The Rev. Dr. Donald Lloyd Pannabecker, age 89, died January 17, 2026, in Bluffton, Ohio. Raised in China for the first five years with his father a medical missionary, he moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1941 and then in 1944 to Peoria, Illinois where he grew up. Don was an honorably retired minister member of Maumee Valley Presbytery.
David was ordained by Cincinnati Presbytery in 1961 after graduating from McCormick Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity, and Bluffton College (Bluffton, Ohio), and served Cleves United Presbyterian Church in Cleves, Ohio as pastor. Don then spent a lifetime in higher education as a professor of religion and philosophy, completing his Ph.D. at University of Toledo in 1979, and continuing as an higher education administrator for many years, serving as Provost and Dean of Academic Affairs at Bluffton College and then as interim Vice President. He returned to Bluffton University as VP and Dean emeritus in 2007, as Bluffton University grieved the student-athletes who lost their lives in a March 2 bus accident that killed five baseball players in Atlanta, GA.
Don was also an active and faithful presbyter in Maumee Valley Presbytery, serving as Moderator of the Presbytery, and for years on the Ministerial Relations Committee and then the Committee on Ministry.
Don is survived by his beloved wife Romaine, and children Dina, Cheryl and Tim (Joanne Dewerse) and five grandchildren.
There will be a memorial service at Mennonite Memorial Home on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 3pm in the Chapel. Donations can be made to the Charles L and Lelia Roth Pannabecker Family fund at Bluffton University.
Details can be found at the full obituary.
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, says the Spirit. They will rest from their labors, and their deeds follow them.
Revelation 14:13
