Ronald W. Furst ’63

Ron, a biblical minister who served in Germany for nearly 60 years, died Jan. 10, 2026, in Wangen, a historic city in southern Germany. His missionary work was supported for its duration by Stone Hill Church in Princeton.  

Ron was one of 16 classmates to come from The Hill School, where Ron played soccer, was in the classics club and won awards for excellence in Greek. 

At Princeton, Ron majored in Classics, wrote his thesis on Thucydides, and took his meals at the Woodrow Wilson Society. His major activity was the Princeton Evangelical Fellowship, serving as secretary-treasurer senior year. As he recounted for our 50th-reunion yearbook, this was a pivotal experience: “I came into contact with a Christian student community and Dr. Fullerton, a single former missionary to Afghanistan, who founded this student organization in the fall of 1931. Through weekly discipleship with him and regular attendance at student Bible study groups, my faith was strengthened.” 

Ron earned a master’s of divinity degree from Grace Theological Seminary. He then served as assistant pastor of Southfield Community Church outside of Detroit in conjunction with a year-long missionary internship program in Farmington, Mich.  

In 1968, Ron left for Germany. Three years later, he “gained a God-fearing wife:” Hildegarde, eight years older, a native German, and a missionary. They served in five different locations, including a 10-year stint in Ulm, where Ron also served on the Princeton Schools Committee of Southern Germany. 

Ron is survived by his wife of 54 years, Hildegarde.