Dr. Mahlon Hellerich

1919 - 2010

Dr. Mahlon H. Hellerich, 90, died in the Phoebe Home on Sunday, Jan. 17. He was born in Allentown on Jan. 20, 1919, the son of Raymond J. Hellerich and Mabel (nee Conrad) Hellerich. He married Frieda C. Steiff at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Allentown on Dec. 26, 1942.
Dr. Hellerich graduated from Allentown High School in 1936 and was valedictorian of his Muhlenberg College class in 1940. He received his Master of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1947 and his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1957. His major field of graduate study was American History. He was a Carnegie Foundation Fellow in a post-doctoral program in higher education administration at the University of Michigan in 1958-59.
He was a teacher. His first position was as a social studies teacher at Upper Moreland High School in Willow Grove, 1942-44. Following service in the U.S. Army in Europe, 1944-46, he served as an assistant professor of History at Elizabethtown College, 1946-51. He was also a professor at Towson State Teachers' College, Towson, Md., 1951-59. In 1959, he became the academic dean and professor of history at Albright College, Reading, Penn. In 1966, he held a similar position at Wartburg College in Waverly. In l970, he was appointed the first coordinator of the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges. In 1974, he was appointed the museum director and archivist of the County of Lehigh. He retired from this position in 1984.
Dr. Hellerich developed various exhibits at the Lehigh County Museum in the Old Court House in Allentown, the Haines Mill Museum in Cetronia, the Lock Ridge Furnace Museum in Alburtus and the Saylor cement industry museum in Coplay. He loved to give illustrated lectures to school classes and local groups. Following his retirement, Dr. Hellereich was a lecturer for many years with the Institute for Learning in Retirement in Allentown. He was the author of Lehigh Heritage, co-author and editor of the two volume A 255 Year History of Allentown 1763-1987 and co-author and editor of Richard Peter Hoffman: A Pennsylvania German Precisionist. He was editor of The Proceedings of the Lehigh County Historical Society and The Periodical of the Lutheran Historical Society of Eastern Pennsylvania. He served as the part-time executive director of the Lehigh County Historical Society, 1974-l976.
Dr. Hellerich was active in numerous organizations. He served as president of the following organizations: The Pennsylvania German Society; the Congregational Council of St, Matthew's Lutheran Church, Bethlehem, where he and his wife are members; the Torch Club of the Lehigh Valley, the Valley Forge Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Lutheran Historical Society of Eastern Pennsylvania, Lutheran Manor in Bethlehem, and the Bethlehem Housing Authority. He served on the board of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg and its sister, the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. He was the Pennsylvania German representative to the Pennsylvania Heritage Commission. Recently, he served as president of the Phoebe Terrace Resident Association.
Dr. Hellerich received many awards from these organizations. He was most proud of receiving the Distinguished Alumnus award from Allentown High School in 1979 and the 2009 Heritage Recognition Award for his 50 plus years of continuous support and interest in Muhlenberg College. He was also extremely proud of the fact that he received the Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America.
He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Frieda, and two children, Constance M. Schield (Marlo) of Stone Lake, Wis., Conrad M. Hellerich (Linda) of Cocoa Beach, Fl.; three grandchildren, Laura Ashby, Peter Schield, Bradley Hellerich; four great-grandchildren, Maggie and Scott Ashby, Maria and Emily Schield; a brother, Rev. Ralph Hellerich (Viola), and a brother-in-law Robert R. Moyer (Jennie). He is also survived by two nephews, Karl Hellerich and Michael Yost; nieces, Karen Hellerich, Mary Ann (Yost) Staley and a special niece Louise (Yost) Fielding. He was preceded in death by his sister, Charlotte Yost (John), and by a granddaughter, Melissa Hellerich.
Dr. Hellerich would like to be remembered as a Christian, a loving and loyal husband and father, a patriot, a dedicated teacher and a lover of books and libraries.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, 521 E. Locust St. Bethlehem. Visitation will be from 4 to 7:30 p.m. at the Stephens Funeral Home Inc. 1335- 37 Linden St. on Friday and 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the church on Saturday. A private burial for family members will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, 521 E. Locust St., Bethlehem 18018.