Alan Jay Pickering

The Rev. Alan J. Pickering, Ph.D. passed away June 29, 2013. He was born in Freeman Hospital in Joplin, Mo, the second son of a set of twin boys, to Evelyn Burgess Ebenstein Pickering and Walter Roscoe Pickering on March 21, 1928. He attended primary and secondary schools in Joplin MO, and was a part time employee of the Joplin YMCA and WMBH and WMBH-FM radio stations until 1945 when he enlisted in the United States Naval Air Corps and in the V-5 Naval aviation program. After 2 quarters of college classes, he was called to active duty and completed his first term in the military with an Honorable Discharge on September 21, 1946. After two Semesters as a Pre- Engineering student at Joplin Junior College, he matriculated at the University of Kansas at Lawrence, Kansas where he completed a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Management and Engineering in 1949. He then enrolled as a theological student at Chicago's McCormick Theological Seminary where he received the degrees of Bachelor and Master of Divinity in 1952. He was then selected as the Louis M, Rabinowitz Interfaith Fellow at the Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, OH, where he received his PhD Degree in Semitic Languages and Literatures in June of 1956. Returning to the University of Kansas, he became the Adjunct Professor of Religion in the Kansas School of religion and visiting Lecturer in the Middle-Eastern Languages and Linguistics in the college of Arts and Sciences. While there he organized and became the President/ CEO of the Echo Corporation, a local air taxi corporation linking the cites of Lawrence, Topeka, and Kansas City by direct Flights to major airline terminals. In 1960, he was appointed Campus Pastor of the United Ministries in Higher Education, at the University of Nebraska, and then Instructor of Scientific Greek and Latin in the Classics Department of the College of Arts and Sciences and Visiting Professor of Comparative Religions in the Nebraska School of Religion. He subsequently taught classes in "The New Morality" in the School of Journalism and classes in the "Origin and Formation the Alphabet" in the school of Journalism, and classes in "Humanizing the Engineer" in the School of Engineering. For three years he was the Host Lecturer and Associate Producer of a series of 13 -week Educational TV programs on the Culture, Literature, and Architecture of the Middle-Eastern Mediterranean Lands which were distributed throughout the Midwest educational Network. In 1970, he left academia to become Deputy Director of Mid-America Region of YMCA's with portfolios in Personnel and Fiscal Management Then in 1980, he was selected as National Training Director for the YMCA of the USA with its Headquarters and Training Center in Chicago, IL, a position from which he retired in 1992. His first wife, Charlotte Sagmoen Pickering, preceded him by several years. Survivors include his second wife, Martha Kay Pickering, his children: Nancy Ann (born 1953), Keith Alan (born 1955): Scott Nathan (born 1957); Christi Lee (born 1970) along with the grandchildren: Thomas (born 1994,child of Scott and Susan) Madison ( born 1998 child of Cari); and Sarah Kate (born 2001, child of Christi and Mark) Halina (born 2007, child of Christi and Mark) Audrey (born 2010, child of Christi and Mark). SERVICE WITH CHURCH BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS Board of Christian Education Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) 3 Years Council of Theological Education (PCUSA) 3 Years Committee on Ministry, Presbytery of Chicago 5 Years Committee on Ministry, Presbytery of Tampa Bay 4 Years Permanent Judicial Commission, Presbytery of Tampa Bay 4 Years Stated Clerk (Chief Ecclesiastical Officer), Presbytery of Tampa Bay 6 Years Moderator, Nebraska City Presbytery 1969 1 Year Chair, Committee on the Chaplaincy, Presbytery of the Twin Cities 1977-1980 SPECIAL INTERESTS He was interested in the application of data-processing to ecclesiastical organizations and their record-keeping. He also taught a course in the creation and development of Manuals of Operations for not-for-profit organizations (including churches) as an adjunct faculty member at the Tampa campus of Springfield College. PUBLISHED WORKS "Hentracks From Antiquity", Quarterly Museum notes of the Nebraska State Museum January, 1964 (The translation of 9 Cuneiform Tablets from 2400 B.C found in the Nebraska State Museum of National History) "Sumerian Medical Handbooks from the Third Millennium B.C", The Proceedings of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, 1965 "From Food Collecting to Food Producing:: the Beginnings of the Agricultural Sciences According to Babylonian Temple Records", the Quarterly of the American Inter-professional Institute, 1965 "The Jacob Cycle, The Blue Book, and Zaddokite Parallels to the John birch Society" Proceedings of the Rocky Mountain Section of the American Academy of Religion, Summer Issue 1965 "Early Traditions for the Christmas Narrative", The Quarterly of the American Inter-professional Institute 1966. "Sanskrit Word Roots as Bridges to Secular Theology" Annual of the Nebraska School of Religion 1966 "The Application of Early Sumerian Number Theology to Babylonian Astrophysics" Proceedings of the Rocky Mountain Section of the American Academy of Religion, 1967 "You're Damned If You Do, and Damned If You Don't - or Sex: The Most Fun You Can Have Without Laughing: A Monograph on Chastity, published by the United Ministries in Higher Education at the University of Nebraska. The Executive Selection Handbook (co-authored with Jack Cole), "How to Identify, Select, and Then Employ an Executive Director For Your YMCA" published by the YMCA of The USA. The YMCA Start-Up Handbook, a three- volume handbook with associated forms, materials, and resources for the communities interested in starting an independent or a branch YMCA, published by the National Council of YMCAs in the USA. Seven Articles in "Perspective Magazine", the monthly magazine of the Association of Professional Directors of YMCAs, on various topics related to Personnel Management and Training. Eighty (80) one-page Book Reviews, published in "Perspective Magazine", the monthly magazine of the Association of Professional Directors of YMCAs. Writer (beginning in 2003) of a two-page article on a bi-monthly basis published in World Radio Magazine, dealing with general topics of interest to Amateur Radio Operators. COMMUNITY/ BOARDS/ ORGANIZATIONS, ETC. President, National Campus Ministry Association, 1968-1970 President, Rocky Mountain Section of the American Academy of Religion, 1964-1967 President and CEO, The Echo Corporation, a Kansas Air-Taxi Company. 1957-1960 President and CEO, The Center for The Performing Social Sciences, a consortium of Social Science and Fiscal Management Consultants serving not for profit charitable organizations world-wide, 1977-2001 FORMER MEMBER OF THE FOLLOWING SOCIETIES: Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis The Nebraska Academy of Sciences The American Schools for Oriental Research The American Personnel and Guidance Association The American College of Personnel Association The Association for Higher Education The American Society for Training and Development The American Inter-Professional Institute, Member of the Board The National Campus Ministry Association The Institute of Certified Professional Managers, Member of the Board The Board of Christian Education, PCUSA The Council on Theological Education, PCUSA The Nebraska Flying Club The St. Petersburg Family YMCA, Treasurer and Board Member ACTIVE MEMBER IN THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS: The Presbytery of Tampa Bay, PCUSA The American Radio Relay League (Life Member) The Quarter Century Wireless Association (Life Member, Former Board of Directors 1996-2006 National Secretary 2003-2006) The Old, Old Timer's Club of Amateur Radio (Life Member) The Pelican Chapter of the Quarter Century Wireless Association The Gator Chapter of the Quarter Century Wireless Association The Association of Naval Aviation (Life Member) The Institute of Certified Professional Managers (Life Member) Certified Professional Manager (Association of YMCA Professionals) The family will receive friends 4 to 6 pm. Tuesday, July 9, 2013 at Sun City Center Funeral Home, 1851 Rickenbacker Drive, Sun City Center, Fla. Memorial service will be 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 10, 2013 at St Andrew Presbyterian Church, 1239 Del Webb Boulevard West, Sun City Center, Fla. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the St Andrew Presbyterian Church Food Pantry. Arrangements by Sun City Center Funeral Home (813) 634-9900