Rev. Herbert W. Tobaben

The Rev. Herbert W. Tobaben, 91, died on Monday, July 7, 2008, at Brookridge Retirement Center in Winston-Salem, North Carlina. Pastor Tobaben spent most of his life in Philadelphia. He graduated from Temple University in 1938 with a degree in secondary education but followed a calling that he had first recognized as a boy and entered the Mount Airy Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia the following fall. After being ordained in1942, he married Ethel Schultz, also of Philadelphia, in June of 1942, a loving union that lasted 66 years. He first served rural parishes in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. During his seven years there, he and his wife had two children. In 1950, he accepted a call to St. Michael's Lutheran Church in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, the church in which his own father had been confirmed. He served there until 1966, making lifelong friends through his fine sermons, his counseling and concern, and his great sense of humor. In 1966, he accepted a call to Redemption Lutheran Church in the northeast part of Philadelphia, the church where he himself had been confirmed. Again, he built a strong and loving relationship with his congregation. After retiring in 1982, he served as interim pastor at several other churches. In 1990, he and his wife moved to Brookridge Retirement Homes in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, near his son, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters. He spent eighteen happy years in this new home, making many friends there and at Augsburg Lutheran Church and enjoying frequent visits from his children and grandchildren. He is survived by his wife Ethel; his daughter Janet from Framingham, Massachusetts; his son Richard and his daughter-in-law Sandra from Winston-Salem; his granddaughters, Kristin Smith and her husband Jason, from Buford, Georgia, and Heidi Tobaben from Seattle, Washington; and by his great granddaughter, Hannah Smith. The funeral service will be held at Redemption Lutheran Church at Rhawn St. and Bustleton Ave. in Philadelphia on Friday, July 11. The family will receive mourners beginning at 10 a.m. The service will begin at 11. Burial will be at Forest Hills Cemetery. A memorial service will be held in Winston-Salem some time in August. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Michael's Lutheran Church or Redemption Lutheran Church in Philadelphia.

Memorials:
St. Michael's Lutheran or to Redemption Lutheran Church

Service:
Service at 11:00am on July 11, 2008 at Redemption Lutheran Church