The Rev. Gabe L. Campbell had a way of making people feel valuable.
“He made people feel good about themselves by letting them know that they matter,” said Sandra Campbell, his wife of 51 years. “My phone has been ringing nonstop and every caller has said the same thing — he really made them feel important.”
The Rev. Campbell, 78, died Wednesday at his Wadsworth home after a battle with cancer. He served as pastor of Akron’s historical First Congregational Church from 1980 to 1995.
During his tenure at the church, Campbell was known for his preaching ability, his passion for the community at large and introducing the congregation to his training in split-brain (left-brain/right brain) theory, according to the Rev. Jay Groat, senior pastor at First Congregational.
“He was a great pastor and an extremely gifted preacher and leader. He had a larger-than-life personality — every room he entered, he filled up,” Groat said. “He was always supportive of me in my ministry; and for that, I will always be grateful. He had such a positive impact on people during his life.”
The Rev. Campbell, a Middletown native, earned his doctorate in neuropsychobiology at New York University and his master of divinity at Vanderbilt Divinity School. He also studied law at Ohio State University.
While studying law, Campbell’s involvement at First Community Church in Columbus influenced him to go to seminary. As a pastor, he strived to merge faith and reason, according to his friend of nearly 30 years, William Muse.
Muse, a former president at the University of Akron, currently heads the National Issues Forum Institute with the Kettering Foundation in Dayton. He will deliver the primary eulogy during a memorial service for the Rev. Campbell (Muse’s pastor at First Congregational when he lived in Akron).
“He looked at the body, mind and spirit as a major factor in the formation of his theology. That led to enlightening and inspiring sermons,” Muse said. “He was a minister with an active and inquisitive mind and a very big heart. His legacy certainly extends to the thousands of people who have been affected by him.”
Before coming to Akron, he served as pastor of First Congregational Church in Stamford, Conn.; Second Congregational Church in Greenwich, Conn.; First Community Church in Columbus; Miami Shores Community Church in Florida and Smart Presbyterian Church in Tennessee. He also taught at Chicago Theological Seminary.
The Rev. Campbell spent the early part of his career working with youth and always had a special place in his heart for young people. His youth work has been documented in articles, books and movies.
The product of one of the last one-room schools in Ohio, the Rev. Campbell was an avid reader who loved to spend time on the water, kayaking and canoeing. He also played the five-string banjo and enjoyed spending time with his two children and six grandchildren.
Dr. Terry A. Gordon, a retired Akron cardiologist, described the Rev. Campbell as “the most giving individual that I knew.” Gordon will officiate at the memorial service, along with Groat and Muse, and will sing a special song, My Way Home.
“I think the title says it all. We all come from source, spend our time in the material world and return to source,” Gordon said. “I think if there is one thing that Gabe would want to leave us with, it would be that he found joy and peace. And that joy and peace was within, not outside. I think he would say that everybody has that peace within and that we just have to find it.”
In addition to his wife, the Rev. Campbell is survived by a daughter, Susan (David) Heideman of Wadsworth; a son, Ben (Jenny) of Norton; six grandchildren and two siblings.
Calling hours are 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Hilliard-Rospert Funeral Home, 174 N. Lyman St., Wadsworth. A memorial service will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at First Congregational Church, 292 E. Market St., Akron.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to Hospice of Visiting Nurse Service, 3358 Ridgewood Road, Akron, OH 44333.
“I’m going to miss the old guy,” Sandra Campbell said. “He lived a great life and I sure lived a great life with him. He was someone you just enjoyed being around.”
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com