Rev. Dr. Kenneth Lee Frerking, 86, of Columbia, Missouri entered his eternal home with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Saturday, January 12th. His wife, daughter and son-in-law were at his side. Visitation will be at Trinity Lutheran Church, 2201 W. Rollins Road, in Columbia, Thursday, January 17th from 4:00-6:00 p.m. and Friday, January 18th from 10:00-11:00 a.m. with funeral following at 11:00 a.m.
Ken was born on February 22, 1932 to the Rev. Horace and Lucille (Tieman) Frerking in Amarillo, Texas. He attended St. Pauls’ Academy and Junior College in Concordia, Missouri and went on to graduate with a Master of Divinity at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 1957, Master of Sociology from Ohio State University in 1962 and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Missouri in 1970. Ken spent 40 years in campus ministry, eight at University Lutheran Chapel at The Ohio State University and thirty-two at Campus Lutheran Church at the University of Missouri. He also served as a chaplain at the Ohio State Penitentiary while in Columbus, OH. In retirement he continued to serve pastoral vacancies at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Boonville and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Centralia. His gifts were preaching, teaching and writing which he continued until Parkinson’s Disease made that too difficult.
On July 2, 1956 he married Ethelyn (Lynn) Louise Crawford in New Windsor, Illinois. Their marriage was blest with a daughter Joanna Beth of Columbia, Missouri. Ken (and Lynn) loved their son-in-law Douglas McDowell like a son and found great joy in watching grandchildren Amanda Leigh and Joshua Douglas grow up. The Frerkings and McDowells often talked about being mutually blest to live next door to each other for the last 14 years.
In addition to serving the campus ministries, Ken engaged in numerous writing endeavors for Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis and other church agencies and publications which are too numerous to list here. He also served for seven years on the church body’s Commission on Church Literature. He was known in Columbia for editorials and articles on “hot issues” in the Columbia Daily Tribune. Ken always said that if he had not become a pastor he would have attended journalism school and pursued that career. In a way he did both.
Preceding Ken in death were in parents Horace and Lucille Frerking. He is survived by two sisters, Claire Kuddes of Lee’s Summit, Missouri and Doris Embree of Dallas, Texas.
Memorial contributions may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church, Columbia; Campus Lutheran Church, Columbia; Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; or the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation.
