Obituary of Aimee Semple McPherson's Daughter

It was reported today in the LA Times obituaries that Roberta Semple Salter, daughter of Aimee Semple McPherson, died January 25th at the age of 96. Ms. Salter was born in Hong Kong after the death of her father of malaria. The older of Aimee's two children, it was Roberta rather than Rolf, that Aimee was grooming to be her successor. A dispute over church business practices led to a disruption of those plans, and Rolf took her place.

The obituary in the LA Times is quite interesting and focuses on Roberta's relationship with her famous mother, who was founder of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and pioneer radio preacher. Years ago I heard a young woman from LIFE Bible College, the former name of the Foursquare college, say that Aimee would be surprised at how well the denomination has done. Considering how famous and influential she was in the 1920s and 1930s I commented, no, I think she'd be disappointed at how little has been done. Aimee was a masterful communicator who drew crowds wherever she went.

Roberta's death serves as a reminder of the impact her famous mother made on the world religious scene.

Comments

Popular Posts