A. VAUGHAN ABERCROMBIE

A. Vaughan Abercrombie 1912 - 2009 Rev. A. Vaughan Abercrombie passed away in Pensacola, FL, on Tuesday, June 2. He was 96. From 1956-1964 he was the minister at First Congregational Church in Tacoma. He was the son of Alex V. Abercrombie, Jr. and Mary Wilkinson Abercrombie of Nichols, CT. He was born December 27, 1912, in Bridgeport, CT, where his mother gave birth after traveling several miles in a horse-drawn wagon through a snowstorm to a midwife. Rev. Abercrombie grew up in Nichols, graduated from high school in Bridgeport, and entered Marietta College in Ohio in 1933. While in college, he was a circuit pastor. He drove an old Durant touring car around to four small rural Congregational churches, preaching at two of them on alternate Sundays. After graduation in 1937, he served churches in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He also commuted to Harvard Divinity School for further theological training. In 1956 Rev. Abercrombie drove his family B by then it included his wife, four children, a dog and a cat B across the country from Rhode Island to Washington State, where he accepted a call to the Tacoma church. His family entered enthusiastically into life in the Northwest. Boating on Puget Sound soon became their favorite activity. All four Abercrombie children graduated from Stadium High School. "My favorite memory of Tacoma is my wedding at First Church with Dad officiating," said Rev. Abercrombie's daughter Lois A. Street, who lives in Connecticut. From 1964-69 Rev. Abercrombie led his denomination at the national level as Executive Secretary of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. Later he became minister of the Congregational church in East Orange, New Jersey. In 1981 Piedmont College in Georgia awarded him an honorary doctorate. Rev. Abercrombie was also an inventor who held three U.S. patents, including one for an original design and operation of a plastic packaging machine. After his retirement in 1978, he mastered computer technology and spent much time writing. He thought and wrote about what he called "our spiritual environment B the feelings, attitudes, values, and commitments that make us human and humane." Besides his wife of 71 years, the former Charlotte Manning, Rev. Abercrombie is survived by a sister, Helen A. Rogers, of Chardon, OH; two daughters, Lois A. Street, of Ridgefield, CT, and her husband James O. Street; and Lucia A. Harvilchuck, of Pensacola, FL; two sons: Paul M. Abercrombie of Snoqualmie Pass, WA; and David M. Abercrombie of Marco Island, FL, and his fianc e Margi C. Adams. Other survivors include four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. A memorial service was held in Pensacola on Sunday, July 26. Commemorative donations may be made to: The A. Vaughan Abercrombie Memorial Fund, c/o Dr. Thomas M. Richard, National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, PO Box 288, Oak Creek, Wisconsin, 53154-0288