Walter Wangerin Jr. should not be confused with Walther Wangerin.
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Walter Wangerin Jr. (February 13, 1944 – August 5, 2021[1]) was an American author and educator best known for his religious novels and children's books.
Wangerin was born in Portland, Oregon, where his father was a Lutheran pastor. He was the oldest of seven children. The family moved often, so Walter grew up in various locations including Shelton, Washington, Chicago, Illinois, Grand Forks, North Dakota, Edmonton, Alberta, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1968, he attained an M.A. in English literature from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. He went on to study at Concordia Seminary and Christ Seminary-Seminex, both in St. Louis, Missouri. He attained his M.Div. from the latter in 1976. From 1970 to 1991, Wangerin taught English at the University of Evansville, Indiana. From 1977 to 1985, he was the pastor of Evansville's Grace Lutheran Church. While in Evansville he wrote a weekly column for The Evansville Press and hosted an evening radio show on WNIN-FM.[2]
He was a professor at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana since 1991, where he taught literature, theology, and creative writing, and was writer-in-residence. Wangerin was honored in 2009 by being selected one of Valpo's 150 Most Influential Persons.
Wangerin is the author of over thirty novels, numerous children's books, and a handful of plays, and he has received several awards for his short stories and essays. He has been a college professor, a radio announcer, a book reviewer, a pastor of a Lutheran church. He also participated in cultural ceremonies such as a Lakota Sun-Dance.
Most of his writing is religious, primarily giving theological guidance on subjects such as marriage, meditation, parenting, and grieving. Other religious books concern the events in the Bible.
Wangerin passed away on August 5, 2021.[3] [4]
Wangerin is probably known best for his fables The Book of the Dun Cow and its sequel The Book of Sorrows. The Book of the Dun Cow won a U.S. National Book Award in the one-year category Science Fiction.[5] In 1986, Valparaiso University awarded Wangerin an honorary doctorate.
His Letters from the Land of Cancer received the Award of Merit in the Spirituality category of the 2011 Christianity Today Book Awards.
The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association awarded Wangerin six Gold Medallions (now Christian Book Awards) in several categories.[6]