The Reverend Dr. Charles Stephen—beloved parish minister, eloquent and literate preacher, omnivorous reader, and dedicated civil rights activist—died at home in hospice care on 29 May 2017, aged 85.

Mr. Stephen was a founder of local chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood. He hosted the show All About Books for Nebraska public radio and reviewed books for the Lincoln Star Journal. On the afterlife, Charles liked to quote Jorge Luis Borges: “I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” The local newspaper called him “a connoisseur of words and ideas.”

Charles Stedman Stephen, Jr., was born on 5 February 1932 in Melrose, MA, to Charles Stedman Stephen and Barbara Hill Stephen, and grew up in the Greenwood neighborhood of Wakefield, MA. He was graduated with a B.A. by Northeastern University (MA, 1955) and earned a B.D. from Crane Theological School (MA, 1958). Starr King School awarded him an S.T.D. honoris causa in 1982.

Mr. Stephen was ordained on 15 June 1958 by the Melrose Unitarian Church. After settlement at the First Parish Church of Billerica, MA (1958–61) he accepted a call to the Unitarian Church of Lincoln, Nebraska, where he served for 35 years and was named minister emeritus on retiring in 1996.

His daughter Susan described her father as a “man of letters, man of the Red Sox, hiker of mountains, canoe paddler of oceans, tickler of children, crossword puzzler, lover of opera.”

He is survived by his spouse of 63 years Patricia; children Debra, Susan, David, Karl, and Bruce, plus ten grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and brothers Sanders and Mark.