The Reverend James D. "Buzz" HARGLEROAD

HARGLEROAD, The Reverend James D. "Buzz" 85, of Tucson and Fort Collins, died on August 23, 2017 after a 14-year journey with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He was born in Hastings, NE on July 3, 1932, the son of James C. and Beulah (Deems) Hargleroad. He graduated from Tekamah High School and the University of Nebraska. After two years in the U.S. Marine Corps, he enrolled at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. After ordination, he served as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Cozad, NE. In 1964, he was called as pastor of Calvin Presbyterian, the only African-American congregation in the Presbytery of Omaha. In 1965, he and the church's youth were featured in an Oscar-nominated film, "A Time for Burning," which explored tensions among the city's white congregations in the face of racial change; it is still widely used as a tool for anti-racism training. He later served as Interim Director of the Commission on Church and Race for the Presbyterian Synod of Nebraska and as a Field Representative for Omaha's Human Relations Department. In 1972, he moved to Chicago to serve as Child Development Coordinator for United Christian Community Services, a collegium of historic Presbyterian and United Church of Christ neighborhood houses, for which he developed more than 20 day care and after school programs. Under his leadership, U.C.C.S. became the second largest provider of such services in the city. In 1975, he was called as pastor of Lake View Presbyterian Church, where he served until 1981 when the family moved to exurban McHenry County. There he served for six years as director of Pleasant Valley Outdoor Center, a program of Chicago's Community Renewal Society (an urban mission agency related to the United Church of Christ). He then became director of Lakeside Center, a community and retreat center ministry of First Congregational Church in nearby Crystal Lake. In 1989, he was named director of the Interfaith Council for the Homeless in Chicago. Under his direction, the program expanded from city-sponsored shelters in a variety of congregational settings to include several housing developments for special needs populations. A landmark achievement was the development of the highly successful Interfaith House (now The Boulevard), which supports persons in breaking the cycle of homelessness while recovering from illness or injury. During this period Hargleroad also assisted several congregations as interim or part-time pastor and served as an adjunct faculty member for McCormick Seminary's joint program with the School of Social Service Administration of the University of Chicago. In 2003, he undertook a 14 month commitment to serve the Papago United Presbyterian Church on the Tohono O'odham Nation in Sells, AZ. During that time he became ill and was diagnosed with leukemia soon after his return to Louisville where his wife was employed by the Presbyterian Church (USA). During a period of remission, they bought a retirement home in Tucson. As they were in the process of making the move, he relapsed and came under the care of the University of Arizona Cancer Center. There he underwent a successful stem cell transplant with his brother, Stanley, as donor. He is survived by his wife of 45 years, The Reverend Bobbi Wells Hargleroad; sons, Deems (Jennifer Hargleroad, DDS; Alexander, Benjamin and Jane) of Fort Collins, and Matthew (Michelle Heitmann; Adelaide and Iris) of Bellingham, WA; a daughter, Celia (Scott Kool; Avery and Alder); a brother, J. Stanley (Elizabeth) of LaJolla, CA and half-brothers, John (Jenny) of Bull Shoals, AR and William (Alicia) of Gypsum, CO. He is preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Jean Andersen (Robert) and a son, Andrew. A Service to Celebrate his Life and Ministry will be held at Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson on Sunday, November 19, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. Memorial messages may be directed to the family c/o Southside Church, 317 W. 23rd Street, Tucson 85713. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts to Southside Church would be welcomed. Arrangements by BOHLENDER FUNERAL CHAPEL.