Rev. Landis

"Love is love." That's what Reverend D. Craig Landis was probably thinking when he passed away in his sleep at St. Luke's Quakertown Hospital on the morning of March 30, 2019, while comforted by family and friends. To those who knew him best, Craig valued nothing more than the power of love among people to live well and make the world a better place. Born into a family of brickmakers and merchants in a small town last century, Craig grew up the oldest and only son of Daniel and Charlotte Landis of Boyertown, PA. Craig was a quick learner with an offbeat sense of humor. Like his mother, he had a habit of counting nearly everything under the sun. She taught him how to write and keep a proper financial ledger; he gave her the idea that baseballs hit foul at Phillies games should be tallied. When his father passed away, Craig was only 13. He relied on the Boy Scouts of America for guidance during his teenage years. He became very active and reached the rank of Eagle Scout; he later became an assistant scoutmaster. After graduation from Boyertown Area Senior High School, Craig made his way to Muhlenberg College where he discovered his true calling, which was to devote his life to God. He enrolled at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, interned at St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, South Perkasie, and was ordained a Lutheran pastor in 1964. While at Muhlenberg, Craig met his future wife, Anne Goldwater of Briarcliff Manor, New York, on a blind date and they were married in 1962. As Craig and Anne made the rounds of Southeastern Pennsylvania, they began to create a family, first with daughters Beth and Heather and later with sons Marc and Drew. In the early years, Anne and Craig moved from congregation to congregation; St. John's Lutheran Church, Hamburg, PA, from 1964 to1967; St. John's Lutheran Church, Richlandtown, PA, for the next 19 years; and finally, Trinity Lutheran, Perkasie, PA, where Craig finished a total of over 50 years in ministry. During his years serving others, Craig devoted countless hours to youth and ecumenical work within the community, often pairing activities and missions with other local parishes. He was active in the Richlandtown Lions Club for more than half a century, and he served many terms as president. Craig also was a lifetime member of the Upper Bucks YMCA and was on the Board of Directors of Silver Springs - Martin Luther School. A tireless advocate for the disenfranchised and struggling, Craig was faced with a personal family tragedy of his own when his son, Marc, committed suicide in 1983. In 1984, Craig and Anne cofounded and co-facilitated the Survivors of Suicide (S.O.S.) group and remained involved with this organization and the Compassionate Friends Quakertown Chapter for over thirty years. Craig was a man of great curiosity and many interests. With interests as diverse as astrophysics and philosophy, he spent years developing his own theory of cosmogony to explain the creation of the Universe. He was as much an advocate of rigorous daily exercise as daily red wine and chocolate. A devoted fan of both the Eagles and the Phillies, he attended countless games (but, of course, he could count them) and solved numerous New York Times crossword puzzles. He played solitaire like a pro. And as big as his heart was, so was his sweet tooth. He had an unabashed affection for dark Swiss chocolate, Reese Peanut Butter Cups and Coca-Cola. He spent the last few months of his life in residence at Phoebe Ministries Richland, where he continued to minister to roommates and residents. Craig always had a moment to talk, a moment to listen, the wisdom to counsel, and the time to reflect. He was a teller of jokes, which brought smiles to all of us who knew him. Craig loved to say that he had used up at least 15 of his nine lives. Despite his many setbacks, he would always find a way to soldier on by focusing on his next goal, then picking another. Craig lived four days past his 80th birthday. In his final hours of his life, he said that his next goal was to live until 2022, when he and Anne would celebrate 60 years of marriage. Craig is survived by his beloved wife, Anne, of Quakertown, PA; daughters Beth Landis and Heather (Landis) Pierson Raffaele (Al Raffaele), of Quakertown, PA; Drew Landis (Paul Raine), of West Hollywood, CA; sisters Dona (Landis) Brown (Fred Brown), of Irving, Texas; Pris (Landis) Duman (John Duman), of Niles, Michigan; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Craig will be honored and remembered on Saturday, April 6, 2019, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 19 South 5th Street, Perkasie, PA, 18944. Calling hours will be from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., with a service and luncheon immediately following. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make memorial contributions to Silver Springs Martin Luther School in Plymouth Meeting or to the Trinity Lutheran Church, Perkasie Endowment Fund, which he created. www.nauglefcs.com