Fortier
Class of 1955 Classmate Memory Book 2/26/10
Modschiedler, John
Christian
Name of Classmate: Modschiedler, John
Christian Spouse: Christa Maria Together 46,
Married 44
Further Educational accomplishments: Elmhurst (IL) College, B.A. '55, Majors: Philosophy, German;
Minor: Religion. Eden Theological Seminary,
St. Louis, MO, B.D./M.Div. '62, Major: Systematic Theology. Berlin Theological Seminary, Germany, Certificate
'62-'65, Major: Christian Theological Ethics. Free University of Berlin, Germany, Certificate
'62-'65, Major: Philosophical & Theological Ethics: University of Chicago
Divinity School, M.A. '70, Ph.D. '80, Major: Ethics & Society (Religious &
Philosophical Social Ethics)
Family history: Daughter:
Christina Modschiedler Hayward; husband Jay; grandson Wilson, 9; Christina teaches
kindergarten at the U. of Chicago Laboratory School & has won a Golden Apple
award. Second Daughter: Michelle Modschiedler
Taylor; husband Garland; grandson Malcolm, 6; Michelle is a social worker at the
U. of Chicago Medical Center & works with HIV/AIDS patients.
Spouse: My wife Christa is Biomedical Librarian at the U. of Chicago Libraries.
Achievements and Occupational History: Who's Who Among American University & College Students,
'59. World Council of Churches Ecumenical
Exchange Scholarship, Berlin, Germany, '62-'65. Fulbright Travel Grant, '62-'65.
Experiment in International Living, Berlin, Germany, Sep. '62. Ordained Minister
of the United Church of Christ, '62. Served as interim pastor, Huntsville, AL,
Summer '61; Lincoln, IL, Summer '62; New Orleans, LA, Summer '72.
Instructor, Religious Studies, Loyola U., New Orleans, '70-'72. Professor,
Philosophy & Ethics, Harper College, Palatine, IL, '77-'78. Professor, Philosophical
& Religious Ethics, Elmhurst (IL) College, Jan. '80. Professor, Philosophy
& Religious Studies, College of DuPage, 1978-2009.
Co-author: Understanding Religion in a Global Society, by Kent Richter,
Eva Raepple, John Modschiedler, Dean Peterson. Wadsworth/Cengage, 2005.
College of DuPage Faculty Adviser, '84-'99, Phi Beta Chapter [Largest Chapter
in the Society], Phi Theta Kappa, International Honor Society of the Two-Year
College. Endowed the Modschiedler Lectures at the annual Honors Institute
of Phi Theta Kappa, 1999 - .
Fortier Reunions attended: 25th
– was "Attended by phone"; 45th, 46th, 50th. Special Note: "Attended by phone"; 45th,
46th, 50th. Don't know if remembered, but I was not able to attend our 25th because
of an airline strike. Next best thing
- I phoned y'all at wherever the reunion was being held, spoke to a number of
our classmates, & someone was good enough to go to the microphone & announce
to the gathering that I was on the phone to say hello. That's what I mean by "attended
by phone." I'm pretty sure I was
there for our 45th. Then, if I remember correctly, there was an "off year"
reunion because we had had so much fun at the previous one. That's what my memory
is hazy on: what years those 2 reunions were--the "regular" one &
the "off year" one thereafter? Any
recall?
Other personal comments: I love coincidences; religious folks
may call it providence. Biggest coincidence--& the best thing that's ever
happened in my life (short version): My father & his identical twin were born
in Germany. They came to this country in 1930 when they were 25. My father's twin
visited Germany & met a teenage woman. When he returned to the USA, he said
he hoped one of his two sons could meet & marry that young woman someday.
That young woman's mother, her siblings, & her parents, & my father, his
siblings, & his parents all lived in a two-family house in Bischheim, Germany,
when my father was a child & until he was 25. While I was a graduate student
in Berlin, Germany, by virtue of a number of coincidences I met that young woman
& her mother in her house in her hometown in Zweibruecken, Germany, on Sat.
1 May 1963. That young woman was/is my wife Christa. When we met, it was "love
at first sight" for me. We were in each other's presence for 4 & 1/2
hours that day. A month later Christa visited me in Berlin. After we had been
in each other's presence, again, for less than 20 hours, over 3 days, we were
talking about getting married. We were engaged on 4 Aug 63, married on 2 Aug 65
in Berlin. We came to this country in Sep. 65. The coincidence? We did not know
that her mother & my father had known each other until after we were engaged!
Why? Because they had never told us before--probably because they thought we already
knew. But we didn't. Unfortunately, Christa's mother died unexpectedly shortly
after our engagement. When we "broke up" her mother's household, we
found a photo of me as a 12 year old taken in our home in New Orleans. It was
in a letter my paternal grandparents, living with us in New Orleans, had sent
to Christa's mother in Germany in 1950. Once again, neither of us knew of the
photo when we met for the first time. Another coincidence.
5477 S. Hyde Park Blvd. Apt. 3
Chicago, IL 60615-5808
Phone: 773 955-5477
modschie@dupage.edu