Ray K. Hacker, 90

August 7, 1930 - February 03, 2021

Ray K. Hacker, 90 of Lititz, passed away on Wednesday, February 3, 2021, at Landis Homes Retirement Community. Born in Milford Twp., Bucks County, he was the son of the late Albert and Pearl (Kaiser) Hacker. Ray was the beloved husband of Agnes (Rosenfeld) Hacker, and together they shared 62 years of marriage.

Along with his wife, Ray is survived by four children: Cheryl Hacker and her husband Jeffrey Ferriell of Columbus, OH; R. Scott Hacker and his wife Cindy of Missoula, MT; Douglas Hacker and his wife Vickie of San Diego, CA; and Susan Freitag of Summerfield, FL. Also surviving are four grandchildren Austin, Katherine (Kally), Hunter and Carson and siblings Betty, Roland, Mary, Janice and Ernest. He was preceded in death by his brother A. Floyd Hacker.

Ray graduated from Kutztown State College in 1952 with a B.S. in Education with fields of study in History and Library Science and later earned an M.S.L.S. (Masters in Library Science) in 1956 from the University of Michigan.

Ray was employed as a university librarian at Millersville University of Pennsylvania for 37 years until his retirement as associate professor of library in 1994 . During his time at Millersville, he served as acting director of the library (1982-1985) and chairperson of the library department from 1976-1983. He made significant contributions in helping to organize Ganser Library’s collections, particularly in the reference areas, as well as served on and chaired such departmental committees as the Faculty Evaluation Committee, Promotion and Tenure Committee, various Search committees, and the Collection Development Committee. Previous to Millersville, he served as a librarian at Rider College (NJ), Mennonite Biblical Seminary (Elkart IN) and West Chester University (PA).

He was a member of the former Bethel Mennonite Church (Lancaster) where he served as a deacon for approximately 25 years. He and Agnes then worshiped at Akron Mennonite Church. During his time at Bethel, his interests in historical research led him to write the official record of the church, the History of Bethel Mennonite Church, 1947-1972. Also, he was a frequent leader of his church’s adult Sunday School classes, especially lessons related to biblical history. He also served the church as a delegate at several General Conference Mennonite Church meetings in the U.S. and Canada. and attended at least seven Mennonite World Conference gatherings around the world He also led area tours when the World Conference was held in Harrisburg, PA in 2015.

Ray had a deep passion for Mennonite and Southeastern Pennsylvania history. He was a founding member and first president of Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania. With MHEP, he organized 37 historic tours within several states and Canada. He also served for more than 35 years on the Board of the Historic Mennonite Germantown Trust.

Ray and his family were longtime residents of nearby East Petersburg Borough before relocating to Landis Homes in 2016. He valued his community and public school system and contributed by serving on the Hempfield School Board in the late 1990s and early 2000s and serving as the Judge of Elections in the borough in 2010.

Ray loved to organize the annual family vacations, which always included an historic component. He also enjoyed summer weeks at the family cottage on Martha’s Vineyard. During his retirement, he took great joy in reading, writing journals, doting on his grandchildren, and sharing his life with this wife and family. He will be missed.

A virtual Memorial Service will be held at 3:00 PM on Sunday, February 7, 2021, originating from Akron Mennonite Church. Those wishing to join in may join the Zoom Meeting at

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88503157533?pwd=MDc1a25EODUrNU94cUNCYWhlaW96dz09

Watch the tribute video