Obituary for Rev. William J. Maloney

The Rev. William J. Maloney could walk into a roomful of strangers and before he left, everyone would be his friend. He used his quiet charm to enlarge the outreach of Glenshaw Presbyterian Church in the North Hills and recently his ministry helped boost the profile of Westminster College.

Rev. Maloney died at Mercy Hospital of cancer on Saturday. He was 54.

He grew up in the East Liberty-Garfield area, where he was a cheerleader for Peabody High School and later coached area swim teams at the YMCA. His father, James Edward Maloney, died when the youngster was 11, leaving him to help care for his family, which included his mother, Clarion, a brother, Keith, and his grandmother.

"Growing up in a diverse neighborhood, having responsibility for his family, he saw more of the world," said his wife, Pamela-Rae Maloney, interim minister at Slippery Rock Presbyterian Church. "He knew the pains and hurts of the world and I think this spurred him on to be attuned to the needs of the community."

The couple, who had been married for 31 years, met at East Liberty Presbyterian Church while he was a student at Point Park College. He graduated from the college in 1970 with a degree in behavioral sciences and that same year entered Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1973.

His first assignment was at Baldwin United Presbyterian Church. In 1975, he went to Dormont Presbyterian Church, eventually becoming head minister. In 1983, he moved to Glenshaw Presbyterian where he ministered for 15 years.

During his tenure, many mainline denominations experienced severe declines in membership. He helped his congregation weather its own slide from 800 to 570 members while urging it toward outreach, introducing an early morning and young adults worship, hiring a Christian education director and arranging family Bible study and youth mission trips.

He also built a library, made the church more handicapped accessible and boosted the choirs. In 1998, he left Glenshaw to serve as director of church relations for Westminster College in New Wilmington.

The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian church and Rev. Maloney filled a post that had been vacant for more than a decade. When he did, he brought the institution a new visibility.

He often preached at a different church each Sunday, carrying the message of Westminster's importance to the community and using the pulpit to pump up relations with alumni.

As a moderator of the Pittsburgh Presbytery, he stayed connected to the needs of local ministers and used his Westminster job to launch a series of continuing education programs that helped ministers in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio grow and develop.

"He made Westminster an important resource for area churches," said R. Thomas Williamson, president of the college.

In the community, Rev. Maloney had worked as a volunteer firefighter in South Baldwin, Dormont and Sharon. He also served on the board of trustees at Point Park College and with the managers of the New Wilmington Missionary Conference.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Heather, of Cleveland; a son, Jim, a student at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary; a granddaughter; and his brother, Keith, of Columbus, Ohio.

Burial will be private. A Witness to the Resurrection service will be held at Wallace Memorial Chapel at Westminster College at 2 p.m. on January 25, 2003.