Philip H. Pfatteicher
October 29, 1935 — June 22, 2021
Philip H. Pfatteicher
Philip H. Pfatteicher was born in Philadelphia, PA on October 29, 1935, one of two children of the late Ernst P. Pfatteicher, Jr. and Esther T. (Linaka) Pfatteicher. Born into a family of teachers and clergy, Philip was a dedicated educator and devoted family man.
Raised in Philadelphia, Philip attended the William Penn Charter School and went on to earn a bachelor's degree cum laude in English from Amherst College and a master's and Ph.D. in English from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1960, after completing his Master of Divinity degree at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, he was ordained by the Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of Pennsylvania. He also earned a Master of Sacred Theology degree magna cum laude from Union Theological Seminary in New York.
On June 24, 1961, in St. John's Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philip married Lois Sharpless. Philip and Lois started a family in Philadelphia and moved to the South Bronx where Philip served as pastor at Bethany Lutheran Church for four years. In 1968, Philip moved with his growing family back to Pennsylvania where he began his career in higher education; he spent nearly 30 years on the faculty of East Stroudsburg University as a professor of English and religious studies. Philip served as the Lutheran campus pastor from 1969 to 1997 and as chair of the Department of English from 1978 until 1983. He retired from teaching at ESU in 1997 and a year later was invited to become the associate pastor of the First Lutheran Church in downtown Pittsburgh, where he served until 2010. Philip also taught at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, the Union Theological Seminary in New York, and Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and served for the past 9 years as honorary assistant at the Church of the Advent in Boston. Over the course of his dual career in academia and the church, Philip authored some two dozen books and nearly 100 articles and reviews. Philip was a spiritual person from a young age and a scholar by nature, with a deep compassion for the plight of the disadvantaged and downtrodden and an openness to new perspectives on the world. His experience and knowledge were deep, but he always imparted his wisdom quietly and humbly.
Philip took great pride in his four children and seven grandchildren remarking once that becoming a father was wonderful, but becoming a grandfather was even more marvelous. As a child, Philip spent summers in Vermont at the rustic family cabin on Lake Champlain where he particularly enjoyed sailing and painting. As a father, he ensured that his children learned to appreciate nature as he did by learning to canoe, camp, and fish while enjoying that same cabin.
Philip and Lois found many fun and adventurous ways to experience the world together. When Philip was given the opportunity for a semester-long sabbatical from university teaching, they took the family on an educational three-month trip that literally went around the world on one-direction PanAm tickets. In later life, they took Amtrak throughout the country to various destinations, tended to their beautiful garden as if it was a sanctuary, and cherished time with their children and grandchildren. Philip also may have missed his true calling as a comedian given that he enjoyed making jokes as often as he could, even in his final days when his body was in rapid decline.
Philip was the beloved husband of the late Lois (Sharpless) Pfatteicher to whom he was married for 57 years; devoted father of Carl Pfatteicher and his wife Natalia of Pittsburgh, PA; Carolyn McDermott and her husband Thomas of Melrose, MA; Sarah Pfatteicher and her husband Bob Conlin of Northampton, MA; and Linda Pfatteicher of San Francisco, CA; brother of Ann C. Gregory of Newark, DE; and grandfather of Julia Pfatteicher, Serafima Pfatteicher, Thomas McDermott IV, Kelsey McDermott, Ian Conlin, Franklin Wilson, and Wanda Wilson.
Relatives and friends are invited to a Requiem Mass for Philip at the Church of the Advent, 30 Brimmer St., Boston on Saturday, July 10 at 10:30 AM. In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Philip may be made to Sailing Heals, www.sailingheals.org or another charity.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Philip H. Pfatteicher, please visit our flower store.
Photo Gallery
Guestbook
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
