Paul G. Wassenich

1911 - 2005

Dr. Paul G. Wassenich, 93, professor emeritus of religion at TCU, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2005, in Fort Worth.

Memorial service: 3 p.m. Friday at Robert Carr Chapel at TCU, with Dr. Ronald Flowers and Dr. Kenneth Lawrence, officiating.

Memorials: Should friends desire, contributions may be made to the Paul and Ruth Wassenich Disciples Scholarship Fund, TCU, Box 297044, Fort Worth, Texas 76129.

Paul Wassenich was born Sept. 20, 1911, in Houston, the son of Louis and Madge Green Wassenich. Raised in Beaumont, he graduated from Beaumont High School in 1928. Paul worked his way through TCU, thanks to a job at the Fort Worth YMCA, and graduated in 1934. He received graduate degrees from UT Austin in 1936, and the University of Chicago Divinity School in 1938 and 1939. TCU awarded him an honorary doctorate of laws in 1954. He and Ruth Siegfried of Ohio married in 1938 and they had three sons.

Paul was ordained to the ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Fort Worth at University Christian Church in 1935. After serving churches in Ohio and Michigan, he was called by leaders in his denomination to teach religion at the university level. For 11 years, he taught in the Texas Bible Chair of the University of Texas, Austin. He was also the founding pastor of University Christian Church in Austin in 1946-47.

In 1957, he joined the faculty at TCU where he taught in the department of religion and was selected by the students as "Outstanding Professor" in his first year. He served more than once as chair of the faculty senate. In 1962, he founded the Honors Program at TCU, which continues today; he was named "Honors Professor of the Year" in 1963. After becoming a full professor in 1965, he was appointed chairman of the Priorities Committee in 1971, to study TCU's priorities for the seventies. In 1996, the Honors Program established the "Wassenich Founders Award," which is given each year to an outstanding senior honors student.

He taught at TCU for 19 years, retiring in 1976 to travel, raise peaches, and teach in various churches. Paul was a member of South Hills Christian Church for 44 years and was named elder emeritus. In 1985, Dr. and Mrs. Quentin E. Barber, church friends devoted to Christian higher education, established the Paul and Ruth Wassenich Disciples Scholarship at TCU. Paul was also active in numerous community organizations and instrumental in advancing civil rights.

Survivors: Wife of 66 years, Ruth, of Fort Worth; sons, Mark and wife, Linda, of Dallas, Thomas and wife, Dianne, of San Marcos, and James and wife, Karen Pavelka of Austin; grandchildren, Paul M. of Washington, D.C., and David of Dallas; sister, Marguerite Ezell of Macon, Ga.; three nieces in Georgia; sister-in-law, Ruth B. Wassenich of Buchanan Dam, Texas; and a nephew in Houston.