Alden Lee Nickerson, age 84, was ushered up to his heavenly father at sunrise on Easter Sunday, April 5 2015.

Born May 22, 1930 in Wheaton, to parents Harold and Irene, he attended Wheaton Central High School, Moody Bible Institute , Wheaton College , and finally Valparaiso University where he graduated in 1974 with a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies. Alden served in the National Guard until 1953, attaining the rank of Sgt. Major. On September 05,1950, he married Joan Ball, his high school sweetheart.

After graduating with a Pastor's Degree from Moody Bible Institute, Alden went onto minister in several churches over his lifetime. Alden was then called into teaching public school at the junior high level.

Upon retiring in 1995, Alden, Joan, and sister-in-law Carol moved to Franktown, Co. Later moving his household to Grants Pass, Oregon, then on to Freeport, IL.

Alden was a multi-faceted person whose gifts and interests occupied him. Alden's love of teaching extended far beyond the classroom. Carol and Joan were enlisted to create formal dinners in their home whereupon Alden would teach his students the fine points of proper dining etiquette. Near Thanksgiving he involved his students in various pilgrim type activities such as making soap and constructing a casket. Alden took the boys "hunting" out in what is now Lincoln Marsh behind their house. Even as he was putting a great deal into his teaching Alden ran an offset printing business out of his basement. When not in study or printing materials for Christianity Today Alden would be building something, or making plans to build. Each house he occupied was subject to substantial revision. If you were hired to help accomplish the latest project, be it electrical, plumbing, or carpentry you were in for a close review of your work. But during breaks he would invariably sit with whomever was working for him and ask about their families, careers, and without fail, their relationship with Christ.

His greatest pleasure was opening the scriptures to whomever would listen as he traced a spiritual concept from the Old Testament to the New. He loved the Word and would spend hours in study so that he could in turn pass his findings on to the rest of us.

To the very end Alden engaged people in conversation and looked for a way to point them to the Lord. Yet he was not simply proselytizing but truly seeking to get to know them. If he struck up a conversation with a restaurant server he would remember specifics and pick up where he left off the next time he came in for lunch. While Alden and Joan never had biological children many young people came to see him as a "Spiritual Dad".

Alden, Joan, and Carol together for more than 50 years were a powerful team whose home became a place of refuge and recovery for many. "A chord of three strands" as described by one whose life was touched by the family.

He is survived by his wife, Joan; his daughter, Patricia (Dan) Tillotson of Wheaton, IL; his grandchildren, Sarah (Patrick), Kristen (Ben), Collin, and Alyssa (Bill); six great-grandchildren, Jacob and Myles, Charlie, and Trinity, Catherine and Sean; his sister-in-law, Carol Nickerson; and many beloved nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Irene; his sister, Arliss; and his brothers, Don, Herbert, and Ralph.

A visitation will be held on Friday, April 10, 2015 from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Hultgren Funeral Home, 304 N. Main St., in Wheaton, IL where a funeral service will be held on Saturday, April 11, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Wheaton Cemetery in Wheaton, IL.

In lieu of flowers memorial gifts may be directed to the Alzheimer's Association , 225 N. Michigan Ave., Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60601-7633.