In Memory . . . Carl Bierman (1930-2010)

The Reverend Carl Bierman died on Wednesday, January 6, 2010, at the Albany Medical Center Hospital, Albany, NY. He was 79 years old.

Rev. Bierman was born on December 13, 1930, in Hannover, Germany. He immigrated to the United States at the age of five. He was a member of The Community Church of New York, active in the youth group, when he decided to become a minister. He attended Columbia University for one year and graduated from City College of New York in 1954. He earned his Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School in 1957.

Rev. Bierman was called by the First Congregational Parish, Unitarian, in Kennebunk, Maine. He was ordained and installed there in 1958. He was subsequently called to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Trenton, New Jersey; the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Springfield, Missouri; and the North Universalist Chapel Society in Woodstock, Vermont. His congregations in both Trenton and Springfield built new churches under Rev. Bierman’s leadership.

His denominational activities include a term as secretary of the Maine Unitarian Association and membership on the board of the Northern New England district of the AUA. In Trenton, Rev. Bierman was an active member of the Torch Club. For several years he taught courses in the Old Testament at Southwest Missouri State University. He was also active in the Civil Rights movement, traveling to Montgomery, Alabama, and to Martin Luther King’s March on Washington, DC. Rev. Bierman had a passion for history and enjoyed astronomy and playing chess.

Rev. Bierman’s survivors include his wife, Dolores Hart Bierman of Albany, New York; his daughters, Natalie Opitz (Charlie) of Springfield, Missouri, Daphne McKinney of Yucaipa, California, and Sally Diggins (Patrick) of Hoover, Alabama; his son, Andrew Bierman (Jill) of Albany, New York. He also leaves his grandchildren: Marcus, Tara, Nicholas, and Matthew Opitz; Malcolm, Alec, and David McKinney; Patrick IV, Zachary, and Henry Diggins; and Katherine and Nathan Bierman.

Private funeral services were held in Albany, New York, with interment in Albany Rural Cemetery. Donations may be made in Rev. Bierman’s name to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1785 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036-2117 or Capital City Rescue Mission, PO Box 1999, Albany, NY 12201.

Please send messages of condolence to Dolores Bierman, 34 Hawthorne Avenue, Albany, NY 12203.