Carol Rose Ikeler

IKELER, CAROL ROSE, 92, of Louisville, died on February 16, 2013, after a brief struggle with cancer.

She was born May 11, 1920, in Hartford, CT, to the late Rev. Philip Rose and his partner in ministry, Magdalena Migliora Rose. She married her beloved Bernard Eves Ikeler (1920-1997) on June 18, 1966. She earned a BA degree from Mount Holyoke College, an MA from Union Theological Seminary New York/Columbia University, and a M.Div. from Yale Divinity School. A fourth-generation minister of her New England family, she was ordained in 1955 by the United Church of Christ, and in 1958 she was received by Philadelphia Presbytery, becoming its first ordained woman minister. She served churches in Honolulu and Garden City, New York, and in Philadelphia she helped to develop an innovative inner-city ministry. She wrote the hymn, The Church is Wherever God's People are Praising, as well as several books and numerous children's hymns, papers, and reviews. She also developed workshops on family life with Bernard that they conducted across the country.

She served 32 years on the Presbyterian national staffs in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Louisville, first as an editor of the Faith and Life curriculum, and later as founder and director of the Family Ministries office. Most recently she served for six years on the Yale Divinity School Board of Alumnal Affairs.

Keeping her membership in Philadelphia Presbytery, she contributed to the work of Mid-Kentucky Presbytery. She led a monthly book review on the campus of Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. At Highland Presbyterian Church she served on the worship committee and annually led the Horizons Bible Study.

As a young woman she was active in the Student Christian Movement and took part in World Council of Churches ecumenical work camps in Italy and Puerto Rico. Later her travels took her to study seminars in Cuba, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Russia and yearly to Ghost Ranch, New Mexico.

She enjoyed the Louisville Orchestra, Actors Theatre, tennis, swimming, the out-of-doors and animals--always having a happy cat in her life.

In 2005, she was honored at a celebration in Chicago for being among the first ordained women ministers of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and in 2011 for her contribution to Yale Divinity School.

She was also predeceased by her cousins, Mary Rose Briggs and her husband John Brian Strobel and numerous other beloved relatives and friends.

She is survived by many friends and family; a stepdaughter, Heather Ikeler; stepson, Jeffrey Ikeler; stepgrandson, Jeffrey Daniel Ikeler; cousins, Drs. Kim Jonason and Susan Bentley, Sandra Phillips, Judith Phillips Adams, Elliott Briggs, Chris Briggs and Dr. Richard Briggs and niece Jenny Strobel and their families.

She donated her body to the University of Louisville School of Medicine; her ashes will be interred with Bern's in the Ikeler family plot in Millville, PA.

The family wishes to thank the staff of Westminster Terrace, Home Instead and Hosparus of Louisville for their loving care of her.

A service of witness to the resurrection and celebration of her life will be held on Friday, February 22, 2013 at 10 a.m. at Highland Presbyterian Church.

Memorial gifts may be made to Highland Presbyterian Church, 1011 Cherokee Road, Louisville, KY, 40204-1213, Ghost Ranch Conference Center, HC77 Box 11 Abiquiu, NM, 87510, and the Caring Hands Fund of Presbyterian Homes of Louisville, 2116 Buechel Bank Road, Louisville, KY, 40218.