Reverend Dr. Harold Monroe Yoder departed this life on Thanksgiving, Nov. 24, 2016, the day after his 94th birthday, in Columbia, S.C. Born to Dr. Monroe Craig Yoder, professor and chair of the Biology and Chemistry department at Lenoir-Rhyne College (University), and Ethel Katherine (Setzer) Yoder, a schoolteacher, he grew up in Hickory, N.C., with a love for the outdoors and a deep thirst for knowledge, from a young age.

He was drawn to nature and animals, and eagerly collected arrowheads discovered on the family's farmland. Captivated by cowboy songs as a young boy, he spent his prize money from a fishing contest on an acoustic guitar, which he taught himself to play. He studied pre-med at Lenoir-Rhyne and was a member of the college track team, graduating in 1943 before attending medical school at the University of North Carolina. He left after one year to enlist in the U.S. Army, hoping to become a paratrooper but was instead assigned to the Army's medical corps in the Pacific theater during World War II. After discharge, he attended and graduated from the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, PA.

Harold committed his life to the service of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and his Carolina drawl and patient, deliberate way of communicating belied his ability to command a room. Ordained a Lutheran minister in June 1950, Rev. Yoder could captivate parishioners with sermons delivered in a booming voice; alternately, as a hospital and institutional chaplain and clinical pastoral educator, fields in which he spent most of his career, he struck a more informal tone, offering words of comfort and solace to those in need.

His time as a young pastor at his first parish, Grace Lutheran Church, in Liberty, NC, also led Harold to the love of his life, Selena Kime, whom he had previously known in college. The two married in October 1951, raising four children, upon whom they impressed the values of education and faith while instilling a love of music, even teaching the family to sing in multiple-part harmony on road trips. The family migrated from North Carolina to Washington, D.C., where Harold served as the institutional chaplain for the Lutheran Council of Churches. He returned to training in clinical pastoral education at St. Elizabeth's National Mental Hospital in D.C., moved to Baltimore to serve as chaplain for Lutheran Hospital, and in 1972, transitioned to the chaplaincy at Richland Memorial Hospital in Columbia, SC. Harold was a pioneer in the clinical pastoral education movement and not only trained pastors in the clinical counseling arts every year from 1965 until his retirement in 1989, but continued to mentor, encourage, and nurture fellow pastors for the remainder of his life.

After retirement, Harold and Selena traveled to Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia and Israel, and toured the U.S., often with their pop-up camper, taking trips to Maine, Oregon and the mountains of North Carolina. They made time for trout fishing, gemology and square dancing. The Yoders remained active in the church, with Harold serving as a guest pastor after retirement and lending his booming baritone to the choir until just recently. Harold and Selena were enthusiastic participants in and contributors to the Shepherd Center of Columbia, which nourished their love of learning and for which Harold served as president from 1996-1998.

Harold's curiosity and desire to learn never diminished. He received his doctorate of ministry at age 61 from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary and studied Greek into his 80s, hoping to better understand the writings of early Christians. He was an avid gardener and fermented grapes from his backyard vineyard into wine, which he entered into the State fair and received a number of awards. A voracious reader, Harold maintained an impressive library rich in books on religion, philosophy, psychiatry, counseling, and stories of the Old West. Having first taken up martial arts as a young hospital chaplain in Baltimore, encouraging his children to participate alongside him, he tenaciously pursued the Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do style of karate, eventually graduating to second-degree black belt and teaching the form into his 70s. Throughout life, he was open-minded and open-hearted, encouraging others to "take people as you find them."
Harold was predeceased by his son, William Craig Yoder, and beloved wife, Selena Yoder. He is survived by his son, Dr. Eric Monroe Yoder, and daughter-in-law, Claire Yoder, of Virginia Beach; daughter, Frances Kathryn Yoder, daughter Mary Ann Watson, son-in-law Jeff Watson, all of Columbia; grandchildren, Emily Yoder Wilcox, Maggie Yoder Stewart, and Glenn Yoder; Joshua Yoder, Jessica Yoder, their mother, Barbara Yoder, and grandson Jeffrey Watson.

A visitation for family and friends will be held on Friday, Dec. 16, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the place of worship where he and his wife were members for more than 30 years, Gethsemane Lutheran Church, 6904 Satchelford Rd., Columbia. A memorial service dedicated to the celebration of his life and ministry will follow on Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. at the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary Chapel, 4201 North Main St., Columbia.