Snapshots from the life of Bill Eberle

Early Childhood

Bill was a native-born New Yorker -- Fitch Sanitarium in the Bronx.  He was the youngest of four and the second of a pair.  His father was a painter in Putnam Valley, New York, where they lived in a small cottage on Argyle Street.  His brother Roy testifies that Bill was kind from the very beginning: he recalls seeing Bill pushing a cart with a doll followed by his older sister directing him with her bat.  He learned how to swim by being thrown into Lake Peekskill by his brother George. A favorite memory of Bill's sister, Barbara, is of the times they spent climbing in the trees around their town. At thirteen, Bill's beloved Pastor Hinch arranged for him to attend boarding school at Concordia Collegiate Institute in Bronxville, NY.  There he met his best friend and eventual seminary roommate, Roger Fink.  He ran track – his long legs were well suited for the long jump and 800-meter run.  He also played football and was at the time the skinniest tight end who had ever played for the Concordia football team.  His time at Concordia profoundly shaped Bill's life, as it gave him an opportunity for secondary and post-secondary education that he would otherwise never have enjoyed.

The blind date

While a seminarian in Saint Louis, Bill had to return east to New York for a compensation case -- he hurt his back while working on a garbage truck.   On the suggestion of his roommate, Bill took Elfie out on a blind date.  He picked her up in an old beat-up Kaiser that needed oil every hundred miles or so.  He took her to the Broadway play "Middle of the Night".  They had tickets for third row center; how he got the money to do so remains a mystery.  The date was going well until the lead character exposed her slip – scandalous!  Elfie was mortified and that was almost it for the couple.  But Bill knew then that he would marry Elfie.  He pulled some strings and arranged for a summer vicarage in Long Island, where he could continue his courtship. The rest is history: Bill and Elfie enjoyed 63 years of a happy marriage.

Called to Serve

Bill's first call as a Pastor was to the remote regions of Nebraska.  With excitement and trepidation, the two city folk packed up and drove for two full days to Elwood -- a small farm town of no more than 557 souls.  For the next three years, Bill fulfilled the duties of a rural pastor -- preaching sermons, riding bareback, rounding up farmers' cows, and fighting off rattlesnakes.  He learned a lot: when he requested milk and sugar with his coffee, as New Yorkers often do, the Patriarch of the church let Bill know, in no uncertain terms, that "Real men drink their coffee black".  Those of you who know Bill can testify that he did, in fact, drink his coffee black.

Called to Military Service

In 1962, Bill moved from Elwood to his next pastorate -- a mission church in Westerly, Rhode Island.  Shortly thereafter, in 1968, the Lutheran Church called Bill to active military service, which he declined in order to complete the construction of a church building for his fledgling congregation.  A year later, he received the same call.  This time, he was compelled to obey: "The young men and women who are now fighting in Vietnam are serving their country.  Those soldiers need the Gospel.  I have to go."  Bill left his wife and 3 young children (7, 4, 2 years old) to serve for one year in the Mekong Delta.  His service continued for the next 22 years and led him to Fort Lee, VA; Fort Dix, NJ; Aschaffenburg, Germany; Fort Wadsworth, NY; Fort Detrick, MD; Neu Ulm, Germany; and, finally, Fort Monmouth, NJ, where he retired.

Family

Bill's family was the joy of his life.  With his lovely wife, Elfie, he has three children (William, Chris, and Lisa) and five grandchildren (Nate, Luke, Hailey, Meadow, and Larah).  They travelled a lot : a ten-thousand-mile trip around the US in a wood-paneled Matador, vacations to Greece, Italy, Norway, Spain, England -- and every castle and church therein.  He loved to play games, particularly after family dinner and devotions.  He loved to watch his kids play sports -- he went to (almost) every game his kids played.  This tradition continued with his grandkids -- despite the much longer distances involved.  To the end of his life, his daily prayer included thanksgiving to God for his beloved family.

Retirement

Bill retired from 40 years in the ministry after his last parish in Glens Falls, NY.  Bill and Elfie moved from the cold, snowy Adirondacks to beautiful, warm Severna Park, MD in order to live near their children and grandchildren.  Retirement was filled with all of Bill's favorite things:  sideline cheering at the grandkids' sports games, listening to his granddaughter play her cello, reading books with a cup of black coffee on the deck, people sneaking him snacks during coffee hour away from Elfie's watchful eye, full and active participation in the life of St. Paul Lutheran Church.  Particularly important at the end of Bill's life were the relationships that he developed with the members of Orphan Grain Train -- a humanitarian relief organization in which Elfie led multiple branches over many years.  Those relationships provided him with great joy.  Most important of all were the many hours Bill spent reading the Bible, meditating on God's message, in active prayer, and applying it in his life.

As we look back on the contours of his life -- his parish ministry, Vietnam service, family relations -- we see that, above all, his life manifested a deep faith in the love of his savior Jesus Christ.

Well done, you good and faithful servant.

Services will be held on Thursday September 8, 2022 at 11:00am at St. Paul Lutheran Church 31 Rowe Blvd. Annapolis, MD 21401. Interment will be at MD Veterans Cemetery Crownsville, MD.

In lieu of flowers please donate to Orphan Grain Train, Maryland Branch. www.ogt.org/md and  click on "Donate to Maryland"