal Services, 62 Charlotte St., Asheville, NC 28801 (www.pisgahlegal.org); the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR, umcmission.org/give-to-umcor/), 458 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30308; the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, P.O. Box 5743, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (www.orepa.org); or the Alliance for Global Justice, 225 E. 26th St. Ste. 1, Tucson, AZ 85713-2925 (earmarked for the Nicaragua Solidarity Committee and/or School of the Americas Watch, afgj.org/donateafgj).

Tributes

Rev. Dr. Douglas Earle Wingeier

August 17, 1930 - December 19, 2022