The Rev. Dr. Donald R. Buckthal, age 96, died peacefully in Carmel, on May 28, 2021.
Dr. Buckthal was born on December 26, 1924, to John and Emma Buckthal, farmers, in Freelandville. He was the youngest of seven children.
Dr. Buckthal received his B.A degree from Elmhurst College, a Master of Divinity from Eden Seminary in St. Louis and a D. Min. from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. In 1988 Eden Seminary granted him an honorary Doctorate of Divinity.
Dr. Buckthal pastored two rural parishes, St. Peter’s and Trinity United Churches of Christ, in Lamar and Fulda, respectively, from 1948 to 1956. He served as pastor of Lynnhurst United Church of Christ in Louisville, Kentucky from 1956 to 1970. From 1970 until his retirement in 1991 he served as Associate Conference Minister for the Indiana-Kentucky Conference of the UCC in Indianapolis. During this time he drove an average of 50,000 miles per year to visit congregations throughout Indiana and Kentucky, and he preached guest sermons in all 200 churches in the conference. He was known to all in the conference as the “pastor to pastors.” Following his retirement he served as interim pastor of three separate congregations.
While at his pastorate in Louisville Dr. Buckthal also served as a volunteer chaplain for the Fire Department and chaired the board of the Brooklawn Children’s Home. He served for many years on the board of United Church Homes, which owned numerous retirement communities. He served on many other church and community boards and committees as well.
Dr. Buckthal was married for 73 years to his wife, Ruth, who survives him and to whom he was deeply devoted.
He was preceded in death by his beloved son, David, and daughter-in-law, Anne, and is survived by his daughter Diana Winston (Allan) and son Paul (Nancy), as well as his grandchildren, Jill Buckthal-McCuin (Brandon), Josh Winston (Cindy), Julia Honold (Justin), Eric Buckthal (Tiffany) and Craig Buckthal (Ana) as well as 10 great-grandchildren.
A memorial gift to Eden Theological Seminary https://www.eden.edu/, Family Promise of Greater Indianapolis https://www.fpgi.org/, or the Indy Humane https://indyhumane.org/ would be a fitting tribute to Dr. Buckthal’s life of service.
A memorial celebration will be held in the summer.
