Class of 1924
1924 Peroma
Earl Passow
Debate ’22, ’23, ’24; All School Play ’23, ’24; Senior Play ’24; Junior Play ’23; Faculty Burlesque ’23, Forensia; Peroma Staff; P. H. S. Spirit Staff; Vice President ’24.
“A statesman he’ll be
‘Tis easy to see,
For his mind has not found limit.”
Rev. Earl Martin Passow
April 17, 1907 – January 18, 1989
Rev. Earl M. Passow, 81, of San Clemente, California, died January 18, 1989.
Born in North Dakota, on April 17, 1907, he was the son of William F. and Ida Ernestine Auguste Elbert Passow. Following his graduation from Perry high in 1924, he continued his college work at St. John’s College, Winfield, Kansas, at Concordia Teachers College, Chicago, Illinois, and at the University of California, Berkeley. Mr. Passow received his theological training at Concordia Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.
His first charge in the ministry was a mission in Fort Dodge, Iowa, where he served as pastor until 1940. In that year he accepted a call to Peace Lutheran Church, Rock Rapids, Iowa.
In 1944 he was appointed by the Army and Navy commission of the Lutheran Church to serve as director of Lutheran Service Centers. For two years he was in charge of such a Servicemen’s Center in Tampa, Florida and later acted in the same capacity at the Lutheran Center in Santa, Ana, California, until the center was closed in 1948.
He then accepted a call to Trinity Lutheran Church, Walnut Creek, California, where he served as pastor. While in the Northern California District, he was a member of the District Board of Director of the Lutheran Church, and chairman of the Finance and Stewardship Committee.
His final call was to St. Matthews Lutheran Church in Harbor City, California, where he served as pastor for 42 years. He was active on the mission board and was a counselor for the LWM Society. He also was a member of the Harbor City/Lomita Lions Club for more than 10 years and was the Lions’ district chaplain.
Survivors include: his wife, Frieda Kathryn Schardt Passow; two daughters, Karla Alvarado of Hesperia and Kristie Wall of Santa Clarita; and three grandchildren.
Services were at St. Matthews, with burial at Green Hills Memorial Park, Rancho Palo Verdes, California. The family asks that any donations be made to the Lutheran Bible Translators, P. O. Box 2050, Aurora, Illinois, 60507.