Harold Eugene Raser

Rev. Harold Eugene Raser (BA, MA, MDiv, PhD) died peacefully April 17, 2026 of complications from Parkinson’s Disease. He was born in Altadena California, March 9, 1947 to John and Bernice Deemy Raser, the youngest of three children. Harold grew up as the son of a pastor in the Brethren in Christ Church. When he was ten, his family joined Bresee Avenue Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, California. He attended public school, graduating in 1964 from Pasadena High School, and Pasadena College in 1968 with a BA in history and psychology. After a year at Fuller Theological Seminary, he returned to Pasadena College to complete a M.A. in Religion. He met his wife, Joy Atteberry, at Pasadena College and they married in March, 1968. After a stint as youth, associate, and interim pastor at San Jose, CA, First Church of the Nazarene, in 1972, he moved to Kansas City to get his MDiv at Nazarene Theological Seminary (1974) after which he completed his Ph.D. in American Religious History and Thought at The Pennsylvania State University where he taught humanities courses and assisted professors of world religions and Hebrew Bible. He spent two years teaching at Asbury College in Wilmore Kentucky, during which time, he was ordained as a minister in the Church of the Nazarene. In 1980, he became the professor of American Christianity at Nazarene Theological Seminary, Kansas City, MO, where he taught for 38 years, retiring in May 2018.

Service to God and the Church were always central to Harold’s life. He said he “began to sense God’s call at about age 15” and gave himself “wholly and unreservedly to God” while in college. He said he “owed a great debt to many individuals who allowed God to use them as agents of God’s reconciling grace” to him. He named parents, Sunday school teachers, pastors, youth pastor, professors, and parishioners, among others. His entire life he modeled that grace he experienced giving back to the lives of others.

At NTS, in addition to courses in the History of Christianity and American religious history, Harold continued an interest he’d discovered at Penn State, teaching courses in world religions and Islam, for which he did post-doctoral work at Hartford Seminary, including study trips to Turkey and Jordan. Harold wrote his dissertation on Pheobe Plamer, a nineteenth-century woman evangelist and theologian, beginning a life-long interest in and promotion of women in ministry. For many years, he and Joy co-taught a course on the history of women in the Church and culture at NTS. He was an empathetic teacher who always expected their best from his students. He served in various roles at NTS, including director of the M.A. Theology degree and editor of the NTS journal, The Tower.

In addition to teaching, Harold was recognized as a scholar of American religious history and published several books and dozens of articles, including histories of NTS and the Church of the Nazarene. He was a regular contributor to the church’s adult Sunday School curriculum, which at one point earned him a free trip to the Holy Land. He also served at General Assembly on the manual editing committee.

Harold spent his entire life involved in service to God through his local church—beginning as a teenager at Bresee Avenue Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena. Over the years he served in almost every imaginable lay role, (almost 50 of those at Overland Park Church of the Nazarene) including church boards, Sunday school teacher, church choir/choir director, and playing in the church orchestra. During the summers of 1972-73, he and Joy acted as directors for a group of college students in the church’s Summer Ministries program, holding vacation bible schools around the U.S. and Canada, where he honed his puppeteering skills.

Harold had many interests, but he especially loved music. He came of age during the folk movement of the 1960’s, learning the guitar and playing in a folk duo, “Rase and Carol.” His interest was wide ranging and eclectic, and he had many “favorite” artists, but number one was James Taylor—he had a collection of t-shirts from JT concerts. He was a huge supporter of his singer-song writer son, Derren, and attended his concerts whenever he could. For many years, he played guitar in the orchestra at his local church, even learning to play the bass when there was need of one.

Another of Harold’s passions, was sports, especially Penn State football and KU basketball, but he also loved the Chiefs and the Royals. He loved to travel and experience new cultures and their histories. He and Joy did house swaps numerous times in the USA, UK, Canada, and Europe. Part of that was trying new foods and many of his favorite dishes were from the cuisines of other countries: Indian, Asian, Mexican, Middle-eastern. Colorado was one his favorite places to visit, where he felt close to God in the mountains. He enjoyed yardwork, especially mowing the lawn, which he always said activated his creative juices. He was once invited to give a series of lectures at NTS, and he said the idea for those came to him while mowing.

Harold was a beloved father, husband and brother. He has two children, Erika Daggett (husband Mark); Derren Raser (wife Lisa), four grandchildren, Elliott Daggett, Emma Daggett, Lily Raser and Grace Raser (2018-21), and his sister, Carolyn Raser and several nieces an nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, a brother, Dwayne Raser, and a granddaughter, Grace Valentine Raser.

Memorial Service: Saturday, June 6, 2026, 10:00 a.m. with reception following featuring one of Harold’s favorites—KC Joe’s BBQ meats—all invited. Overland Park Church of the Nazarene, 9030 Lamar Ave. Overland Park, KS 66207.

Donations may be made to the Harold Raser Scholarship for Women in Ministry Fund at Nazarene Theological Seminary website.

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