Minister, teacher, counselor, author

Ken Dale, long-time missionary, teacher, counselor, writer, and beloved friend, died September 8 at the age of 99.

By some markings, Ken had entered into his 100^th year, and for that he was quite proud. Born in the farmland of Nebraska, “Ken’s life was marked by a quiet strength and a breadth of compassion he owed primarily to farm and family life centered around a strong Lutheran faith and community,” his family shared.

He graduated from Bethany College in Kansas (where he met Eloise, his wife and partner in life and ministry) and then he earned his Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and later completed his Ph.D. at Union Seminary in New York. Ordained in what was then the Augustana (now Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) in 1951, the couple embarked on what became their life’s work: serving as Lutheran missionaries in Japan. For more than 35 years, he taught pastoral care and counseling at Lutheran College and Seminary in Tokyo, “where generations of students learned not only from his scholarship but from his deep kindness,” his family said. He also founded and directed a pastoral counseling center in Tokyo, leading it for 14 years and offering community-based therapy, education and research to the benefit of thousands of individuals and families.

He was the author of many books — some published in English and some in Japanese — on counseling and cross-cultural faith and practice. “His writing reflected the same attentiveness he brought to people: listening first, speaking carefully, and always seeking connection,” his family said.

He and his wife retired in 1996 and moved from Japan directly to Pilgrim Place, where they never stopped being creative, where he painted, wrote, swam, practiced tai chi, and stayed involved in parish life and social justice concerns. “Through his 90s, like so many Pilgrims, Ken was still a teacher, a mentor, and a friend, known and loved for his gentle presence, his stories, and his continued engagement in the world,” his family said.