Memorial Service
Obituary of Rev. Dr. Earl K. Ziegler
Rev. Dr. Earl K. Ziegler, 97, of Brethren Village, Lititz, passed from this life and into God’s love on May 29, 2026, the same day as his mother’s birthday.
Born on March 4, 1929 in Sheridan, PA, Lebanon County, he was the son of the late Abraham Hoffman Ziegler and the late Rhoda Keller Ziegler. He is survived by children Karen Ziegler Ungemach, Randall Ziegler, husband of Linda Neese Ziegler, Doreen Ziegler Creighton, wife of Kenneth Creighton, Michael Ziegler, husband of Mary Conahan Ziegler, Konnae Ziegler Chandler, wife of James Chandler, SuLien Nicodemus Markley, wife of Grant Markley. Earl is also survived by 14 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren, sister Verna Kline and brother Glen Ziegler. He was preceded in death by his wife of 70 years, Vivian Snyder Ziegler, and siblings Ada Good, Mae Patches, Lee Ziegler, Lena Kreider, and Victor Ziegler.
From birth to his senior year in high school, Earl was active in the Richland Church of the Brethren. At age 12 he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and was baptized in a creek on a cold January day with snow on the ground. He recognized the nudgings of the Holy Spirit toward a call to ministry during his teen years. His leadership abilities presented themselves through music and teaching. While he grew up with all acapella singing, by age 16 he was leading the congregational singing. He also started to teach Junior High boys at about the same time. His call to ministry became a reality when he volunteered at age 19. He was licensed to the ministry in August of 1948.
He is a graduate of Elizabethtown College, Bethany Theological Seminary, and earned his doctorate at Lancaster Theological Seminary. Licensed to the ministry in the Church of the Brethren in 1948, he was ordained in 1950 and served the next 55 years as pastor of the following Church of the Brethren churches: Springfield, Milk River Valley in Montana, Woodbury, Curryville, and Holsinger in Middle Pennsylvania, Black Rock in York County, Mechanic Grove in Quarryville, and Lampeter, plus interim pastorates in Florin, Ephrata, and East Cocalico in Reamstown. He has served as Moderator of the Middle PA District, Southern District, and Atlantic Northeast District, plus Moderator of numerous congregations. From 1983 to 1989, he served as Atlantic Northeast District Executive, and in 1994 was the National Annual Conference Moderator in Wichita, Kansas.
Among his many ways of serving people, Earl was a member of the Board of Elizabethtown College for 25 years, was Treasurer of the Brethren World Mission organization, was on the Board for the Parish Resource Center, and the Board for Hope International, among others. He led twenty-three work teams to the Dominican Republic and Haiti plus helped to sponsor & assimilate numerous refugee families from Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma). Together with his wife, Vivian, they led numerous family camps & marriage enrichment retreats.
For fun, he would take 40 people with him on vacation via tour groups. This led to leading over 100 tour groups from 1965 to 2019 to all parts of the world as well as tours of the Lancaster County Amish Country. Earl enjoyed music, especially singing and often sang with his late wife, Vivian. The song they enjoyed performing was “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better”, from the musical, Annie Get Your Gun. They enjoyed the laughter that it brought. He had a clear tenor voice and often created his own harmony while singing. He directed several church choirs and a Community Men’s chorus while serving in the pastorate at Black Rock. He was part of the choir at Brethren Village. Music, flowers and his family brought him joy.
A memorial service will be held Friday, June 26th at 1 p.m. at Lititz Church of the Brethren, 300 West Orange Street, Lititz, PA 17543. The family will greet friends and family following the service. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers donations may be given to Brethren World Mission (PO Box 393, Manheim, PA 17545) or Brethren Village Good Samaritan Fund (3001 Lititz Pike, Lititz, PA 17543). To express a condolence with the family or for additional information, visit www.spencefuneralservices.com.
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