Gornitzka, A. Reuben MEMORIAL SERVICE SCHEDULED March 13, 2007, 11:00 am, Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, 333 South 12th Street, Minneapolis. A. Reuben Gornitzka, senior pastor at Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, from 1956 to 1963, died in Minneapolis February 11, 2007 following an extended illness. Reverend Gornitzka was born in Seattle, Washington in 1917, grew up in St. Anthony Park, St. Paul, and graduated in 1939 from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota. He graduated from Luther Theological Seminary, St. Paul in 1943, serving as an associate pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church, Madison, Wisconsin, before accepting a call to become senior pastor at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Milwaukee in 1944. In 1956, Rev. Gornitzka was called as senior pastor of Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. During his ministry at Central he also broadcast weekday messages on WCCO radio and television and on KSTP-TV and hosted a weekend interview program on KSTP-TV. In 1963, Rev. Gornitzka left the pulpit at Central to accept a mandate from the American Lutheran Church synod to become a minister-at-large, with a special focus on the spiritual needs of leaders in business, industry, and entertainment. This calling actively involved him as a consultant, speaker, and confidential counselor, traveling extensively throughout the United States and Europe. His role as a minister-at-large was described in 1965 by the New York World-Telegram as "shepherd of a golden flock." Lee E. Dircks, in a 1965 profile in the National Observer, noted that Rev. Gornitzka "speaks from pulpits in Seattle one week and from podiums in Miami the next." In describing his corporate outreach ministry, Rev. Gornitzka said that the pressures of executive responsibilities, along with the need to maintain confidentiality and confidence, often left business leaders isolated and without emotional, ethical, and moral support. He viewed his special role as being available to listen and respond to these pressures while providing a Christian perspective on executive responsibilities. Rev. Gornitzka served on numerous corporate and civic boards, including the Boards of Regents at St. Olaf, Luther, and Waldorf colleges, and on the Board of the Ebeneezer Society. Between 1956 and 1966 he authored three books providing spiritual and leadership guidance. Rev. Gornitzka was preceded in death by parents, Rev. Odd and Sophie Monson Gornitzka; sister, Valborg; brother, Rolf; and by his first wife, Katherine Jorgenson Gornitzka. He is survived by his wife of 31 years, June Gornitzka of Edina; former wife, Ruth Haanstad Dahlquist Gornitzka of Las Cruces, New Mexico; daughters, Lynn Kintzi of Santa Rosa, California, Katherine (Wally) Brohaugh of Orinda, California, Phoebe (Nelson) Dometrius of Lubbock, Texas, and Ann Ziemer of Las Cruces, New Mexico; sister, Jordy Asper of Seattle; step-daughter, Kathleen Erickson of Minneapolis; 14 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.
This obituary was originally published in the Star Tribune.
