Rev. Brian Benjamin Haller

Rev. Brian Benjamin Haller, 79, of Swanton, Ohio, passed away at home Wednesday morning, September 16, 2026.

He was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Daniel and Sarah (Kate) Haller who preceded him in death.

Survived by his wife of 33 years, Carolyn, he leaves to cherish his memory 7 children: Daniel Haller (Erin), Christine Happ (James), Carolyn A. Haller, PhD, Dr. Steven Haller (Dr. Lauren Stanoszek), Sarah Powell (Daniel), Tracy Perry (Rick) and Christopher Wolfe (Paula); 18 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild. He is also survived by his siblings, Tom Haller (Dixie) and Danna Lee Haller Owen (Larry) and many nieces and nephews.

Pastor Haller received a Bachelor’s degree from Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio where he earned the 1969 Citation of Excellence Award from the Department of Religion and served as student teaching assistant. In 1973 he was awarded a Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio. Following ordination in June, 1973 he served as chaplain at the Columbus State School for the Mentally Retarded (intellectually disabled) where he worked to integrate institution residents the into community churches, synagogues and church summer camps.

Following graduate studies in developmental psychology at The Ohio State University he was appointed Assistant to the Superintendent at Columbus and Assistant and Acting Superintendent of The Northwest Ohio Developmental Center in Toledo, Ohio. He was active in efforts to replace large centralized state institutions, moving residents and resources to more normalized settings in the community. He was a member of The American Association on Mental Deficiency and holds certification from the National Association for Retarded Citizens and Religion Subdivision of the American Association on Mental Deficiency. He authored Manual for Planning, Delivery and Review of Habilitation for the Mentally Retarded under the auspices of the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities and presented A Brief History Ohio’s First Institution for the Mentally Retarded to the Ohio convention of the A.A.M.D.

He served internships at The Church of St. Philip the Evangelist in Cleveland’s inner-city and Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Salem, Ohio.

In 1980 he accepted the call to Faith Lutheran Church, Swanton, Ohio where he served as pastor until retirement in 2011. He continued his work with the intellectually disabled serving as board member and acting superintendent of the Fulton County Ohio Board of Developmental Disabilities and was active in many civic activities including chairing school levy campaigns, coordinating Swanton’s Meals on Wheels, Swanton’s Centennial Committee, and serving on the County Board of Senior Citizens. He volunteered for the Swanton High School Athletic Department for over twenty-five years. While president of the Swanton Rotary Club he presided over the admission of the club’s first female members.

While serving in Swanton Pastor Haller supervised interns at the neighboring parish in Metamora, Ohio and served as mentor for clergy from other churches seeking ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In 2008 he was awarded a Lily Foundation Pastor-in-Residence grant at Valparaiso University.

With family roots in the Romanian Orthodox Church and Baptist Church and exposure to Carolyn’s Mennonite family Pastor Haller was a strong advocate of ecumenism. On several occasions he has preached at Grace Mennonite Church, Pandora, Ohio and presided at Eucharist in the Episcopal Church, with which the E.L.C.A. is in fellowship. In violation of polity, but in obedience to the Spirit he co-presided with a priest at the Eucharist in a Roman Catholic Church. In 1988 worked to combine separate Vacation Bible Schools into one jointly operated by St. Richard Roman Catholic Church, Trinity United Methodist Church, and Faith Lutheran and in 2002 helped compose and implement A Covenant Between St. Richard Roman Catholic Church and Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, a local expression of the covenant between the Northwestern Ohio Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo.

Pastor Haller represented the Michigan District of the American Lutheran Church on the Board of Campus Ministry. Following formation of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America he served as chair of the Resolutions Committee for the Assembly of the Northwestern Ohio Synod, member of the Mission Partners Committee, and member of the Annual Synod Appeal Committee. Following retirement Pastor Haller served as Interim Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Toledo; Trinity Lutheran Church, Malinta; Hosanna Lutheran Church, Grand Rapids; and Trinity Lutheran Church, Delta.

Pastor Haller was a member and supporter of The Southern Poverty Law Center, Amnesty International and the NAACP.

Visitation will be held Tuesday, September 22nd from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm in his home, 6581 County Road 1-1 in Swanton. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, September 23rd at 11:00 am at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in Swanton, with Pastor Dalton Rosa-Ruggieri officiating. Interment will follow at Swanton Cemetery.

Special thanks to Zach Campbell, R.N of Hospice of NW Ohio and Dr. Ratnam and staff of Davita.

In lieu of flowers please consider memorial donations to Faith Lutheran Church Swanton Ohio, Hosanna Lutheran Church Grand Rapids Ohio, Lutheran World Relief or Hospice of NW Ohio or the Swanton Public Library.