The Rev. Richard Wise Shreffler, who had pastored the First Presbyterian Church of Bel Air for more than 30 years and was also active in Baltimore homeless and AIDS ministries, died May 1 of pneumonia at his home in San Antonio, Texas. He was 88.
Mr. Shreffler was born and raised in Shelby, Ohio. After earning a bachelor's degree in 1942 from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, he entered Naval Training School at Annapolis.
Commissioned as an officer in 1943, he participated in the D-Day invasion and was later assigned to the Pacific theater of operations.
After being discharged from the Navy, he entered Union Theological Seminary in New York City, from which he graduated in 1947. He also studied theology at Princeton and Oxford universities.
Ordained in 1947, he pastored a Presbyterian church in Ann Arbor, Mich., before rejoining the Navy in 1952. While serving in Korea as a chaplain, Mr. Shreffler, aided by his fellow naval officers and the Korean Presbyterian Church, helped keep an orphanage open.
"Compassion, kindness and his unselfish willingness to help were legendary qualities he exhibited throughout his life," said a niece, Sara S. Eyestone of San Antonio.
Mr. Shreffler left the Navy in 1954, and the next year was named pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Bel Air.
"When I first came here, I heard a lot about him. He was a bachelor and liked visiting members' homes where he shared a cup of tea or ate a meal," said the church's current pastor, the Rev. Richard J. Link.
"He rode a bicycle and was nicknamed the 'Pedaling Pastor' because he made all of his pastoral calls on his bike," he said.
A popular pastor with a social conscience, Mr. Shreffler joined several other clergymen in helping to integrate businesses, restaurants and motels along Route 40 in the early 1960s.
"He did face some opposition in those years," Mr. Link recalled. "People put trash on his porch, and there was a whispering campaign by some members who said they wouldn't come to church because of his stance on integration, but that didn't deter him. He firmly believed in equality of the races."
Ms. Eyestone added: "He took risks that put him in harm's way and led to turmoil in his personal life. There were bomb threats, and his tires were slashed."
Mr. Shreffler was also interested in the plight of the homeless and, particularly, homeless families.
