Marlin Books Kreider

Bishop Henry and Katie Kreider welcomed Marlin Books Kreider, their first grandchild, on November 7, 1922. He was born to Ethan and Esther Books Kreider at their family home on East Main Street in Campbelltown, Pa., Lebanon County.

Marlin and his younger brother Ellis spent many boyhood and young adult hours with their grandfather on his farm nearby, also helping him in his work on the telephone and electric lines. They developed a very close relationship which continued until Grandfather?s death in 1947. At the age of 14, Marlin accepted the Lord, and began eagerly sharing the Good News with his friends and acquaintances.

His education began at the Campbelltown Elementary School, and then continued at Hershey High School where he excelled in sports, especially track and wrestling. He went on to study at Hershey Junior College, then to Houghton College in New York. His college years were interrupted by World War II. He volunteered in the Army Medical Corps, where as a conscientious objector he felt that he could do the most good for his country. He was trained as a medical technician. He was sent overseas to England, then to Austria to a field hospital. He became head of the largest operating room in Austria, attaining the rank of Sergeant. After several years he returned home to finish college.

Marlin was admitted to the University of Maryland for a doctoral program in Anatomy and Physiology, graduating with his doctoral degree. Following that, he worked at the Government Research Lab at Natick, Massachusetts for 17 years, doing research on the effects of heat and cold upon the human body. This research took him to very cold and very hot climates. He then changed his focus to teaching, first joining the faculty at Eastern Nazarene College, and then Worchester State College.

Marlin was a role model for his younger Kreider cousins; John K. Kreider discovered an entry made by Marlin in his autograph book---handwritten when John was 13 and Marlin was 21. Cousin Marlin wrote:

"Dear Cousin John,
Ralph Waldo Emerson says 'The scholar is the favorite of heaven and earth, the excellency of his country, the happiest of men.' There is much that is expected of one that likes to study and learn knowledge. Learn to know the Lord and you will have learned much. Sincerely,
Marlin"

Marlin was active in the historic Park Street Church in Boston, served as a deacon and led the International Student Club. He was an active participant in the American Scientific Affiliation, the Boston Grotto and the Appalachian Mountain Club, where he gave workshops on mountain leadership. He took many students and friends mountain-climbing, caving and skiing in the mountains of New England. He wrote articles published in The Appalachian Magazine and Caves for Sport. Marlin wrote a chapter in several books published: Our Society in Turmoil, and The Evidence of God, edited by John Monsma.

He married Elin Saunders MacDuff at 54 years of age, with whom he shared nearly four very happy years before his sudden and unexpected death in 1981. He passed away while jogging on April 16, 1981, near his home in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the age of 58. He is still missed by many in Massachusetts.