The Rev. Leonard Lowell Goering
Reverend Leonard Lowell Goering (85) gracefully left this world on October 16, 2023, surrounded by his family at his home in Portland, OR.
Leonard was born in McPherson in 1938 to Ellis and Esther (Wedel) Goering. They lived in Elyria before moving to the family farm near Moundridge when Leonard was 4. He graduated from Moundridge
High School in 1956 and married his high school sweetheart, Imogene Ediger, in 1957. Leonard attended Bethel College in N. Newton for 1 ? years before moving to Evanston, IL for 2 years of 1-W service. He was assigned
to the maintenance department of the local hospital and continued his studies at Northwestern University. He and Imogene had two children, Preston and Angela. Leonard married Johann Coleman in 1969.
Following graduation from Northwestern, Leonard took a job in the hospital radiology department, but he was soon called to the church, which he had come to believe in as an agent of human
healing and social change amidst the civil unrest of the 1960?s. He obtained an M. Div from McCormick Theological Seminary in 1973. He then pursued doctoral studies in philosophy and religion at Vanderbilt University.
He was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in 1977.
While serving as Campus Pastor at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Leonard met Jane Kurtz, with whom he shared 46 years of adventures. They were married in 1979. After the birth
of their first child, David, Leonard accepted a call to be pastor of the First United Presbyterian Church in Trinidad, CO. Two more children, Jonathan and Rebekah, were born there. In 1990, Leonard and his family moved to
Grand Forks, ND where he served as a campus pastor and chaplain and taught in the Philosophy Department at the University of North Dakota.
Leonard?s retirement from UND in 2002 led him back to Kansas where they lived in Hesston to be near his parents at the end of their lives. After his parents passed, they moved to Lawrence,
KS. During this time, Leonard continued to serve various churches as interim pastor and as a consultant. In 2011, he moved to Portland, OR, where Jane?s family lives.
Besides philosophy, Leonard enjoyed sailing, camping, and motorcycles. Ever curious, Leonard traveled to many places taking in what he called the wonder and majesty of the world. He visited
Israel, China, Tibet, and Guatemala. He globetrotted with Jane to Japan, Indonesia, the Persian Gulf, the Philippines and every corner of Europe and Africa. He spent much time in Ethiopia with Jane where she grew up.
Leonard was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Lynette. He was survived by his wife, Jane; his children Preston (Deborah) Goering, Angela (now deceased) (Bruce) Miller, David
Goering, Jonathan (Hiwot Zegeye) Goering, and Rebekah (Sean) Mitsein; grandchildren Bethany, Katherine, Mary, Rachel, Ellemae, and Noh; 4 great grandchildren; and siblings, Charlene, Kirby, Timothy, and Elizabeth.
A memorial service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, at Eden Mennonite Church, Moundridge.
To inspire and enable Ethiopian youth through literacy, contributions in Leonard?s honor may be sent to Open Hearts Big Dreams online or mail checks to Open Hearts Big Dreams Fund,
3518 241st Ave SE, Issaquah, WA 98029. To support justice efforts in Guatemala, online donations can be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church: https://onrealm.org/WestminsterPres/-/form/give/now or checks can be sent to
Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1624 NE Hancock, Portland, OR 97212.
