Chalmers MacCormick

CHALMERS MACCORMICK
AURORA - Chalmers MacCormick of Aurora died at home on Thursday, September 27, attended by Lili, his wife of 54 years. He was a professor of the history and philosophy of religion at Wells College, which he loved for his entire career, beginning in 1958 and ending with his retirement in 1992.
Chalmers was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, on April 17, 1928. After graduating from Framingham High School, he served in the U.S. Army as a cryptographer from 1946 to 1948. He majored in history at Bowdoin College, attending on the GI Bill. He married Elisabeth Koelln in 1953 after completing his Master's Degree at Harvard, and did graduate work at the University of Tubingen, Germany, as a Fulbright Scholar, on his way to completing his Doctorate at Harvard Divinity School in 1959. He was also the recipient of a Danforth Fellowship. Sabbatical leaves from Wells permitted him to travel and study in India, England, and at General Theological Seminary in New York City. He had a particular interest in the work of Thomas Merton and the encounter of eastern and western religions, and reviewed extensively for Choice Magazine. Chalmers was a communicant of St. Patrick's Catholic Church, but also attended services of other denominations frequently, out of belief and for pleasure. He sang with the Bowdoin Glee Club, Ithaca Community Chorus, and United Ministry Choir, and other organizations. He was an enthusiastic organizer and participant in Wells community volleyball, platform tennis and tennis, in turn. He was the first in his family to swim across Cayuga Lake at Aurora. He will be remembered as a devoted husband, father, teacher and friend.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by three sons, Christopher and his wife, Mnetha of Aurora, Thomas and his wife, Bernadette of Deggenhausertal, Germany, Ethan and his wife, Susan of Aurora; and two daughters, Kathryn Roth and her husband, Daniel of Stuttgart, Germany, and Marian of Raleigh, North Carolina; his sisters, Margaret de Forest and her husband, Kellam of Santa Barbara, California, and Jean Renjilian and her husband, Jeremiah of Newtown, Connecticut; grandchildren, Glenn, Brigid, Walker, Rita and Silas; and several nieces and nephews.
Friends may call at home, 16 Dublin Hill Rd. in Aurora, from 1-5 on Saturday and Sunday. A funeral service will be conducted at the United Ministry Church in Aurora at 11 o'clock on Tuesday, October 2. Shakelton Funeral Home in Aurora is in charge of arrangements.
Contributions may be made in Chalmers' memory to the Aurora Volunteer Fire Department, PO Box 71, Aurora, NY 13026.