When the Rev. Calvin J. Storley was born, his grandmother asked the Lord to make him a pastor. She got her wish as Storley founded a congregation in Bloomington, served as chaplain of that city's police department, organized youth conferences and trained youth ministry workers.
One of Storley's most memorable moments was meeting the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was the keynote speaker at a national Luther League convention for teens that Storley helped organize in the 1960s.
"He talked about that for a long time," said Storley's wife, Bonnie, of Bloomington. "He felt called to the ministry. He was a pastor through and through and loved praying for people."
Storley, 79, of Bloomington died Jan. 28 from pneumonia and complications related to Parkinson's disease at the Minnesota Masonic Home Care Center in Bloomington.
Storley was born in South Dakota and graduated from Oak Grove Lutheran High School in Fargo, N.D. He earned degrees from Augsburg College and Augsburg Theological Seminary before accepting his first call in 1954 as pastor of two small congregations in Alexandria, Minn., and Brandon, Minn. He served as senior pastor of North Heights Church in Roseville from 1959 to 1961 before becoming Upper Midwest regional youth director for the American Lutheran Church. In that position he organized summer ministry and youth conferences, Bonnie said.
Storley was the founding pastor of Community of the Cross Lutheran Church in Bloomington. Under his leadership, the congregation grew from 20 members to several hundred and moved from an elementary school into its own building at 10701 Bloomington Ferry Road. He was the senior pastor there until he retired in 1994.
"He was a dynamic person who reached out to people with his sermons," said Arnold Mickelson, the church's financial consultant. "He was a great example because when there was work to be done like starting coffee or other physical things, he did it, too."
Storley received a Chief's Award of Merit for organizing, staffing and promoting the Bloomington Police Department's chaplain core. Former Mayor Neil Peterson declared Feb. 13, 1994, as Calvin Storley Day in Bloomington for his service to the department, his wife said.
Storley wrote confirmation material for the church, led tours to places such as Israel, Norway and Egypt, and was on the board of directors that took over Holden Village and turned the abandoned mining village on Lake Chelan, Wash., into a national Lutheran retreat center.
Storley had a pilot's license and enjoyed flying. He was an avid camper, hiker, hunter and fisherman, Bonnie said.
Storley was preceded in death by his first wife, Marguerite Hamilton. Along with Bonnie, he is survived by his sons Greg, of Londale, Calif.; Drew, of Rosemount, and Chad, of Waconia, daughter, Gwen, of Rosemount; sisters Almira Pederson, of Sioux Falls, S.D.; Donna Knutson, of Coon Rapids, and brother LeRoy of Apache Junction, Ariz.
Services have been held.
