by Elsie Walker

When someone dies, their gravestone displays birthdate – date of death.  It is said that dash in the middle is the most important thing as it symbolizes what the person did with his time during his life.  For the late Rev. Dr. Frank Fowler III, the dash between September 1948 – May 2021 symbolizes a life filled with devotion to reaching out to others in a vast number of ways, from organizing missions to being a member of the Board of Trustees at Centenary University.  Fowler was a native of Hackettstown, and Trinity United Methodist Church was his home church as a young man.   After going into the ministry, he served at a couple other churches before returning to Trinity in 1983, this time as its pastor.  In July, Fowler was honored by having East Moore Street, from Main Street to Maple Avenue, Hackettstown, named “Rev. Frank Fowler Way”,  but that just hints at his importance to this area.

In borrowing from an old Yankee baseball saying, Frank Procaccini shared, “This [Trinity] is the house that Frank built.” Procaccini, Missions Facilitator and Property Manager at the church, was a longtime friend of Fowler.   He noted that among the things Fowler did was build up the church’s Thrift Shop and Lord’s [food] Pantry.  Pre-COVID that pantry was feeding 200 families a week. Fowler also had the vision for a community center, Trinity House, which is now used for ESL classes, elections, and is reserved for different community needs.  “The Barn” was a lumberyard storage area that was purchased and transformed into a place used for storage by mission projects and as a place where donated furniture can be bought at reasonable prices by homeless transitioning to housing or people who have lost a home in fire.  In some cases, furniture is donated to those in need.  The physical structures and their mission work, are just a sample of the projects Fowler grew at Trinity.

Fowler was an idea man, and Procaccini recalled how Fowler could inspire others with how he made them feel so that no one could say “no” when Fowler asked for help.  When Fowler had an idea, people knew that it would become a reality, even if Fowler wasn’t quite sure how it would be accomplished.  It was that way with the Caravan of Hope. Fowler called Procaccini into his office one day and told him that, just like Jesus did, they were going to feed 5000 people, even though at the time Fowler had no idea of how they were going to do it.  That first Caravan of Hope, in 2018, actually fed over 5000, giving out boxed lunches to food ministries and the needy in areas of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. Two more caravans have been done since then.

Fowler’s work also touched Haiti, one of the poorest places in the world; he went there 23 times on mission trips. Ginny Mitchell, of Long Valley, who went on nine trips with Fowler, explained how it got started, “Frank was asked by another pastor who was taking a team to Haiti, mostly composed of youth, to participate as he needed an additional adult to help with the group of teens.  He [Fowler] went that time and he always said he left a part of his heart in Haiti and had to go back to visit it.” Fowler and his mission group made up of people from Trinity and others would spend a week in Haiti and bring with them medical supplies, financial help, and things that couldn’t be bought in Haiti or were difficult to get.  The team visited many places: Mother Teresa’s Hospital and Orphanage, Mephibosheth House (home for disabled children in Port-au-Prince) and more.  Mitchell recalled that though Fowler had a fear of heights, he braved travelling the mountainous terrain of Haiti to help others.

Dan Fiedler, of Hackettstown, went on several mission trips to Haiti with Fowler and recalled something the pastor always asked on the first night of the mission.

“Frank asked ‘where did you see God today?’ My first thought was What? I saw so much suffering and no sign of God,” said Fiedler.  

However, as one by one, people started to answer with replies of seeing children laughing and playing, other missionaries at work, etc.  Fiedler began to understand one of the reasons Fowler brought teams to Haiti.

“It took being taken out of my element and going to Haiti for me for the first time ‘seeing God’…now back home I look for God everywhere each day,” said Fiedler.

Fowler had a way with people, which touched their hearts and opened their eyes and minds, and that was also reflected in many other ways. 

Fowler had a weekly radio show, “Let’s Talk About It”, which aired on WRNJ for over 20 years.  Norman Worth, president of WRNJ, noted that Fowler chose topics designed to “enlighten, educate, and help people” and described Fowler as a generous listener. “He asked the kind of questions that got to the heart of things,” said Worth.   

Fowler’s voice was also heard from the pulpit on Sundays as his words touched the souls of those in the service; he also touched them through the written word.  He had articles published and had a weekly column in the church newsletter called, “On My Mind” in which he shared an experience or something he’d read which had touched him and passed it on.  In 2019, he was inspired to compile some of his weekly columns into a book, Souls Along The Way. 

 As a pastor, Fowler met with people who needed spiritual guidance or a shoulder.   “[Fowler] He was a man of deep, abiding faith and he was always there for you when you needed him.  Several times in my life, as things became difficult, Frank was there for me.  He’d always follow up too.  He was good at that,” shared Rev. Dr. Debra A. De Vos, Associate Pastor at Trinity.

Rev. Dr. Frank Fowler, September 1948 – May 2021, a dash or even an article, can’t adequately capture all that he did.  Worth noted that Fowler’s life truly reflected what Methodism’s founder, John Wesley, exhorted all to do, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”