Daniel Bayne Wessler
1924-2006
Daniel Bayne Wessler died on August 23, 2006 and a memorial service was held in Lithia Park in Ashland. He was born in Portland, OR, on May 14, 1924. He attended the University of Oregon, graduating in three years with a B.S. Degree in Law. He studied also at the University of Notre Dame and UCLA, and earned a B.Div. degree from San Francisco Theological Seminary in 1951. Wessler later earned a Ph.D. degree from St. Mary's College at St. Andrews University.
He was ordained in 1951 by the Presbytery of Willamette and served as pastor of First Presbyterian, Independence (now merged into Christ's Church United in Monmouth), as university pastor at Oregon State University, and as pastor of Bidwell Memorial Presbyterian, Chico, CA.
In 1965, he joined the faculty at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, a position he held until his retirement in 1984, when he was named Professor Emeritus and Honorary Alumnus of LPTS. In 1984, Dan moved to Siskiyou Summit Homestead in Ashland and transferred his membership to its presbytery.
Dan served on the Committee on Worship of the General Assembly Council, the General Assembly's Liturgy Committee and was Chair of the General Assembly Committee that wrote a new Directory of Worship. He was the Presbyterian Delegate to the Nairobi International Conference of Reformed Churches.
He was author of a book, Gifts of Silence, and wrote articles on worship and liturgy for a variety of publications. He served as president of the Association of Presbyterian University Pastors. Dan attended nearly all General Assemblies during his long service as an educator and pastor.
Dan is survived by his wife (since 1944), M. Jenelyn Wessler, and by two daughters and a son.