Walter Wangerin Jr. (February 13, 1944 – August 5, 2021) was an American author and educator best known for his religious novels and

children's books A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...

Biography

Wangerin was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

, where his father was a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

pastor. He was the oldest of seven children. The family moved often, so Walter grew up in various locations including

Shelton, Washington Shelton is a city in, and the county seat of, Mason County, Washington, United States. Shelton is the westernmost city on Puget Sound. The population was 10,371 at the 2020 census. Shelton has a council–manager form of government and was the ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Grand Forks, North Dakota,

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

and

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

. In 1968, he attained an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in English literature from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...

. He went on to study at

Concordia Seminary Concordia Seminary is a Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Lutheran seminary in Clayton, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, Missionary, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Chur ...

and Christ Seminary-Seminex, both in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. He attained his M.Div. from the latter in 1976. From 1970 to 1991, Wangerin taught English at the

University of Evansville The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton College, in Grantham, England. UE offers more than 80 differ ...

, Indiana. From 1977 to 1985, he was the pastor of Evansville's Grace Lutheran Church. While in Evansville he wrote a weekly column for

The Evansville Press The ''Evansville Courier & Press'' is a daily newspaper based in Evansville, Indiana. It serves about 30,000 daily and 50,000 Sunday readers. History The ''Evansville Courier'' was founded in 1845 by William Newton, a young attorney. Its first ...

and hosted an evening radio show on WNIN-FM. He has been a professor at

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

Valparaiso, Indiana Valparaiso ( ), colloquially Valpo, is a city and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 34,151 at the 2020 census. History The site of present-day Valparaiso was included in the purchase of land from the ...

since 1991, where he taught literature, theology, and creative writing, and was writer-in-residence. Wangerin was honored in 2009 by being selected one of Valpo's 150 Most Influential Persons. Wangerin is the author of more than thirty novels, numerous children's books, and a handful of plays, and he has received several awards for his short stories and essays. He has been a college professor, a radio announcer, a book reviewer, a pastor of a

church, and has also taken part in cultural ceremonies such as a

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: * Lakota, Iowa * Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County * La ...

Sun-Dance. Most of his writing has been religious, primarily giving theological guidance on subjects such as

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

parenting Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for ...

, and

grieving Grief is the response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or some living thing that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, grief also has physical, cogniti ...

. Other religious books concern the events in the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. Wangerin passed away on August 5, 2021.

Awards

Wangerin is probably known best for his

fable Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that illustrat ...

s '' The Book of the Dun Cow'' and its sequel '' The Book of Sorrows''. ''The Book of the Dun Cow'' won a U.S.

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

in the one-year category Science Fiction."National Book Awards – 1980"

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established, "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America". Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: 'The Joy Luc ...

. Retrieved 2012-02-28. (With essay by Harold Augenbraum from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.) In 1986, Valparaiso University awarded Wangerin an honorary doctorate. His ''Letters from the Land of Cancer'' received the Award of Merit in the Spirituality category of the 2011 ''Christianity Today'' Book Awards. The

Evangelical Christian Publishers Association The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) is an international non-profit trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organizati ...

awarded Wangerin six Gold Medallions (now Christian Book Awards) in several categories. * 1986, ''Potter'', children's books * 1988, ''As For Me and My House'', marriage and family * 1993, ''Reliving the Passion'', devotional * 1997, ''The Book of God'', fictionExcerpt online
/ref> * 1999, ''Growing Deeper'' series, inspirational * 2001, ''Paul, a Novel'', fiction

Books

;Religious books *''Ragman and Other Cries of Faith'' (1984; 2004) *''Miz Lil And The Chronicles Of Grace'' (1988) *''Little Lamb, Who Made Thee?'' (1993; 2004) *''Mourning into Dancing'' (1992) *''Reliving the Passion'' (1992) *''The Book of God: The Bible as a Novel'' (1996) *''The Simple Truth: A Bare Bones Bible'' (1996) *''Orphean Passages'' (1996) *''The Manger is Empty'' (1998) *''Whole Prayer'' (1998) *''Preparing for Jesus'' (1999) *''Prayerbook For Husbands And Wives'' (2000) *''As for Me and My House: Crafting a Marriage to Last'' (2001) *''Paul: A Novel'' (2000) *''Jesus: A Novel'' (2005) *''The Crying for a Vision'' (2003) *''This Earthly Pilgrimage'' (2003) *''In The Days Of The Angels'' (2007) *''Father and Son: Finding Freedom'' (2008) *''Naomi and Her Daughters'' (2010) *''Letters from the Land of Cancer'' (2010) *''Beate Not the Poore Desk: A Writer to Young Writers'' (2016) ;Poetry *''The Absolute, Relatively Inaccessible'' (2017) *''On an Age-Old Anvil: Wince and Sing'' (2018) ;Fantasy novels * '' The Book of the Dun Cow'' (1978) * '' The Book of Sorrows'' (1985) * '' The Third Book of the Dun Cow: Peace at the Last'' (2013) ;Children's books/stories *''Bible for Children'' (1981; 2003) *''Thistle'' (1983; 1995) *''Potter'' (1985; 1994) *''Elisabeth and the Water Troll'' (1991) *''In the Beginning, There Was No Sky'' (1997) *''Mary's First Christmas'' (1998) *''The Bedtime Rhyme'' (1998) *''Water, Come Down'' (1999) *''Peter's First Easter'' (2000) *''Swallowing The Golden Stone'' (2001) *''Angels and All Children'' (2002) *''Probity Jones And The Fear Not Angel'' (2005) *''I Am My Grandpa's Enkelin'' (2007) ;Historical fiction *''Saint Julian'' (2003)

Notes

References

External links

*
Walter Wangerin, Jr., Professor
at Department of English, Valaparaiso University

at Paraclete Press

at Christianbook.com
Walter Wangerin
at

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

Authorities — with 63 catalog records {{DEFAULTSORT:Wangerin, Walter Jr. 1944 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American Lutheran clergy National Book Award winners People from Grand Forks, North Dakota Writers from Milwaukee Valparaiso University faculty Miami University alumni American male writers