In Memoriam: Verlyn Smith

We grieve the death on August 31 of the Reverend Verlyn O. Smith, one of the pillars of the peace and justice movement in Minnesota. Born in 1927 and ordained in 1954, Verlyn taught religion and church history at Augustana College from 1955 to 1968, then worked mainly in campus ministries, and was the pastor of Grace University Lutheran Church. Verlyn was President of the Minnesota Chapter of the World Federalist Association (later Citizens for Global Solutions) from 1999 to 2002 and was a Board member for many additional years. He was a co-founder of the Vincent J. Hawkinson Foundation for Peace and Justice and of People of Faith Peacemakers. Along with several others of our chapter, he was a member of the planning committee for the memorable Peace Island Conference in St. Paul in 2008.