Michael Wenning
Michael Wenning | |
|---|---|
 Wenning delivering the invocation at the funeral of former president Ronald Reagan, June 2004 | |
| Senior pastor of the Bel Air Presbyterian Church | |
| In office 1995–2001 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Heeley Wenning July 5, 1935 Cape Town, South Africa |
| Died | June 28, 2011 (aged 75) Mission Viejo, California, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Freda Wenning (1957-2011; his death)[1] |
Dr. Michael Heeley Wenning (July 5, 1935 – June 28, 2011) was a South African-born American Presbyterian minister. He served as the senior pastor at the Bel Air Presbyterian Church from 1995 to 2001.[2] He gained national prominence when conducting President Ronald Reagan's state funeral.[3]
Early life
[edit]Wenning was born in Cape Town.[4] He was educated at Texas Christian University (Master of Divinity) in Fort Worth, Texas, and New York University (master's in both psychology and counseling).
Career
[edit]From 1969 to 1977, he was pastor of a Presbyterian church in Durban, South Africa.[2] In 1977 he returned to the United States where he worked for the next three decades as a pastor in various Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations.[3] He served as the senior pastor at the Pleasant Hills Community Presbyterian Church in Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania, more than nine years, between January 1977 and August 1986.[5]
Reagan funeral
[edit]He was notably the senior pastor at Bel Air Presbyterian Church from 1995 to 2001. There he developed a close relationship with church members Ronald and Nancy Reagan.[4] He notably conducted President Reagan's interment service on June 7, 2004, following the latter's death and state funeral.[3]
Death
[edit]Wenning died in 2011, at age 75, at his home in Mission Viejo, California, from kidney failure resulting from leukemia.[4] He is survived by his wife Freda and his two daughters.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "Reagan family pastor dies of leukemia". ocregister.com. 30 June 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
| alma_mater = Texas Christian University,
New York University - ^ a b "Bel-Air Presbyterian to Install New Pastor : Leadership: The Rev. Michael Wenning expects to apply lessons of tolerance from working in his native South Africa". Los Angeles Times. 9 September 1995. Archived from the original on Dec 12, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Michael Wenning Obituary". Legacy.com. The Associated Press. 30 June 2011. Archived from the original on Mar 4, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Michael Wenning, Reagans' Pastor, Dies at 75". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 30, 2011. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023.
- ^ Barcousky, Len (July 3, 2011). "Obituary: Michael Wenning / Pastor who served in Pleasant Hills, presided at President Reagan's burial". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on Mar 12, 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
External links
[edit]
- Michael Wenning - November 2010- YouTube Archived 2016-03-17 at the Wayback Machine
- 1935 births
- 2011 deaths
- 20th-century American Presbyterian ministers
- Deaths from kidney failure in California
- Deaths from leukemia in California
- New York University alumni
- People from Cape Town
- Presbyterian Church (USA) teaching elders
- South African emigrants to the United States
- Texas Christian University alumni