Walter HARRELSON Obituary

HARRELSON, Dr. Walter Joseph Passed away September 5, 2012 in Winston Salem, NC. Dr. Harrelson was the last surviving child of I. D. and Mabel Rich Harrelson of Brunswick County, North Carolina. He had a happy childhood on the family farm, completed high school there, and spent his later teen years with his brother Claude and family in the Washington, D.C. area, where he worked for a time as a junior clerk in the U.S. Department of Justice. From early childhood he was active in church life, reveling in gospel music and biblical narratives and poetry. In 1940, at age twenty, he enrolled at Mars Hill College, North Carolina, to prepare for some form of Christian ministry. There he met Idella Aydlett, who became his wife and companion for over seventy years. Idella looked forward to life in ministry, only to discover that their entire life together would be spent in universities and divinity schools. These included Andover Newton Theological School in the Boston area, the University of Chicago, Vanderbilt University, and Wake Forest University. Dr. Harrelson's special field of study and teaching was the Bible and its related subjects. Touched at an early age by the mystery and power of its stories and teaching, he sought to pass along those elements to his students and to public groups. In preparation to do so, he continued his college work, after Mars Hill College and a stint in the Navy during World War II, at the University of North Carolina, Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and the University of Basel, Switzerland, with additional language study at Harvard University. Active participation in scholarly societies in the U.S. and abroad gave him opportunity for further learning and leadership. The Harrelson family consists of Marianne McIver, her two children Heather and Heidi, Heather's life partner Suzanne Lowe and their two children, Annika and Celie; David Aydlett Harrelson and his wife Carolyn and their two children, Ansel and Clea; Robert Joseph Harrelson and his wife Kate Newman, and their two children Jessie and Tom. The family has enjoyed summer stays at North Carolina beaches and has had opportunity for considerable family travel, including a year in Basel, two years in Rome, and one and a half years in Jerusalem. During over thirty years at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Walter was active in the struggles for racial equality and for interfaith understanding, especially between Jews and Christians. Some of his writings, especially those written jointly with his longtime Nashville friend, Rabbi Randall M. Falk, were devoted to this end. Other writings had the primary aim of presenting the biblical texts helpfully for contemporary study, reflection, and meditation. Long years of work on Bible translation, including work on the New Revised Standard Version, had the same objective. After retiring from Vanderbilt, Walter helped with the creation of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University. In 2004, Idella and Walter left their retirement home in Southport, N.C. for Salemtowne, a retirement community in Winston Salem, N.C. Their move enabled them to resume membership in the Wake Forest Baptist Chirch, a model Christian community where all are welcomed and all affirmed, where the Christian heritage is held up to critical scrutiny and is powerfully affirmed in music, dance, art, study, and from the pulpit. After five happy years there, Idella died on September 11, 2009. The children made the remaining years of Walter's life not only bearable but marked by seasons of love and joy. Memorial gifts would be welcomed at Wake Forest Baptist Church, P.O. Box 7326, Winston Salem, NC 27109.

Published by The Tennessean on Sep. 7, 2012.
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Memories and Condolences
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I will always remember Dr. Harrelson's live interview on WSM radio with Teddy Bart. An anxious caller wanted to know from Walter how he(the caller) could be certain of God speaking to him. Walter answered, "be patient, God always makes sure the call is heard." i have used that in sermons and cpe groups for 34 years. say hello to Liston when you see him.

Thomas Phillips

October 5, 2012

My seminary professor Dr. Harrelson deeply impressed me with his gracious presence, genuine humility, and deep wisdom concerning the Bible and God's desire for Christians and Jews to live as one family of faith. Dr. Harrelson helped shape several generations of pastors, scholars, and teachers. Thanks be to God for the gracious, rich life that Dr. Harrelson so generously shared with us all.

Rev. Dr. John Van Nuys

October 5, 2012

He was my major professor at Vanderbilt, and a gracious individual. Although I was an evangelical, we were able to talk about that, and he never held it against me or those from the Church of the Nazarene or the Adventists, etc. I graded papers for his Old Testament Introduction and Old Testament Theology courses, proofread his book on Worship in the OT, and collated material for him in a study of the teaching of biblical languages. In a testimonial for him I once wrote that he was the kind of professor that did not stand in the way of a student and his goals. He was always positive, and not negative. He suggested a dissertation topic and I followed up and wrote on the Exodus in Jewish and Christian literature. When I asked him if it was necessary to have a thesis, he said no, that when Louis Agassiz went to South America to study its flora, he didn't have one and he did well. So when I finished the first draft of my dissertation in Pennsylvania and sent it to him, his first words of response were, "Come down and defend it." That was good news! I would like to believe that the simplicity he found in a small Baptist church early in life never quite left him. Thanks!

Streeter Stuart

October 4, 2012

Walter was a great, sturdy old soul whose influence will continue on through the pages he wrote, the words he preached and taught, and in the careers of younger receptive souls who, like myself, grew and prospered under his guidance and example.

Roger Bullard

September 11, 2012

I am about to retire as an Army Chaplain, and my every act of ministry through the years has borne the indellible influences of Dr Walter Harrelson. My affections for him will never die, and my prayer now for his family is for the fullest measure of comfort and consolation that comes only from the God Dr Harrelson so faithfully served, all his days of his life.

Chaplain (Colonel) Kevin Wilkinson

September 11, 2012

Marianne McIver

September 10, 2012

It should be remembered that Walter was the founding father of the Pseudepigraphia Breakfast/seminar/group/section, which may be the longest continuing section in the SBL, and was a major figure in the massive Ethiopian manuscript microfilming project.

George Nickelsburg

September 9, 2012

Dr. Walter Harrelson was our anchor during our years at Vanderbilt. He was a master of words, and he, unintentionally, taught us to be like him. Yet, we have no words to fill the holes that are in our hearts nor especially the hearts and souls of you, his beloved family. God's blessings as you mourn the death and celebrate the life of this loving, compassionate, and wise man.

Dr. Donna & Dr. Ray Dykes

September 9, 2012

Dear Family Members,

Please accept my deepest sympathy for the passing of your loved one, Dr. Walter J. Harrelson.

I want you to know that during this time of sadness and sorrow, may you find healing for your heart in the knowledge that there are others who truly share your loss. May God bless you and your family in your time of need.

Sincerely,

Dr. Vivian H. Burke
Mayor Pro Tempore
Chairman, Public Safety Committee
Council Member, Northeast Ward

September 7, 2012

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