Krugler, Richard
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Name: Krugler, Richard Adolph
- b. September 15,1925, Chicago, IL, U.S.A.
- d. (date, place) if deceased
Spouse/Family
- Wife: Edith Margaret Kleim, b. March 17, 1925, Chicago, IL, U.S.A.; m. June 18, 1949; d. October 9, 1958, Eket, Nigeria. Mildred Eileen (Worner) Hilst, b. February 7,1922, Green Valley, IL, U.S.A.; m. July 2, 1960; d. December 14, 1985, Reed City, MI U.S.A.. Ruth Dorothy (Schroeder) Lail, b. June 13,1926, Mankato, MN, U.S.A.; m. April 21, 1990; d. October 21, 2000, Vancouver, WA, U.S.A.
- Children: John Richard, 1950; Barbara Ann Muellenhagen, 1953;Theodore James, 1958; Jean Eileen (Hilst) Vahey, 1947; Steven Edward (Hilst), 1950; Ronald Worner (Hilst), 1951; Shari Lynn (Hilst), 1954; Charles Eugene, 1961; Thomas Michael, 1966. Stepchildren: Christopher Joel Lail, 1950; Terence Mark Lail, 1954; Cynthia Joan (Lail) Linnemann, 1958; Rebecca Dawn (Lail) Eaton, 1960; Theodore Scott Lail, 1962.
Service
| 1949-1959 | Nigeria | Evangelistic Missionary |
|---|---|---|
| 1959-1990 | Reed City, Michigan, U.S.A. | Pastor |
Biographical Summary
Richard Krugler was born on September 15, 1925 in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. to William and Florence (Erber) Krugler. He attended Tabor Lutheran School in Chicago. graduating from there in 1939. It was during the summer of 1937 (after he had finished sixth grade) that the Holy Spirit planted the first seed in his mind to be a missionary to Nigeria, West Africa (see Phase Three Information below for details). To accomplish this, he attended Concordia College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, one of the LCMS's preparatory schools, consisting of high school and junior college and dedicated to training young men for entrance into Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. During World War II the U.S. Selective Service System exempted pre-theological and seminary students from the draft, classifying them in the same category (4-D) as active clergy, provided they were either attending classes or were engaged in some kind of church work. Richard served a summer vicarage after his first year at the seminary at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Huntington Station, Long Island, New York. It was during this vicarage that WWII was brought to an end when Japan surrendered on Aug. 14, 1945. After his second year at the seminary he chose to teach in a parochial school for his vicarage (internship) year, believing that the teaching experience would be more beneficial to him as a missionary than the experiences he would have serving as an assistant to a pastor in a Stateside congregation. He was assigned to be the teacher in the one-room school operated by Immanuel Lutheran Church in rural Wakefield, Nebraska. Upon graduation from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO on June 3, 1949, he received the Call from the Missionary Board of The Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America, a federation of synods comprising The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, the Joint Synod of Wisconsin and Other States, the Slovak Ev. Lutheran Church of America, and the Norwegian Synod of the American Ev. Lutheran Church (now ELS), to serve as evangelistic missionary in Nigeria.
On June 18, 1949 Richard married Edith Kleim and together they began their preparations to leave for the work in Nigeria to which God had called them. They were privileged to visit with Rev. Robert and Edna Stade, who were living in Des Plaines, IL during their furlough after their first term in Nigeria. This was a big help to the Kruglers, as they were able to learn something about the work being done in Nigeria and what they needed to take in order to live and work in that primitive part of Nigeria.
In one of his contacts with Dr. Kurth, Executive Secretary of the Missionary Board, before he left for Nigeria, Richard was informed that he and Teacher Edmund Baer, who was called at the same time, would be the first new missionaries under the Missionary Board's recently adopted policy that all new missionaries spend their first six months in Nigeria just studying the language and culture of the Efik people. However, this did not happen due to the fact that new missionaries were needed to join in the work after a short period of orientation on the field. While the intention of the Board was good, the shortage of missionary personnel, both pastoral and educational, superseded the policy that new personnel spend the first six months in Nigeria immersed in language study. Thus, after spending about two months at the Mission headquarters compound at Obot Idim learning the basics of how the work in Nigeria was conducted, Richard was assigned to serve the Abia Okpo, Abak District, to fill the vacancy caused by Missionary Harold (Hector) Ottemoeller's illness and subsequent departure for the United States. Hector had been temporarily replaced by layman Herbert Hedman, who had been sent to Nigeria to serve as Mission business manager/bookkeeper at Obot Idim, until an evangelistic missionary was available to take over the work in that District. As "outstation missionary," Richard served as pastor of the Lutheran churches in the Abak District and as manager of the Lutheran schools in that area. Son John Richard was added to the family while here. During this time Rev. Carl Rusch was serving the Nung Udoe District, which contained over thirty congregations and a considerable number of schools. Because of the size of the Nung Udoe District, Krugler was asked to move to Ebighi Eta, Oron, to take over the eastern part of the Nung Udoe District when a new missionary arrived and was assigned to the Abak District. When Missionary Arthur Maschinske left on furlough, Krugler was asked to take over his work in Ikot Ibritam, closing the Ebighi Eta mission house and turning the work in the churches back to the Nung Udoe District. Krugler remained at Ikot Ibritam until he and his family left on furlough in May, 1952.
In early 1953 the Krugler family returned to Nigeria. Superintendent Schweppe assigned him to the Ikot Ibiok, Eket District, to replace Missionary Victor Spiekermann, who was transferred to Umuezelea Nsu to serve the Igbo congregations in that area. Before the construction of the Lutheran Hospital in Eket was completed, daughter Barbara Ann was born at Braithewaite Nursing Home in Port Harcourt. With the completion of the Lutheran Hospital in Eket, Krugler served as chairman of the Board of Directors and as chairman of the Board of Advisors, which also included some local dignitaries. The family left on furlough in 1956.
Returning to Nigeria in 1957, Krugler was sent to live in the mission house at the Girls' School compound in Nung Udoe. In addition to serving three nearby congregation, his main work was to teach religion at the Teacher Training Center in Nung Udoe and at the Lutheran High School at Obot Idim, about four miles away. On Oct. 7, 1958 Theodore James was born by Cesarian Section at Lutheran Hospital in Eket. On Oct. 9th our Lord called Edith from this life to heaven by means of a pulmonary embolism. Her body was committed to the ground on Oct. 10th at Lutheran Cemetery in Obot Idim. Helen Greve, wife of Missionary Edgar Greve and a trained nurse, offered to care for Teddy. About two months later her husband, Missionary Edgar Greve, received and accepted a Call from the Wisconsin Synod to serve on its recently opened mission field in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), Missionary Varnes Stringer's wife, Mandy, offered to take care of infant Teddy. At the end of that school year in December, Missionary John Q. Dede was assigned to take over the teaching of religion at the Teacher Training Center at Nung Udoe, enabling Krugler to undertake additional work at Obot Idim. While continuing to serve the three congregations he had since the beginning of this tour, he now taught religion in all six classes at the Lutheran High School, managed the Lutheran Book Store, and produced the weekly radio program "Edikworiko ke Christ" ("Preaching Christ"), which was broadcast over the short-wave Christian radio station ELWA in Liberia. This radio program was supported by the Lutheran Laymen's League in the U.S.A. Krugler's work consisted of taping the Efik announcer, the Lutheran High School Choir, which provided the music, and the Efik pastor who delivered the sermon, putting each part together to produce a 14 1/2 minute program, and mailing four programs on one audio reel to Radio Station ELWA. In February, 1959, Krugler received a divine Call from Trinity Lutheran Church and School to serve as its Pastor. After much prayer and consideration, he was led to accept the Call, informing the congregation that he would not be able to leave Nigeria until some time in May. The work he was doing had to be assumed by remaining missionaries.
Richard Krugler departed Nigeria with his two older children, John and Barbara, on May 13, 1959, and flew to Chicago. Because Varnes and Mandy Stringer had become attached to Teddy, not having any children of their own, they had asked if they could keep Teddy until they returned to the States in September. Considering their request and the fact that traveling by air in those days was not as easy as it is now, Missionary Krugler consented to their request, being reunited with Teddy when the Stringers returned to the States in September.
Rev. Krugler was installed as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Reed City on June 14, 1959, and served there until his retirement from the active ministry at the end of September, 1990. Besides serving as pastor of Trinity, he was instrumental, together with the pastors of Christ, White Cloud and Our Savior, Scottville, in starting a mission congregation in Baldwin, MI (Grace Lutheran). In 1977 he became its pastor, being assisted by vicars from our seminaries. During those years he also served the Michigan District and the LCMS as Circuit Counselor (1960–1970), on the District Board of Evangelism (1972-74), on the District Board of Directors (1974-86), and as chairman of the District Commission on Adjudication (1987–90). In additiion, he served on the Board of Directors of Lutheran Bible Translators (1966–71 & 1982–1991).
Nota Bene
Phase 2 Information
Biggest missiological issue faced?
Most significant contribution during missionary service?
Participating in the inauguration of the short-wave radio program "Edikworiko ke Christ" and taping and mailing the taped programs to Radio Station ELWA in Liberia.
Connection to today’s mission?
Lessons Learned
Best Practices
Phase 3 Information
Inspiration for entering foreign missions?
In1937 Vernon Koeper, a member of Tabor Lutheran Church in Chicago, IL, graduated from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO, and was called by the Missionary Board of the Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America to serve as one of the first two evangelistic missionaries in the newly opened mission field in the Ibesikpo area of southeastern Nigeria. The other was Rev. William H. Schweppe of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Richard's parents attended Koeper's ordination and commissioning service at Tabor and talked about the service after they got home. Thus the Holy Spirit planted the first seed in Richard's mind of being a missionary to Nigeria. When Koeper was preparing to go to Nigeria, the Missionary Board had provided him with a 16 mm. movie camera and rolls of film with the intent that the Board would make a film showing the work in Nigeria and use it to garner support for the work from churches. The seed sprouted when Vernon, together with his wife, Natalie, returned to the States after Vernon came down with dysentery and was told by the doctor that the only way for him to get well was to leave Nigeria. After he returned to the States, he had the film developed. Since few churches owned 16 mm. film projectors in those days, Tabor's pastor spoke to Richard's brother Bill, who worked at Bell & Howell Co., at that time a leading manufacturer of movie cameras and projectors, because the pastor knew that employees could check out equipment without cost, so he asked Bill if he would get a projector and take it to the Koeper's apartment to enable them to see the pictures they had taken. Richard accompanied Bill and thus got to meet and talk with the Koepers and to see the films they had taken. From that time on Richard had the definite desire to serve as a missionary to Nigeria. The Lord fulfilled that desire when Richard was graduated from the seminary and received the Call to be a missionary in Nigeria.
