Impressive Rites
For the Late Rev. Bahnsen
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Impressive'rites, with a capac¬
ity attendance marked the final
service for the late Rev. Henry T.
Bahnsen, 61, pastor of St. John's
Evangelical church here the past
four years, who died in Deaconess
hospital, St. Louis, Mo., shortly
after nine o'clock on Tuesday
morning, August 10. After his
passing, the body was removed
to the Schumacher Funeral Home
where it rested until after private
services for the family, Friday
forenoon, when it was removed
to Trinity Evangelical church
(which he built, and served about
twenty years,) and there it lay
in state, attended by two guards
of honor, until two o'clock in the
afternoon, when public services
were held. During those hours,
the favorite hymns of the deceas¬
ed were played softly by the
church organist, and old friends
! and former parishoners filed rev-
j erently into the church, paying
last respects at the bier of a friend
and former pastor, about whom
.were banked innumerable floral
[tributes attesting the love and es¬
teem in which he was held. Five
[ministers, among whom were the
1 pastor of the church, the presi¬
dent of the Missouri Synod and
Rev. Paul David of Genoa, Ohio.
i participated in the service and 35
j other robed ministers represent-
ling the Missouri District of
: the Evangelical and Reformed
churches, served as active and
honorary pallbearers. A college
classmate from Ohio officiated at
the grave in the committal ser¬
vice.
Many from his Elmore parish
attended the funeral.
On the Sunday following the
funeral, memorial services were
held in "his" church in St. Lou¬
is, for which the Ohio members
of his family remained. .
Rev. Bahnsen was born in Ger¬
many and at the age of seven he
came to America with bis parents,
who settled in Sandusky, Ohio.
There, in St. Steven's church, he
was confirmed and, at the age of
16, having decided to devote his
life to the ministry, entered Elm-
hurst College, Elmhurst, 111.,
from which he was graduated.
He then attended Eden Theolog¬
ical Seminary in St. Louis and
was graduated from there in 1902
His first charge was at Jersey-'
ville. 111., where he served two
and a half years; then at Troy,
111., the same length of time. At
Collinsville, 111., next, he served
eight years and directed the
building of a church and parson¬
age. He then went to Trinity
Evangelical church at St. Louis,
serving that parish nearly 20
years, and supervising the erec¬
tion of a $100,000. church of about
700 capacity, also a parsonage.
From that pastorate he came to
Elmore and was serving his fourth
year at St. John's, when taken
seriously ill early in June.
He was the last of his parental
family, his parents, two sisters
and two brothers having preced��
ed him in death. His wife, two
sons and four daughters survive.
