Catching up with Bob Trendel ’59, retired pastor and historian

When eventual Carthage president Alan Anderson made a recruitment visit to a high school in Skokie, Illinois, in 1954, the Rev. Robert “Bob” Trendel ’59 had no idea his enrollment at Carthage the following year would launch him into a fruitful career in pastoral ministry, a passion for anti-slavery research, and a loving marriage.

The Rev. Robert Trendel ’59 is pictured in 2013, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his ordination as a Lutheran pastor.He attended the College on its previous campus in Carthage, Illinois, where his grandfather (Professor Harry Dornblaser) taught English decades earlier. Pastor Trendel roomed with Clayton Diskerud ’59, served as treasurer for the student newspaper and yearbook, worked in the dining hall, and joined Tau Sigma Chi fraternity.

He planned to major in business and become a CPA, but a course taught by religion professor Altman Swihart shifted his focus to full-time ministry.

Pastor Trendel didn’t just graduate from Carthage with a diploma in hand. He took with him the love of his life, Virginia (Matzker) Trendel ’61.

During spring break his junior year, the Theatre Department desperately needed strong men to lift the dancers in the show “Wonderful Town.” Pastor Trendel hoped to travel to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with friends over break, but the department convinced him to join the crew instead.

“It was there I ran into a young girl from Chester, Illinois,” he reminisces about Virginia. “We hit it off, and afterwards we started dating.” They later married and raised twins.

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Carthaginians in the clergy

As Carthage prepares for the formal installation of the Rev. Adam Miller-Stubbendick as campus pastor on March 27, 2025, this is the first in a series of profiles that will celebrate alumni who have served as clergy members.

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After graduation, Pastor Trendel attended the Lutheran Theological Seminary and was called to congregations in Indiana and Illinois. In 1964, he was recognized in the volume “Who’s Who in Religion” for his significant impact.

The Rev. Robert Trendel ’59 celebrated his Carthage graduation with his future wife, Virginia.While serving a congregation in Carbondale, Illinois, he earned master’s and doctorate degrees in historical studies from Southern Illinois University. His study unlocked a passion for anti-slavery work and a connection to the family of William Jay, an American abolitionist and son of the first U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice.

Pastor Trendel interviewed four generations of the Jay family and published essays in historical journals, many of which he has donated to the Carthage History Department’s Ross Room in Lentz Hall.

“He’s a very dedicated alum,” notes Professor John Leazer, chair of the department. “He’s been very supportive of the idea of the Ross Room in the sense that he wants to give to the students even though he doesn’t know them.”

Prof. Leazer added with a smile, “He’s also got one or two good stories to tell about his exploits as a historian.”

Harry Dornblaser, a professor of English from 1900 to 1908 at Carthage, was the grandfather of the Rev. Robert Trendel ’59.After retiring in 1995, Pastor Trendel continued to serve as interim pastor. He brought healing to congregations that were reeling from previous pastors’ moral failure or ongoing financial difficulties.

The healing was reciprocated a few years later. After doctors diagnosed him with a rare cancer and told Pastor Trendel he had five years to live, members from one of his former parishes visited him in the hospital. Together, they prayed for his recovery through the laying on of hands and anointing with oil.

“The very next day, my chemotherapy kicked in, and it got to the level that I could have a stem cell transplant. My brother was the donor, and the transplant worked,” he recalls. “It is unusual. Doctors all said, ‘You are a miracle.’”

Reflecting on his Carthage experience, Pastor Trendel notes, “I hope that my legacy would be that I cared, enjoyed learning, and wanted to share that learning with other people.”

His commitment to education, learning and generosity embodies the spirit and mission of Carthage.

This profile is written by Lauren Hansen ’10, M.Ed. ’15, an author, podcaster, and former Carthage alumni director.