The Reverend H. Walter Fruehling joined the saints in heaven, praising his Lord on October 13, 2022 at the age of 100. He was born in rural Nemaha County Nebraska to the Rev. William and Rosa (nee Deubler) Fruehling on May 8, 1922. He was the fifth of six children reared in a rural parsonage. His father presided at his baptism, confirmation, ordination, and marriage at his home church of Martin Luther Lutheran Church.

His family emphasized education. After rural elementary school (sometimes enduring older brothers as his teachers), he went on to high school in Johnson, NE and then to Hebron Jr. College in Hebron NE. He attended Peru State Teacher's College and then Midland College in Fremont, NE where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree. Hoping to join the Navy as a chaplain, he attended Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, IA where he received his Master of Divinity in 1945.

1945 became an important year. With the end of WWII, he was no longer needed in the Navy. Instead, he accepted a call to begin Bethel Lutheran Church in Windsor, Colorado. That same year, his best friend in seminary introduced him to Gladys Kuhn, a Texas girl working as a social worker in Iowa. After a 6-month romance (mainly by mail) he took a week off and married Gladys on December 5, 1945, surprising his fledgling congregation since he was living in a motel as there was no parsonage yet. By the following year, when they welcomed their first child, they were living in a parsonage.

He served there until 1949 when he assumed the pastorate of St. John Lutheran Church in Marion, Tx. During this time, he attended Our Lady of the Lake College in San Antonio and received his Master's in Social Work. In 1954 he moved his family to Austin, TX where he put his new degree to work as a chaplain and social worker for Lutheran Welfare of Texas. He returned to full time pastoral work in 1957 when he accepted a call to the rapidly growing community of Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. He ministered at Overland Park Lutheran church for thirteen years as it grew and expanded both in numbers and outreach.

In 1970 he felt called back to social services and served the rural congregation of Emmanuel Lutheran Church near Beatrice, NE along with being director of Social Work at Martin Luther Home in Beatrice, NE. In 1974 he became full time President/CEO of Martin Luther Home Society and spent the next 16 years making life better for people with disabilities. It became a passion of his which he shared with other family members. His father had been instrumental in starting Martin Luther Home and one of his brothers served as chaplain there. In 1984, other people acknowledged his work by bestowing on him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Dana College in Blair, NE.

Walt and Gladys retired to Seguin, TX in the fall of 1990 where they could be close to family. He chose the location of their new home and directed the inclusion of several personal touches when it was built. He loved the outdoors and the marriage of beauty and practicality so there were many windows, and stained- glass insets. Bird feeders were added, along with new trees, flowers and shrubs. The outdoors became the outlet for his great creativity. He loved finding new things, whether something from the grocery store or an idea he read. He viewed a malfunction as a challenge and commented he would have been a good engineer. His interest in people continued as he worked with civic groups and served on committees.

Throughout his life he followed many interests. While in Colorado, he enjoyed fly fishing. In Texas he hunted rocks, especially petrified wood and then turned to cutting and polishing stones when he moved to Kansas. There he worked with his sons to raise and even occasionally sell, a few tropical fish. He also discovered antique shops and enjoyed finding a variety of lamps, knife rests, and wine glasses. That interest continued in Nebraska where he started going to estate sales. There he picked up some furniture and began to do some refinishing in his spare time.

His greatest joy continued to be his family. He placed family just below God, even taking his children out of a few days of high school to go visit family since he worked on weekends.  Walt is survived by Gladys, his wife of 76 years, and children Mary Grote and her husband Raymond, Michael Fruehling and wife Mary Lou, Samuel Fruehling and wife Anne Bogaev, and Rebecca Galvan and husband Susano. There are nine grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren, as well as nephews and nieces and close friends who called him Grampa. A brother, Eldor Fruehling, also survives.

A memorial service celebrating Walter's life will be held at Faith Lutheran Church in Seguin on Saturday, October 29, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. with the Reverend Daniel Cave officiating.  Interment will follow in the Faith Lutheran Columbarium followed by a reception in the Life Enrichment Center.  For those who desire the service may be livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/FaithLutheranChurchSeguinTx .

Memorial contributions may be made to Faith Lutheran Church, 1326 E. Cedar, Seguin, Texas, 78155 or to Lutheran World Relief, P. O. Box 17061, Baltimore, Maryland, 21297.