Alan F. Kreider

 Alan Fetter Kreider was born November 8, 1941 in Goshen, Indiana, the son of Carl and Evelyn (Burkholder) Kreider, and died at home in Goshen on May 8, 2017.

A lifelong scholar, Alan graduated from Goshen College in 1962.  After earning his PhD in English History at Harvard University, Alan returned to teach history at Goshen College.  Alan married Eleanor Graber Nase on June 19, 1965, in Goshen.   In 1974, Alan and Eleanor moved to London, England, to serve with the Mennonite Board of Missions, where they were directors of the London Mennonite Centre and spoke in churches and colleges around the country.  In the 1990s, they moved to different parts of England, first to Manchester, and then in 1995 to Oxford.  Throughout these years, they taught in theological colleges, spoke at conferences and helped to establish a new Anabaptist Network.  They developed a distinctive style of shared public speaking.  In 2000, Alan and Eleanor returned to live in Elkhart, where Alan taught church history and missions courses at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary.  He was named Professor Emeritus of Church History and Mission by AMBS in October 2014.

Alan is survived by his wife Eleanor and son Andrew (Katie Bast) of Elkhart, two siblings, Rebecca (Weldon) Pries of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Thomas Kreider of Goshen, Indiana, and three grandchildren, Joseph, Daniel and Eleanor Rose Kreider. His brother Stephen died in 2014.  His legacy is seen in his writing and in the lives of the many people for whom he was a trusted mentor.

A funeral service will be held at Prairie Street Mennonite Church at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 16, 2017. Friends may call at the church one hour before the service.

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