Rev. Dr. Elwood Leister

The Rev. Dr. Elwood H. Leister, age 89, of Chambersburg, PA passed peacefully on Monday, January 15, 2018, at Menno Haven. Born December 7, 1928, in McSherrystown, PA, he was a son of the late Edgar and Helen Rebert Leister.
Dr. Leister earned his Bachelor of Arts in 1950 from Gettysburg College. He then earned his Bachelor of Divinity from Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, PA in 1953. Ordained in 1953, Dr. Leister was granted a Master of Sacred Theology by the Lutheran Theological Seminary in 1963 and his Doctor of Ministry in 1985.
Dr. Leister served several Parishes: St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Hanover, PA; St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, Baltimore, MD; Edgwood Lutheran Church, Wheeling, WV; and St. John’ s Lutheran Church of Highland, Pittsburgh, PA. After retiring in 1990, he served as interim Pastor for three congregations and did Sunday supply work in the Chambersburg, PA area. Active in the Lutheran Church, he held various positions: Board of Directors for the Lutheran Children’s Home, Zelienople, PA; Dean and Secretary of the Ohio-Kanawha Valley District of the Western Pennsylvania-West Virginia Synod; Executive Board of Western Pennsylvania-West Virginia Synod; Board of Directors of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, PA; and Board of Directors Thiel College, Greenville, PA.
Elwood is survived by his wife of 65 years, Shirley Gobrecht Leister; four children, Cynthia Kelly (husband Frank) of Cranberry Twp., PA, Blaine Leister (wife Marianne) of Glenshaw, PA, Myra Gromen (husband Richard, Jr.) of Lancaster, PA, and Drew Leister (wife Joyce) of Coraopolis, PA; and five grandchildren, Kyle Leister, Emily Marfilius (husband Ken), Lauren Leister, Dylan Gromen, and Kayla Gromen. He was also preceded in death by three brothers, Kenneth, Roger, and Glenn Leister.
A service to celebrate Elwood’s life will be held on Saturday, January 27, 2018, at 11 AM at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 30 West Chestnut St., Hanover, PA 17331, where Pastor Daniel Yeiser, Bishop Donald J. McCoid, and Pastor Jane Nicholson will officiate. Interment will follow the service in Rest Haven Cemetery, Hanover, PA. The family will receive friends on Friday, January 26, 2018, from 2 – 4 & 6 – 8 PM at the Thomas L. Geisel Funeral Home, 333 Falling Spring Rd., Chambersburg, PA 17202 and on Saturday at the above church from 9 – 11 AM. Memorial contributions may be made to the United Lutheran Seminary, 61 Seminary Ridge, Gettysburg, PA 17325.