Henry Remple

A memorial service for Dr. Henry D. Remple, 101, Lawrence, will be at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday at the First United Methodist Church, 946 Vt.  On Thursday in Hillsboro, Kansas, a funeral service will be at the Historic Mennonite Church next to the Mennonite Brethren Cemetery, immediately followed by interment at the Lohrenz and Remple site there.

Dr. Remple died Friday, April 9, 2010, at his home in Lawrence.

He was born Nov. 25, 1908 in Alexanderwohl, Ukraine, the son of Heinrich Dietrich Rempel and Aganetha Fast Rempel. Following the ravages of WWI, Bolshevik Revolution, the subsequent Russian Civil War and a drought-induced famine, his family of eleven fled in April, 1922, hoping to emigrate to America.   Only three survived. Two older sisters, Agatha and Agnes, and Henry arrived at Ellis Island in October, 1923.

Dr. Remple grew up in Henderson, Nebraska, as a foster child of the C.D. and Bertha Epp family. He studied at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas, and then completed a bachelor’s degree in 1932 and a master’s degree in psychology in 1933 at the University of Minnesota.  He continued graduate studies there until accepting employment in 1934 with the Kansas Farm Credit Administration in Wichita, Kansas. He joined the American Psychological Association in 1935.

He entered federal civil service in 1937 as an industrial counselor at the Federal Reformatory at El Reno, Oklahoma, continuing his graduate studies towards a doctorate during summer sessions at the University of Minnesota. World War II interrupted his work and studies.  In 1942 he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army and served as a psychological examiner of new recruits for the Army and Navy in Lubbock, Texas. In 1943 he was transferred to Military Intelligence to interrogate German prisoners of war, was promoted to the rank of captain and attached to the 35th Infantry Division, which became part of General Patton’s Third Army and served in Paris, Liege and the Andenne.  During the Battle of the Bulge and later in Germany, he served with counterintelligence.

Following his return to civilian life in December 1945, he settled in Lawrence in 1946, resumed his graduate studies, and in 1950, received his doctorate in psychology at the University of Kansas.  He was certified as a diplomate in clinical psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology in 1951 and as a fellow of the American Psychological Association in 1957.

Dr. Remple’s first postdoctoral position was chief psychologist at the Mental Hygiene Clinic, Veterans Administration Center in Kansas City.  He was transferred to Topeka as chief of the Psychology Training Unit at the VA Hospital and supervised psychology training programs at VA hospitals in association with the Universities of Kansas,  Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, and St. Louis University.  For thirteen years until 1980, he held a part-time appointment as a team leader in the Department of Psychology at the University of Kansas.

Following the VA’s revision of these training units, he was transferred to the VA Medical Center, Leavenworth, Kansas, as chief of the Psychology Service, a position he held for 21 years.  In 1981 he retired and opened his office of independent practice of clinical psychology in Lawrence, serving until he retired in1998.

The American Psychological Association recognized him in 1998 for his retirement after 62 years of service, commending him for major contributions to the field as a fellow of Divisions 12, 13, 18, 31, and as a member of Divisions 20, 27, 45 and 46.

He served the Kansas Psychological Association as secretary and president and for three years represented KPA as a member of the Council of Representatives of the American Psychological Association.  In 1967 he was appointed by the governor of Kansas to serve on the Kansas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists and served as secretary of the Board for seven years.

He became a member of the Mental Health Advisory Committee to the Douglas County Health Board and was later appointed by the Lawrence City Commission for a four year term on the Advocacy Council on Aging.  He served on the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center Board of Directors from 1978-1988, with two consecutive terms as chairman of the board.  He received the Center’s Pioneer Award in 1990, and in 1997 he was awarded its Lifetime Achievement Award for his key leadership with the VA in developing innovative services designed to meet the psychological needs of those impacted by war.

The Mental Health Association of Douglas County established the Henry D. Remple Collection at the Lawrence Public Library in 1988.  In 1992 he was recognized by the American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology for contributions to applied psychological science in the public interest.

In 1978 he, his wife and a nephew returned to his birthplace in Ukraine. In 2001 his memoir, From Bolshevik Russia to America: A Mennonite Family Story, was published; a revised edition was published in 2008. Dr. Remple made numerous presentations in Lawrence schools to inspire hope and develop understanding about how to live with resiliency despite difficult times. In 2007 a DVD and teaching guide, Henry D. Remple: Finding Hope in Troubled Times, intended for parents, teachers and others working with youngsters was produced.   Related teaching and resource materials are on the website www.hdremple.com.

He received recognition from the Douglas County Historical Society and Watkins Community Museum of History for his contributions in history and education in 2007.

He was an adult member of the Girl Scouts of the USA since 1958, supporting his daughter’s founding Mariner Girl Scout Troop #201/660, now Troop 7661, in Lawrence.

He married Mariana Lohrenz on August 1, 1936, in Hillsboro, Kansas, at a service officiated by her father, Dr. H.W. Lohrenz, a founder and longtime president of Tabor College.  She preceded him in death in 2000.  In 2004, he completed her project, a memorial garden and markers honoring her father in front of the Tabor College Lohrenz Administration Building.  In 2007, he was recognized by the Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas for his donation of her extensive collection of Girl Scout records and historical artifacts.
 
Survivors include a daughter and son-in-law, Drs. Lucy Jean and Loring W. McAllister; a son and grandson, Robert Keith Remple and Jonathan Keith Remple; his nephews and nieces and their families, children of his deceased elder sister, Agatha Rempel Krieger, including Edgar Krieger of Lawrence; and his nephews and nieces and their families, children of his deceased sister Agnes Rempel Epp Peters and D.D. Epp.

Other survivors include his American sister, Rachel Epp Senner, and her children and grandchildren; and the children and grandchildren of his deceased American sister, Ruth Epp Luellen.

The family will meet friends from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Warren-McElwain Mortuary in Lawrence.

The family suggests memorials to the Friends of Hidden Valley Mariana Remple Endowment Fund, Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas, or Douglas County Visiting Nurses Association, sent in care of the mortuary, 120 W. 13th St., Lawrence, KS 66044.