George Lawrence Stengren

George Stengren, 86, of Mt. Pleasant, passed away Saturday, July 5, 2014, at the Isabella County Medical Care Facility. A Funeral Mass for George will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 9, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church with Father Thomas Held presiding. Cremation will follow and his ashes will be interred in Arlington National Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 9 a.m. until the Mass begins. Memorial contributions may be made to the Commission On Aging. Envelopes are available at Lux Funeral Home of Mt. Pleasant. George was born Jan. 12, 1928, in New York, NY, son of the late Bernard P. and Mary (McKeon) Stengren. At the age of 16 he joined the Merchant Marines in 1944. He served aboard the fast troopship S.S. Mariposa and the Liberty Ship Cyrus McCormick on several convoys including the first convoy into Antwerp after DDay. He joined the Navy in 1945 and was trained as a hospital corpsman. After the war ended he served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kearsarge until he was honorably discharged in 1949. He earned a B.A. and a M.A., both in Philosophy, from St. Johns University, and a Ph.D., also in Philosophy, from Fordham University. Professor Stengren was hired as a professor in the Philosophy Department at Central Michigan University (CMU) on August 15, 1970. He taught a variety of classes at CMU, including Introduction to Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, American Philosophy. Aquinas, and Philosophy of Religion in the films of Ingmar Bergman. Beginning in January 1973, he served as Department Chair. Professor Stengren retired from CMU on August 15, 1997. Professor Stengren co-wrote Either / Or : a one-volume abridgment in a new translation of Soren Kierkegaards work, with Sten L. Ross (1986); co-edited Rebirth of Learning: the first 12 centuries: an anthology, with William Bryar (1968); and translated Kierkegaards Relation to Hegel by Niels Thulstrup, published by Princeton University Press in 1980. Professor Stengren was fluent in 11 languages, mastered early computer languages, taught Swedish and other Nordic languages, and was a pioneer in the use of computer analysis of philosophical texts. George is survived by five children, George B. Stengren of New York, NY, Mary Alice Ternus of Maine, Birgit (Amit) Roy of Connecticut, Ralph Stengren of Santa Fe, NM, and Christopher Stengren of Grand Rapids; five grandchildren, a sister, Virginia Grealish of California; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; and brother, Bernard Stengren.