The Rev. Ron Eslinger, 79

The Rev. Ronald L. Eslinger, who ministered in local church and Conference settings of United Church of Christ, died April 17, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. He was 79.

Born Jan. 6, 1943, in Huron, S.D., Ronald Lee Eslinger was a graduate of UCC-related Yankton College and the University of Chicago Divinity School. Ordained in 1969, he served in New York, Michigan, Kansas, Oklahoma, Illinois and Iowa over a 40-year career. He was an associate Conference minister in Kansas-Oklahoma in the 1980s and 1990s, Conference minister in Illinois South from the mid-1990s until 2002, and associate Conference minister in Iowa from 2005 until his retirement in 2009. In an April 26 post at its Facebook page, the Iowa Conference remembered him for his work “to manifest racial and social justice and to encourage stewardship for creation.”

Eslinger’s survivors include two adult children, two siblings and three grandchildren. His wife of 44 years, Stephanie (Steininger) Eslinger, died in 2013. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. CT Saturday, May 7, at Plymouth Congregational UCC in Des Moines, where he was a member. The family has suggested that people wishing to make memorial contributions direct them to Plymouth Church Foundation or Iowa Interfaith Power & Light.

A complete obituary and an invitation to leave online condolences are here.

---

Content on ucc.org is copyrighted by the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and may be only shared according to the guidelines outlined here.