Obituary: Alden Long

Longtime educator Alden (Al) Long died in October. He studied for two years at Messiah Bible College (1946-1948), then transferred to Houghton College at the suggestion of then-President C. N. Hostetter Jr., who wanted Long to return to Grantham to teach Bible and Greek. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Houghton, he joined the faculty in 1951 as professor and dean of men. He would later serve as dean of students and as the college chaplain. In addition to his many years of teaching and ministering, he was part of the team that constructed the steeple on Hostetter Chapel. He served Messiah consistently for 46 years, retiring from full-time teaching at the end of the 1996-1997 academic year, although he continued to teach classes after that for some time. In 1997, he was named professor emeritus of biblical literature and Greek. He and his wife, Mary, who died in 2019, lived on campus from 1951 until his death. He could often be seen in Murray Library reading newspapers and chatting with students. We will miss his presence on campus.