In Memory of Robert E. Senghas (June 30, 1928 – June 26, 2022)

Rev. Dr. Robert “Bob” E. Senghas died on June 26, 2022, at the age of 94.

Bob was born on June 30, 1928, in Cleveland, OH to Erwin William Senghas and Lydia Mueller Senghas. He grew up in the environs of Cleveland, not practicing any religion within an institutional framework. In 1950, he received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Yale University following which he earned his Bachelor of Legislative Law from Harvard Law School (1953). From 1953 to 1955, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps, first on infantry duty and then on legal duty as defense counsel, general courts-material, and base legal assistance officer. Thereafter, from 1955 to 1960, he was an attorney of law, practicing with the firm of Chickering and Gregory, San Francisco, CA.

Beginning in 1952, Bob occasionally attended the Unitarian church in Concord, MA. After having established residence in San Francisco in 1957, he began to go to the First Unitarian Church of San Francisco at first sporadically and then regularly. His interest in Unitarianism developed rapidly and he became active in church affairs. He discovered that his real enthusiasm was reserved for religious and philosophical questions and church activities. Bob’s search became more and more concentrated on religion; eventually, he wanted to become a UU minister to participate in and represent the UU community before the world and bring its social conscience to reform within the larger community. Following this call, he studied for the ministry at Starr King School for the Ministry graduating with his Master of Divinity in 1963. Later in 1984, he received his Doctor of Sacred Theology also from Starr King.

Rev. Dr. Senghas was ordained on October 27, 1963, by the Unitarian Church of Davis, CA (now the UU Church of Davis) where he carried out his first ministry (1963-1971). In 1971, he was installed as a minister of the Unitarian Society of Wellesley Hills, MA (now the UU Society of Wellesley Hills). He ministered to the Wellesley congregation for three years. In 1974, Rev. Dr. Senghas was appointed as the UUA’s Executive Vice President. While assuming this position (1974-1979), he worked closely with the Rev. Dr. Robert Nelson West and Rev. Dr. Paul N. Carnes. After five years of work at denominational headquarters, he again got back to the heart of the religious life in the parish and accepted a call from the First UU Society of Burlington, VT (1979). His ministry marked growth in the congregation’s spiritual life. He led a discussion group series on “Building Your Own Theology,” and the church was filled with activity and religious growth. Honoring his rich and exemplary ministry at the First UU Society of Burlington, the congregation bestowed him as their minister emeritus upon his retirement in 1989.

Rev. Dr. Senghas was an outstanding minister and a real leader in the denomination. He provided his services to Starr King School of Ministry as vice-chairman of its governing board and chairman of its faculty selection committee. Likewise, he served the First Unitarian Church of San Francisco as a lay member of the Planning Committee, as a chairman of the By-Laws Revision Committee (1960-1961), and as a member of the 9th grade R.E Curriculum Committee (1960). In 1965, Rev. Dr. Senghas participated in the march in Selma, Alabama at the invitation of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the summer of that year, he again traveled to Selma as part of a concentrated Unitarian Universalist “presence” advocating desegregation without violence.

While in Davis, CA, Bob helped establish a Human Relations Council, a suicide prevention answering service, and was active in draft counseling. He was a Draft Counselor at the University of California at Davis during the Vietnamese War. Furthermore, he served on the board of the Sacramento Chapter, ACLU of North California (1966-1968). He joined the Coordinating Council of the Burlington Ecumenical Action Ministry (BEAM). He was involved in the training of volunteers for the Chittenden County Hospice Organization in Vermont. He was a contributor to the original reading for the marriage ceremony, included in the anthropology entitled Great Occasions, edited by Carl Seaburg (Beacon Press, 1968) and he was the author of Cycles of Reflection.

Bob was a person of tremendous integrity with a warm and thoughtful approach to human relationships. He had high leadership ability and loved people deeply. In his spare time, he enjoyed music, both classical and jazz, as a listener and as a performer.

Bob’s son Stuart mentioned, “my mother, Bob’s wife, introduced him to the UU Church. She was a lifelong Unitarian and grew up in the UU Church of Concord. Bob and Dorrie were married there. She reviewed all his sermons and at times provided content, editing expertise, and depth to his sermons. My parents wrote Hymn No. 349 ‘We Gather Together’ found in UU hymn books.”

Bob is survived by his three sons: in Florida, Frederick Christian Senghas; in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, Edward Caiger Senghas and his wife Maureen Cotter; and in Vermont, Stuart Bailey Senghas and his wife Alicia Wein Senghas. He is also survived by Frederick’s children Matthew Senghas; Sarah Hall and her husband Brian Hall, and their daughter Emma. Stuart’s children Nathan, Lydia, and Isaiah; his niece, Rev. Catherine Senghas as well as many nieces and nephews and their children. His identical twin brother Richard is a retired Catholic priest.

A memorial service will be held at 2 pm on September 10, 2022, at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 152 Pearl Street, Burlington, VT 05401.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to one’s favorite charity.

Notes of condolences can be sent to Stuart Senghas, PO Box 36, Wolcott, VT 05680.