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Rev. Ira Zepp

The Rev. Ira Zepp, 79, a retired Elder, died of congestive heart failure Aug. 1. A memorial service will be held Saturday, Aug. 29, at 2 p.m. in Baker Memorial Chapel on the McDaniel College campus, where he was professor emeritus of religious studies.

Most of Zepp's ministerial career was spent at then Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College. He served Jarrettsville UMC for three years from 1960 to 1963, when he became the college's first Dean of the Chapel and then Professor of Religious Studies. He taught full-time until his retirement in 1994. He continued teaching at Carroll Community College until 2008.

"He inspired generations of students to lead lives committed to service, activism and peace," said Joan Develin Coley, president of the college.

Zepp was an alumnus of the school, graduating in 1952 with the Bates Prize for outstanding male student. He received his theological degree magna cum laude from Drew University and earned his doctorate from St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore in 1971. He also studied theology in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Gottigen, Germany, as well as at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and in Cuernavaca, Mexico. He was a Fulbright Scholar to India in 1967.

Zepp conducted classes on such taboo subjects at the time as human sexuality, death and racism. He received McDaniel's distinguished Teaching Award three times and in 1989 was named Maryland's Professor of the Year. He participated in the historic march with Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Ala., in 1965. He served on the committee to desegregate many restaurants in Westminster, which brought him hate mail and dirty looks from his neighbors.

"Civil rights and social justice were his passions," said his friend and fellow activist, the Rev. Larry Brumfield, pastor of the Church of the Brethren in Westminster. "He was a brilliant public speaker and could move people with the power of his oratory."

In 1994, he and longtime friend, Walt Michael, a folk singer, co-founded Common Ground on the Hill, a program in residence at McDaniel that promotes cultural and ethnic diversity through music, art and philosophy. Michael is the director.

Zepp is the author of a dozen books, including three on Martin Luther King Jr. His most recent, "Pedagogy of the Heart: A Teacher's Credo," was published last spring by Common Ground, in which he describes his philosophy of teaching.

On display in the Hoover Library at McDaniel is a mural painted by a former student, Ellen von Dehsen Elmes, which celebrates the lives of Ira and Mary Zepp.

In addition to his wife of 57 years, Mary Elizabeth Dodd, survivors include two sons, Alan P. Zepp of Westminster and Paul H. Zepp of Van Nuys, Calif.; two daughters, Karen P. Zepp of Columbia and Jody K. Zepp of Owings Mills; and a grand-daughter.

Condolences may be sent to Mary Zepp, 576 Marshall Drive, Westminster, MD 21157-4615.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Ira & Mary Zepp Center for Non-Violence and Peace Foundation, P.O. Box 552, Westminster, MD 21158.