Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 40:1 (Mar 1997)
Article: Memorials
Author: Anonymous

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JETS 40:2 (June 1997) p. 166

Memorials

ROBERT LESLIE ALDEN

Robert Leslie Alden was born on December 10, 1937, in Brockton, Massachusetts, and grew up in that area. He graduated with his B.A. degree in Bible and English from Barrington College in 1959 and three years later received his B.D. degree from Westminster Theological Seminary. His Ph.D. degree in Bible, archeology and ancient Near Eastern history was earned from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1966.

It was in Cincinnati that Bob met his future wife, Mary Jane. They were introduced at a singspiration at Norwood Baptist Church, were they were later married on June 4, 1966. Soon thereafter the Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary in Denver appointed Bob to teach OT. He continued to teach there for thirty years.

Bob and Mary Jane traveled extensively throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and more recently New Zealand. He taught in Germany, Sweden, Amsterdam, Russia, the Ukraine, the Ivory Coast, Uganda and many other places. He wrote a three-volume commentary on Psalms (Moody) as well as commentaries on Job (Broadman) and Proverbs (Baker). Many of his articles have appeared in journals and Bible encyclopedias. He felt that perhaps his greatest contribution was his work as a translator of the New International Version. He specialized on OT poetic literature and had just recently finished chairing an editorial committee for the New International Reader’s Version.

Robert Alden also enjoyed mountain climbing, cross-country skiing and model railroading. He had scaled all of the 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado and 341 of the 637 mountains in the state over 13,000 feet, mostly after bypass surgery in 1979. Bob loved the mountains so much that he is buried in a small cemetery near their family’s cabin in South Park near Como, Colorado.

Bob passed peacefully out of this life and into glory on September 3, 1996, as the result of a heart attack. He is survived by Mary Jane, his wife of thirty years. They have two single adult children: John, a graduate of Wheaton College, who is in the nuclear Navy; and Grace Ann, a recent graduate of the University of Colorado, who presently lives with Mary Jane.

Robert was a member of the Evangelical Theological Society for over thirty years. He rarely missed an annual meeting and was one of the first to preregister for our annual fall conference. We shall miss him.

DONALD W. BURDICK

Donald W. Burdick was born on July 28, 1917, in Akron, New York. His elementary and secondary education was received in the public schools of

JETS 40:2 (June 1997) p. 167

New York. ...

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