The Reverend Robert Lester Mondale (May 28, 1904 – August 19, 2003) was an American Unitarian minister and

Humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

Biography

Mondale was born in

Walnut Grove, Minnesota Walnut Grove is a city in Redwood County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 871 at the 2010 census. Another name formerly associated with the area is Walnut Station. History Walnut Grove was platted in 1874. It was named for a grove ...

, the son of

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

minister and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

hero Theodore Sigvaard Mondale and Jessie Alice Larson. Although his family was Methodist, he converted to

Unitarianism Unitarianism (from Latin language, Latin ''unitas'' "unity, oneness", from ''unus'' "one") is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian branch of Christian theology. Most other branches of Christianity and the major Churches accept the Trinity, doctri ...

while earning his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from

Hamline University Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1854, Hamline is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline ...

. In 1926 Mondale entered the Unitarian ministry and in 1929 he earned an S.T.B. from

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...

. He was ordained by the New North Unitarian Church,

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in metropolitan Greater Boston on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts in northern Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, t ...

, and went on to serve congregations in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

;

Birmingham, Michigan Birmingham is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit located along the Woodward Corridor ( M-1). As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103. History The area comprising what is now the ...

;

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

;

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

; and

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ), known as Illinois's "Gem City", is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States, located on the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted a population of 39,463 in the city itself, down from 40,633 in 2010. ...

. His younger half-brother was

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...

Vice-President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice pr ...

under

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

. He was married three times. From his first wife, Edith Eldred Klose (1904-1987) he had one daughter, Tarand Elose Mondale Swenstad (1931-2007). From his second wife, Fay A. Smead (1907-1976), he had three daughters: Ellen Smead Mondale (1943-2019), Karen Smead Mondale and Julia Smead Kellum Mondale Jensen. He married his third wife, Rosemary Delap (July 14, 1917-February 28, 2022) on May 31, 1961. He was survived by his third and last wife.

Selected publications

*''The Missouri still runs wild'', Westport Pub. Co. (Kansas City, MO) 1943 *''Three Unitarian philosophies of religion'', Beacon Press (Boston) 1946 *''The Unitarian way of life'', Beacon Press (Boston) 1943 *''Values in world religions'', Starr King Press 1958 *''Preachers in Purgatory With Reference to Accounts of More Than a Hundred Ministers Reporting on Crisis Situations'', Beacon Press 1966 *''New Man of Religious Humanism'', Volturna Press 1973

References

External links

Press release announcing his death

by Mondale

by Mondale. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mondale, Lester 1904 births 2003 deaths People from Walnut Grove, Minnesota American humanists American Unitarian Universalists Hamline University alumni Harvard Divinity School alumni Walter Mondale Writers from Minnesota Former Methodists