The Rev. Dr. F. Dean Lueking, who led Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest for 35 years as senior pastor and shaped civic life across Oak Park and River Forest through interfaith work, foster parenting, and nonprofit leadership, died June 25 at Sunrise of River Forest. He was 98.

Lueking served Grace Lutheran at 7300 W. Division St. for 44 years total, arriving as assistant pastor in 1954 and becoming senior pastor in 1963. He retired in 1998. During that span he guided the congregation through one of its most consequential decisions: a September 1977 vote to leave the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod over what the congregation described as the synod's enforcement of a literalistic interpretation of the Bible. A court battle over the church's property followed and took roughly a decade to resolve in Grace's favor, according to the church's published history.

Beyond the pulpit, Lueking chaired the board of Thrive Counseling Center, the Oak Park nonprofit at 120 South Marion St. founded in 1898. His obituary notes it was the civic role he was most proud of. He and his wife, Beverly, fostered more than 30 children through Lutheran Child and Family Services.

Lueking marched in the 1963 March on Washington and forged interfaith partnerships with clergy at churches and synagogues throughout Oak Park and River Forest. Among his honors, he especially valued a shofar plaque from the River Forest West Suburban Synagogue, the Golden Rose of Charity from Dominican University, and a personal letter of encouragement from Barack Obama in 2004.

He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago Divinity School in 1960, authored 14 books on parish practice, and co-founded the Academy of Parish Ministry in 1965. His seminary roommate and lifelong friend was Martin Marty, the renowned University of Chicago theologian who also served at Grace Lutheran from 1952 to 1956.

David Heim, former editor of Christian Century magazine and a longtime Grace Lutheran member, wrote in a June 30 tribute in the Wednesday Journal that Lueking possessed a rare pastoral gift. "Perhaps most remarkable of all Pastor Lueking's gifts was his capacity to come alongside people in moments of grief, doubt, or confusion and to convey through his words and presence that this experience did not put them outside the house of faith or the love of God," Heim wrote.

In a 2016 Wednesday Journal column advocating for the LGBTQ community, Lueking himself wrote: "Congregations, at their best, are a work in progress in this regard, composed of people ever learning anew the power of faith active in love."

Before seminary, Lueking was a left-handed college pitcher good enough to draw interest from a Philadelphia Phillies scout. He turned down the offer. Hall of Famer Robin Roberts later wrote him a letter saying he had once considered becoming a Lutheran pastor, closing with: "and so we kind of passed each other in the night."

Lueking met Beverly Ann Frano on a blind date in 1957 and proposed less than a month later. They were married 68 years. He is survived by Beverly; four children, Ann Elizabeth Anderson, Christopher Dean, Sarah Filipa McCabe, and Joel Frederick; a foster son, Timothy Lovell; 11 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. All reside in the greater Chicago area.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, July 18, at 11 a.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, 7300 W. Division St., River Forest, with visitation beginning at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at the Grace Church columbarium.