(ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER) — Susan Wolfe-Devol, Orange County’s first female Lutheran pastor and a strong voice for social justice and inclusion in the church, died Dec. 16 of intestinal cancer. She was 61.
Wolfe-Devol was a “trailblazer” and brilliant theologian, but struggled to be accepted in ministry at a time when almost all members of clergy were men, said her sister Connie Wolfe of Huntington Beach.
“She graduated at the top of her class, but was one of the last to find a call,” said Wolfe, who teaches sign language at Edison High School.
But, family members say, Wolfe-Devol’s early experiences shaped the life she would lead as a fearless pastor who advocated for women, the LGBT community, immigrants and others who were marginalized.
