James Walther is a native western Pennsylvanian. He attended high school in Pittsburgh, and graduated from Grove City (PA) College. He received the S. T. B. degree from Western Theological Seminary, now Pittsburgh Seminary.
He was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in 1942. The next year he was commissioned a Naval Reserve Chaplain and served for 27 months in the Pacific area. He continued in the Reserve for 30 years, serving from 1956 to 1973 with the Pittsburgh Marines. He is a life member of the Military Chaplains Association.
From 1946 to 1948 he studied at Emmanuel College of Victoria University in Toronto, which granted him the Doctor of Theology degree in 1957. While there he was an Assistant at the Timothy Eaton Memorial United Church. From 1948 to 1950 he was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Edinboro, PA.
From 1950 to 1954 he taught Greek and Latin at Grove City College. In 1954 he returned to Pittsburgh to teach New Testament studies at the Pittsburgh Seminary. In 1983 he retired as Emeritus Professor of New Testament Literature and Exegesis.
Dr. Walther is one of the founders and the first author of the Kerygma Program. He has also written Bible studies for the Logos youth program and has been a leader at their national conferences. He has published a textbook of New Testament Greek and with Professor William Orr coauthored the Anchor commentary on First Corinthians. He was the editor of Ever a Frontier, the bicentennial history of Pittsburgh Seminary. He has also written many articles and been an editor including Pittsburgh Perspective from 1960 to 1967.
He has served the Presbyterian Church at presbytery, synod, and General Assembly levels. He has preached or lectured in over 400 churches. He and his wife Janet live in retirement at Greenville, PA, where he is Parish Associate at Hillside Presbyterian Church.
He has also written Bible studies for the Logos youth program and was a leader at its national conferences from 1987 to 1998. He has published a textbook of New Testament Greek (University of Chicago Press, 1966; 1980). With Professor William F. Orr, he coauthored the Anchor Bible Commentary on First Corinthians (Doubleday, 1976). Editor of Ever a Frontier, the bicentennial history of Pittsburgh Seminary (Eerdmans, 1994), Dr. Walther has also written many articles and been an editor, including the Pittsburgh Perspective from 1960 to 1967. Dr. Walther continued to serve the Presbyterian Church at Presbytery, Synod, and General Assembly levels, having preached or lectured in more than 450 churches. In addition to his services as Parish Associate at Hillside Presbyterian Church, Dr. Walther was active with the Greenville Area Christian Ministerial Association (GACMA), having served as its president from 1996 to 1998.
REV. DR. JAMES ARTHUR WALTHER 87, of Greenville, formerly of Pittsburgh, died Wednesday, Dec. 28, at UPMC Horizon, Greenville. Born April 3, 1918, to George A. and Mary P. Walther, he married Janet Walther of Greenville, on March 15, 1986. She survives. He was a member of Shenango Presbytery and served as parish associate at Hillside Presbyterian Church, Greenville PA.He enjoyed traveling, bowling, golfing, reading, fishing, walking on the beach, crossword puzzles, and spending time with his family. In addition to his wife at home, Dr. Walther is survived by a son, the Rev. James A. Walther Jr., and his wife, Doreen, of Charleston, W. VA; a daughter, Maryann Walther-Keisel, of Columbus, Ohio; three step-sons, David Lanston, and his wife, Lora, of Harrisburg, PA, the Rev. Robert Langston and his wife, Karen of Syracuse, NY; Daniel Langston and his wife, Pam of Charleston, South Carolina; and seven grandchildren, Kenneth J Keisel, Drew and Julianne Langston, Matthew Langston and Ryan, Will, and Emily Langston. He was preceded in death by his first wife, AnnaMarie Piel Walther. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Student Aid Fund, 616 Highland Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206.
