Verna Rapp Uthman
Verna Rapp Uthman, 83, a member of FOR since February 21, 1950, died on November 19, 2011 at St. Lukes VNA Hospice in Lower Saucon Township, PA.
Born in Elverson, PA in 1928, Uthman was raised in a God-centered family that taught her that all human beings are God’s children. Her many and varied experiences with different cultures and religions supported this world view and inspired her passion for peace and justice.
After attending Ohio State University, Uthman was recruited to become a member of the first staff of Church World Services in Windsor, MD. In 1949, through the Church of the Bretheren, she left for overseas humanitarian service in postwar Europe that included work with the Heifer Project and the newly founded International Student Exchange Program. After Europe, she worked in Washington, DC registering conscientious objectors in the archives of the National Service Board of Religious Objectors. She was a participant in early civil rights sit-ins and worked on Christian Social Action until her marriage to Abdul-Rahman Ali Uthman moved her to Bagdad, Iraq where she lived for 10 years as part of an Islamic family.
Upon return to the US, Uthman worked for the Philadelphia Society to Protect Children before moving to New York City where she worked for the National Board of the YWCA. She also worked in the office of the president of the United Church of Christ, served on the Children of War steering committee and the Status of Women in the Church task force. As a civil rights activist, Uthman organized many nationally and internationally recognized peace and justice programs which included the New York City nuclear disarmament demonstrations. While working for the office of Church in Society, she was made the United Church of Christ’s representative to the United Nations. Following her retirement in 1993, Uthman continued her UN activities and remained actively involved in human rights issues until her death.
She is survived by her sister Marion Rapp Davis, brother Albert Irvin Rapp, and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family.
