Franklin Sherman, Ph.D.
Dr. Franklin Sherman, 93, of Kirkland Village, Bethlehem, died Aug. 31, 2021. He was married to the late Joan Margery Kendall, of Buffalo, N.Y. Following her death in 2006, he shared a 10-year marriage with Loreen Stout, of Schnecksville. Born in New York City, he was the son of Helen Molben, née Hazard and grew up in Allentown.
He was valedictorian of the Allentown High School Class of 1945 and attended Muhlenberg College, graduating in 1949 and the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, receiving an Master of Arts degree in 1951 and a doctorate in 1961.
In the early 1950s, he served as pastor of Advent Lutheran Church in Chicago and from 1958 to 1961, he taught in the religious studies department at the University of Iowa.
He then accepted an invitation from the Lutheran World Federation to teach at Mansfield College in Oxford, England, serving the theological students in exile from Europe. In 1966, he became professor of Christian ethics at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago where he taught for 23 years, including 10 years as dean of faculty. He was a visiting professor at institutions in Switzerland, Israel, Zimbabwe and Japan. In 1989, he became founding director of the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding at Muhlenberg College, where he served until 1996, including consulting with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in its 1994 declaration renouncing the anti-Semitic writings of Martin Luther.
He was a lifelong tennis player, a regular attendee at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, N.Y. and a longtime member of The Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit, Emmaus.
He is survived by children, Mark, of Takoma Park, Md., David, of Talent, Ore., Leslie, of Wilmington, Del.; grandchildren, Evelyn, Simon, Charlie and June.
Cards of remembrance may be sent to Leslie at 119 South Road, Wilmington, Del. 19809.
A memorial service will be held 3 p.m. Sept. 11 at The Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit, 3461 S. Cedar Crest Blvd., Emmaus. Arrangements were made by the Nicos C. Elias Funeral Home, Allentown.