The Rev. Dr. Denis G. Meacham

The Rev. Dr. Denis G. Meacham died on March 20, 2019, at the age of 76.

Denis is survived by his daughter Kate Langevin (Paul), son Sam Meacham, grandsons Ethan and Brandon Langevin, and sister Pam Hutcherson (Barry Thompson). He was preceded in death by his wife Janet Harper.

UURMaPA will contribute $50 to the UUMA Endowment Fund in honor of our colleague’s ministry.

A celebration of Denis’s life was held on May 11, 2019 at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House in Chatham, MA.

A more complete obituary will follow.

Charles Patrick “Chuck” Campbell

Chuck Campbell

Charles Patrick “Chuck” Campbell died on March 10, 2019 at the age of 81. He was born in Tacoma, Washington 21 October 1937, the only child of Chet and Rowena Campbell. The family moved to Los Alamos, New Mexico after WWII, when Chet worked on converting the labs to post war uses. They moved to Colorado just as Chuck was entering high school, and he graduated from Boulder High in 1955. Eventually he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UC Boulder, with a concentration in English literature. His studies were interrupted, however, by a two-year sojourn in the Navy.

While at University, Chuck met and married his first wife, Mary Lou. When they confessed to friends that they’d become disenchanted with their childhood faiths, the friends introduced them to the Unitarian Church of Boulder. This encounter was the beginning of Chuck’s 59- year pilgrimage as a Unitarian Universalist.

In 1964, Chuck was accepted into a Ph.D. program in Boston. But his fellowship wouldn’t cover living expenses, and so he began to pursue other lines of work. He taught literature part-time at two local colleges, and found work with Arthur D. Little, a Cambridge consulting firm. During this time, he and Mary Lou decided to go their separate ways.

Tamara (“Tommi”) Wadsworth came into Chuck’s life in 1967. When they married the next year, he became an unofficial Dad to her three children, Dennis, Peter, and Jill. Tommi was also a UU, and together they became active in Boston’s Arlington Street Church. There they befriended a young lawyer named Sue Spencer, who remained friends with them through the years, and who would eventually become a UU minister. In 1979, the Campbells moved to Albuquerque to be closer to Chuck’s parents.

Chuck didn’t immediately find a teaching job in Albuquerque. Ever resourceful, he went to work for Mayflower, and for a few years drove moving vans all over the country. In 1982, he and Tommi found teaching jobs at the University of Albuquerque, and when it folded, he began a Ph.D. Program at the University of New Mexico. He earned his doctorate at age 51, in Technical Communication, and landed a tenure-track position at New Mexico Tech in Socorro. He taught at Tech for 12 years, retiring in 1999.

Although Chuck had been a “band geek” in high school, his love of the tuba blossomed after he came to Albuquerque. He played with several bands, but developed a passion for the traditional jazz of New Orleans. For 17 years he held the Tuba position with the Route 66 Revelers.

When Tommi died in 2011, Chuck’s long friendship with Sue Spencer blossomed into “something more,” and they married in 2012. From then until Chuck’s death, they counted themselves blessed to be together. When Sue became the Developmental Minister in Las Cruces, Chuck became the best clergy spouse anyone could ask for.

Chuck had been diagnosed in 2007 with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). For many years he was active despite this life-threatening illness — traveling, playing music, enjoying the out of doors, going to church, and generally finding joy in life. In the last 10 days of his life, he played three Mardi Gras gigs and one concert band practice, before the disease process finally caught up with him.

He is survived by his wife, the Rev. Dr. Suzanne Redfern-Campbell, two stepchildren from his prior marriage to the late Tamara G. Campbell, and many beloved family members.

A memorial service was held on April 13, 2019 at the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque, NM, where Chuck was a member for almost 40 years.

Memorial donations may be made to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, or to the Ministerial Internship Program at First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque, 3701 Carlisle Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110. UURMaPA will contribute $50 in his honor to the Albuquerque church.

Notes of condolence can be sent to Sue Redfern-Campbell, 6118 Edith Blvd NE, Unit 20, Albuquerque, NM 87107.

Jan 22, 2019

The Rev. Beverly A. Bumbaugh

The Reverend Beverly Bumbaugh—who came into UU ministry in mid-life and served multiple solo and co-ministry settlements with her husband David Bumbaugh—died on 14 February 2019, aged 82.

Beverly Ann Keplinger, the oldest of six children of Paul L. and Thelma A. Keplinger, was born on 2 May 1936 in Hagerstown, Maryland. Midway through college she married her high-school sweetheart, David Bumbaugh, and completed her B.A. in English in 1958.

Raising a family occupied much of Beverly’s time early on as David completed ministerial study and served churches in the Midwest. By the mid-1970s, hearing a ministerial call of her own, she began informally sharing roles with her husband, then settled since 1969 in Alexandria VA. In affirmation of this, the Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church board accepted their joint proposal in 1977 to recognize them as co-ministers, and the congregation forthwith ordained her on 22 January 1978. She soon enrolled in an independent ministerial study program, completing the equivalent of an M.Div. in 1981.

Over succeeding years, the Rev’d Ms. Bumbaugh served settled and interim ministries at the UU Fellowship at Easton MD, the East Shore UU Church (Kirtland OH, 1986–87), the UU Congregation of Rockland NY (1987–91), the Muttontown (NY) UU Fellowship (1992), the UU Church of the Lehigh Valley PA (1992–93), and the South Nassau UU Congregation, NY (1994–95). In 1995 she returned to co- ministry with David at the Beacon UU Congregation in Summit NJ, where he had already been settled for seven years. A cancer diagnosis led her to early retirement in 1998, and the Beacon congregation elected her Minister Emerita.

At her death, Beverly was survived by her spouse, the Rev’d David E. Bumbaugh, four children, four grandsons, and five siblings.

Memorial services were scheduled on 6 April 2019 at Bristol Village in Waverly OH; and on 25 May 2019 at the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church in Alexandria VA. Notes of condolence may be sent to David E. Bumbaugh, 335 Oak Ave, Waverly OH 45690, or revbev@aol.com.

Dorothy Hagquist Vetter

Dorothy Vetter

Dorothy Hagquist Vetter, widow of the Reverend Dr. Herbert F Vetter, died 2 February 2019 in Cambridge Massachusetts, at the age of 90.

Dorothy was proud of her Swedish heritage and of her parents’ connection to China. She was a skilled gardener and cook, and had a deep love of nature and science. Dorothy was a creative, talented teacher at Martin Luther King and Grover Cleveland middle schools in Dorchester. A tirelessly supportive spouse and caring mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, she was a committed volunteer, continuing after retirement with her work with the Tuesday Meals Program at First Parish in Cambridge, and with the Cambridge Senior Volunteer Clearinghouse.

She is survived by her twin sisters Esther Sachtleben & Grace Eicholtz; her children Kathleen Vetter (John Zurich) and Jim Vetter; son-in-law Rev. Tim Kutzmark; grandchildren Lyra Burch (Jesse Beecher), Larsson Burch (Maggie Boissard); and great-grandchildren Elsa & Faye Beecher. She was predeceased by son John Vetter.

Memorial donations may be made in Dorothy’s name to the Tuesday Meals Program tuesdaymeals.org/donate

Dec. 19, 2018

The Rev. Clark B. Olsen

The Reverend Clark Olsen—parish minister and non-profit consultant, whose life was enduringly stamped by his witness of the 1965 murder of UU minister James Reeb during the Selma witness for racial justice—died on 21 January 2019, aged 85.

The Rev’d Mr. Olsen was serving in Berkeley CA in 1965 when Dr. King famously put out the call to American clergy to join him in Selma for protest and presence. “I’d like to go,” was his first thought, despite a packed schedule and no funds for the trip. But when a couple in the congregation offered to pay his way, “I suddenly had to rethink all those excuses.”

Once there, he ran into ministerial colleagues, James Reeb and Orloff Miller, and as they left a local café, they were brutally attacked. Reeb died from his injuries two days later. Over the years, Clark returned to Selma ninety times to share his story with middle and high school students whose travel was sponsored by civil rights groups to promote understanding of those historic events. In 2015 Mr. Olsen received the UUA’s Award for Distinguished Service.

Clark Bird Olsen was born on 22 June 1933 in Boston to Arthur W. and Catherine Bird Olsen and grew up in Toledo OH. He earned a B.A. from Oberlin College (OH) in 1955 and completed ministerial study at Harvard in 1959. Following his father’s profession, he began in 1957 as a student minister to the First Unitarian Society of Westborough (MA), was ordained by them on 28 October 1959 and continued there until 1962. Parish settlements then followed at the Berkeley (CA) Fellowship of UUs (1962–68) and the Morristown (NJ) Unitarian Fellowship (1968–78). In the 1980s, he shifted his career to corporate and non-profit consulting.

At his death, Clark was survived by his second wife, Anna (Rogers) Olsen, children Marika and Todd, and brother Lee. A memorial service was scheduled for 2 February 2019 at the UU Congregation of Asheville NC. Notes of condolences may be sent to Anna Olsen at 23C Trillium Ct, Asheville NC 28805.

Nick Livingston

Nick Livingston

Nick Livingston — architect, artist, pianist, writer of novels, screenplays and poetry, and spouse of Reverend Ellen D. Livingston — died peacefully on New Year’s Day 2019 at Oak Park Manor in Claremont, California. He was 87 years old.

Nick was born in 1931 in Aurora, Illinois to Olga and Burt Livingston. He graduated from Ripon College in Wisconsin with a degree in history, then served in the US Army at the end of the Korean War. After receiving his architectural degree from the University of Illinois, he worked in Africa, Texas, and the Chicago suburbs, designing residential and commercial buildings.

He met his wife, then Ellen Harvell Dohner, in Park Forest, Illinois, where she was serving as lead minister to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the South Suburbs. They met when he played the piano for services at that congregation and would bring his band for social events.

At the time the congregation had to rent space for their services. Mr. Livingston offered to design and build a modern cedar-framed building on land the church owned in the woods in Park Forest. He not only volunteered his services but followed through on helping to raise money for the project. Three years after the dedication of the new building, he and Ellen became engaged. They were wed in 1982 at the new church building which offered views of the forest through the large windows Mr. Livingston had designed.

Four years after they were married Ellen accepted the call of Monte Vista Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Montclair, California. In August 1986, they moved to California. The Livingstons soon fell in love with the state and have lived here ever since.

Nick transferred his architectural license to California and worked as a freelancer and builder in the inland valley until he retired in 2012. He designed many additions and improvements at the congregation, and served as its maintenance person. As the church’s programs expanded, he designed and built a classroom wing dedicated to and named after him, Livingston Hall.

He was a true Renaissance man, with many talents and accomplishments.

Nick often played the piano for church worship services and social events. He enjoyed playing favorite songs, while friends sang. Sometimes he was accompanied by other musicians with stringed instruments and drums.

As a painter, he had several shows over the years, both in the Chicago area and in California, where his work was shown at the dA Center for the Arts in Pomona, galleries in Laguna Beach, at the Monte Vista Unitarian Universalist Congregation, and most recently at Claremont Village Green. All of his works were painted in California and Mexico, where he was inspired by nature’s variety of gorgeous landscapes.

Four years ago he published a novel, Stained Glass Warrior. In it he portrays a young artist from the Chicago inner city who is drafted into the army, and his struggles to survive injuries sustained on the battlefield in World War II. The protagonist developed artistic projects to encourage alternatives to a culture of war.

Although he served in the US Army during the Korean War as a teacher of enlisted men in Germany, he was a man of peace and was passionate about civil rights and the founding tenets of our democratic republic.

The Livingstons enjoyed traveling and had three places they considered their spiritual homes: Cambria, California; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; and Ms. Livingston’s birthplace, Boston. They especially enjoyed Hispanic people, culture and places, and traveled to Mexico often.

His family shared that even with his many accomplishments, it was his love of life and people that was his most outstanding gift. A friend said “Nick knew how to have fun, not take life too seriously. He made me and others around him feel important. To him, all of us were. He made me a better person for having known him.”

He leaves behind his wife, the Reverend Ellen Livingston; three stepchildren, Markus and Luke Dohner, and Katherine Dohner Acenas; five grandchildren; his niece Karen Jenneke, her brother David Jenneke, his wife Sandy and their son, Nickolas. Messages of condolence can be sent to Ellen Livingston, Apt 9A, 630 W Bonita Ave. Claremont CA 91711.

Nov 28, 2018

The Rev. Carol Fincher

The Reverend Carol Fincher—who came to parish ministry in mid-life and served mostly in her native Oklahoma—died peacefully on 22 December 2018, aged 86, after a brief illness.

Carol Fincher was born on 25 December 1932 in Fairfax, Oklahoma, to Dorothy Ellen (Prall) and Ed Armel Fincher, and was raised in the Disciples of Christ (Christian) church. She dropped out of college after her first year to devote herself to marriage and motherhood.

Some years later, as the family was living in Clinton NY, Carol discovered the UU church in nearby Utica. She became an active layperson there and later in Hamden CT, where her interest in ministry gradually matured. Carol liked to say that she felt “beckoned” rather than called to her ministerial career.

By the late 1970s, with her two children grown, Carol resumed college, earning a B.A. at Southern Connecticut State Univ. in 1980. In 1986 she earned her M.Div. at Starr King School.

Ms. Fincher was ordained on 27 April 1986 by her “home” congregation, the UU Church of Utica NY and over the next 12 years she pursued a mix of settled and interim ministries in Charlotte NC, Amarillo TX, Stillwater OK, Newark DE, Syracuse NY and finally a small church in Tulsa OK.

In partial retirement the Rev’d Ms. Fincher returned to the UU Church of Stillwater OK in a part-time position of “pastoral care minister.” After full retirement, that congregation named her minister emerita.

Carol enjoyed traveling, going to Mexico and the Caribbean, but also made a trip to Singapore, led by her interest in Kuan-Yin Buddhism. In her spare time, she enjoyed jewelry making, paper making, photography, music, and ballet.

At her death, Carol was survived by a sister Dorothy, children Dennis and Ellen DeGraad, and three grandchildren. A celebration of Carol’s life took place on 12 January 2019 at the UU Church of Stillwater.