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Former Christianity Today editor and second dean of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Kenneth Kantzer died Thursday June 20. He was 85.

Kantzer was known as a biblical scholar, a caring professor, and a proven builder of influential organizations. "He was a very important figure in following up the pioneering work of the previous generation of evangelicals and in strengthening important institutions," said Mark Noll, McManis Professor of Christian Thought at Wheaton College. "Kantzer was a helper who maximized the work of others. He strengthened institutions to allow others to follow."

Kantzer, born in Detroit on March 29, 1917, is survived by his wife, Ruth, and two adult children, Mary Ruth Wilkinson of Galliano Island, British Columbia, and Dick of Pennington, New Jersey.

In high school, Kantzer rebelled against his Lutheran parents and their religion. He said in a 1996 Christianity Today interview that he considered himself an atheist until he met members of the League of Evangelical Students while attending Ashland College. "I would go to them with the question: How in the world do you believe all of this?" he recalled. "They would recommend books for me to read, and over the course of a year I came to a firm faith in Christ."

He received a master's degree in modern history from Ohio State University and continued his schooling at Faith Theological Seminary. He was ordained into the Evangelical Free Church of America, earned a doctorate from Harvard University, and studied theology in Germany and Switzerland.

Kantzer taught theology at Wheaton College from 1946 until 1963. That year, John D. Woodbridge, research professor of church history at Trinity, was a student of Kantzer's. Upon graduation, Woodbridge's class left their senior gift to Kantzer.

"I don't know of many classes that leave their senior gifts to specific professors," Woodbridge told CT. "He was beloved. He was self-sacrificing, winsome, and a genuine example of a Christian life. He was the personification of the wise elder and like a second father to many. When you talked to him, you knew he was listening."

One of Kantzer's long-time ambitions was to write theological books. The senior class's gift was enough money that he could take a year off from teaching to do so. But Kantzer returned the gift and instead became dean at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

"It was a tremendous sacrifice," Woodbridge said. "We saw how much he wanted to take a year off to write. He consistently did this—sacrifice himself to build organizations."

Will Norton, president of Trinity from 1957 to 1964, said that the seminary at the time was struggling with its identity and was in desperate need for a strong leader.

"Kenneth Kantzer, with humility and commitment to Christ, provided the type of leadership that made Trinity a recognized center of evangelical scholarship, evangelism, and biblical missionary training," Norton said. "When I saw Kantzer, I appreciated him right away because he was warm hearted. He brought a fresh spirit to Trinity and credibility academically. He also embodied two important qualities for us, scriptural authority and missionary-mindedness."

Under his leadership, Trinity attracted respected scholars to the faculty, began a Ph.D. program in theology, and built a reputation for the school in strong theological teaching.

"The fruit of the life and ministry of Kenneth Kantzer is most clearly seen in Trinity Evangelical Divinity School," said D.A. Carson, Trinity research professor of New Testament, in a 2000 tribute for Trinity Magazine. "All over the world there are international students who quietly thank God for the rigor of thought and the personal empathy of Kenneth."

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June (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46