Qualman

The Rev. William August Qualman, age 68, passed away at his Winchester home on Monday, May 24 after a short illness.

Pastor Qualman was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire in 1952. He and his family lived in Saginaw, Mich., Chattanooga, Tenn., Tifton, Ga,, Decatur, Ala. and Sylvania, Ga, as his father pursued a career in textile plant management. He lived most of his younger years in Decatur, Alabama where his love of playing sports began and where in 1966 he was Confirmed into the Lutheran Church. He continued being an avid Alabama Crimson Tide football fan throughout his life.

In 1969 the family moved to Sylvania, Georgia and he graduated from Screven County High School in 1971. At the High School Annual Awards Ceremony his senior year, the Savannah newspaper reported that “Bill Qualman walked off with just about everything he could carry.” He played football, baseball, and basketball and was named MVP in two out of three his Senior Year. He was most proud of winning the Christian Athlete Award, and he was offered a football scholarship which he turned down to pursue the ministry.

He went on to gain a B.A. in Social Psychology from Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Ind. in 1975. He then went to four years of seminary training at Concordia Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Mo., and he graduated with a Masters of Divinity and was Ordained into the Holy Ministry in 1979.

He married Lisa Rasche in 1980 and they were blessed with their daughter Sarah who was born in 1990 and son Matthew who was born in 1994.

Pastor Qualman’s first Call was to Christ the King Lutheran Church in Greenwood, Miss, where he served as Pastor from 1979-1983. He next served as the Assistant Pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Schenectady, New York from 1983-1987. In 1987 Pastor Qualman was Called to be the Associate Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Winter Haven, Fla. He became the Senior Pastor in 2000. After 19 years of Florida living, Pastor Qualman accepted the Call to become the Senior Pastor at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Old Bridge, New Jersey in 2006. In 2012 he accepted the Call to be Pastor of Mt. Calvary Lutheran in La Grange, where he was happy to continue his ministry in the warmer climate of the South. He retired from the full-time ministry in 2018.

He held several positions over the years in the larger church body of the LCMS by serving first as a Circuit Counselor and then as Chairman of the Florida/Georgia Circuit Counselors’ Conference and Program Chairman of the annual conference of the Association of Larger Lutheran Churches. During his thirty-nine years of ministry he was also active in many of the communities where he lived. He had a seat on the boards of the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, the Schenectady Community Development Board, and the Sunshine Foundation. He served as President of the Winter Haven Ministerial Association, and worked as a volunteer chaplain in both a hospital setting and for a local Fire Department.

Pastor Qualman enjoyed hunting and fishing and family vacations in Pensacola Beach, Fla. and Ft. Myers, Fla., and had a unique talent for telling jokes and stories.

During his ministry he was a gifted preacher and teacher, as well as a compassionate counselor to others.

Pastor Qualman is survived by his wife Lisa and grandson Gabe of Winchester; son, Matthew, daughter-in-law, Mey, and grandson, Tommy of Austin; brother, Roger Qualman and his wife Mardonna of N.C.; and two nieces.

He was preceded in death by his daughter Sarah; his parents; and his brother, Tommy Qualman.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, June 5, 2021 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Koenig-Belvill Funeral Home & Cremations. Family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m.

Funeral services will be held at St. Michaels Lutheran Church, 710 Frio St., Winchester, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 6, 2021.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Michaels Lutheran Church in Winchester or to the Katie Teinert Scholarship Fund at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in La Grange.

Family and friends can view and sign the guestbook online at www.lagrangefunerals.com.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Koenig-Belvill Funeral Home & Cremations in La Grange.