Rev. Harry Heyden Hoehler

Rev. Harry Heyden Hoehler, aged 95, died at home on December 3, 2024, in Seattle, Washington, surrounded by family. Born December 5, 1928, the eldest child of Harry G. Hoehler and Dorothy Heyden Hoehler, of Wayne, Pennsylvania, Harry graduated from Haverford College in 1951 and earned a Master of Divinity degree at Harvard Divinity School in 1954. While working as Assistant Dean of Freshman at Harvard, he met Judith Anderson, who was also working in Cambridge and would later attend Harvard Divinity School herself. The couple married in 1956.

Harry began his long career in Unitarian Universalist ministry in 1959 at the First Parish in Beverly, Massachusetts. In 1964, he became minister of the First Parish of Weston. After Judith was ordained in 1975, the two forged one of the first co-ministries in the country and continued to serve jointly in Weston until their retirement in 1995. In 1994, the Unitarian Universalist Association honored them with the Award for Distinguished Service to the Cause of Unitarian Universalism.

Throughout his life, Rev. Hoehler was known for his leadership on social justice issues. He was active in the civil rights movement, joining the 1963 March on Washington and answering Martin Luther King’s call to northen clergy to come to Selma. He participated in the effort to desegregate the Boston public schools and oversaw the founding of Roxbury Weston Preschool, housed in First Parish to this day. He was part of a Massachusetts delegation that traveled to California to meet with Cesar Chavez in support of the grape workers’ strike in 1973. A man of deep faith and moral conviction, he understood the gospel to be calling people to actively promote justice and peace. To this end, his sermons were thoughtful and sometimes provocative, challenging listeners to put these values into practice.

Fostering links between his own congregation and various interfaith organizations, Rev. Hoehler dedicated himself to promoting ecumenical understanding and cooperation. In this vein, he served as President of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, President of the Massachusetts Bible Society, denominational representative to the Greater Boston Church Leaders’ Covenant for Urban Justice, Official Observer at the World Council of Churches in Uppsala, Sweden, and Member, with Judith, of the U.S. Interreligious Committee for Peace in the Middle East. In 1996, he and Judith jointly received the Forrest L. Knapp award for Ecumenism from the Massachusetts Council of Churches.

In his writings and public talks, such as the UUA Minns Lectures of 1968 and 1975, Harry developed his ideas on interreligious dialogue, an intellectual trajectory that culminated in his book, Christian Responses to the World Faiths. In addition, he published numerous articles in theological journals, as well as two books of sermons, co-authored with Judith. In 1984, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Divinity from Meadville Lombard Theological School.

At the center of his life, however, were Rev. Hoehler’s community and family. He loved being a minister, supporting parishioners through good times and bad. After retiring, he and Judith continued as interim clergy and guest preachers in various churches, and served the broader community by tutoring in Roxbury. He took great joy in his wife and children, whom he adored. All who knew Harry will remember him for his personal warmth, good humor, love of classical music, and prodigious command of American and European history.

Harry is survived by his wife, Rev. Judith L. Hoehler; his daughter, Cynthia Hoehler-Fatton and her husband, Robert Fatton, of  Charlottesville, VA; his daughter, Kristen Hoehler and her husband, Spencer Curtis, of Seattle, WA; his grandchildren, Luc Fatton, Pelham Curtis, Harrison Curtis; his step-granddaughter, Vanessa Fatton and her husband, Christian Larsen; his step-great-grandson, Frey Fatton-Larsen; as well as cherished nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his eldest daughter, Carolyn Hoehler, and his sisters, Mary Hoehler Thompson, and Bonnie Metz.

A Memorial Service to honor Rev. Hoehler’s life will be held on Saturday, January 11, 2025, at 11 a.m. at the First Parish Church in Weston, 349 Boston Post Road, Weston, MA 02493. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to your favorite charity.