Former pastor leaves rich legacy at Mount Prospect church
A memorial service for a popular Mount Prospect pastor will be held Feb. 28 at St. Mark's Lutheran Church.
The Rev. Lloyd Heroff served St. Mark's from 2000 until his retirement in 2010, as an interim pastor, associate and finally senior pastor. Colleagues say his warm and genuine manner helped unite the congregation during difficult transitions in pastoral leadership.
He passed away Jan. 3 at his home in Minnesota. He was 71.
"He demonstrated through his preaching, teaching and living that the gospel was an inclusive one," said the Rev. Carl Anderson, a retired pastor and church member, "that all were welcome regardless of sexual, racial or economic identity."
Heroff grew up in Minnesota and never set out to be a minister. He earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Macalaster College in St. Paul, and planned to go to graduate school, but instead was drafted into the Vietnam War.
In the Navy, he trained as a French linguist before serving aboard the USS Oxford off the coast of Vietnam and later in Rota, Spain, where he and his young bride, Doris, learned to love Spanish food and its culture.
After his discharge, the Heroffs returned to the Chicago area and he got a job as an adolescent counselor at Forest Hospital, before briefly trying his hand at teaching.
It was in 1972, he later would tell his congregation, that "my car drove me to Luther Seminary." Heroff got his master's of divinity degree in 1976. He would get a master's degree in liberal arts in 1989 from Moorhead State University.
Heroff also played guitar and at times would play and sing during worship services, much to the delight of his faithful.
"He enjoyed good classical music and literature," Anderson added, "but was eclectic and loved folk and country as well."
Colleagues say Heroff brought all of these rich experiences to his ministry, making him something of an intellectual and Scripture scholar, but warm and pastoral in his leadership.
"He loved language, music and family," says the Rev. Linnea Wilson, the current St. Mark's pastor. "But he was not folksy in the pulpit. He was very much a theologian; he made you think."
Anderson stayed on as an assistant pastor to Heroff from 2005-2010, when they led efforts to upgrade the sanctuary, and improve the lighting and sound system.
As pastor, Heroff not only encouraged youth and adults to take mission trips, he led them, aiding victims of Hurricane Katrina and serving the poor in the Appalachian Mountains, among others.
In all, Heroff served at nine Lutheran churches across the Midwest during his 33 years in ministry. He reflected on those years in a letter he wrote to church members in 2010, announcing his retirement.
"As I look back on the 33 years I have been blessed to be a Lutheran pastor, there are many wonderful places and friendly faces that fill my memory," Heroff wrote. "But truly, God saved the best for last."
The memorial service will begin at 11 a.m., on Saturday, Feb. 28, at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 200 S. Wille St.