Edwin Daniel Aluzas: Beloved husband and father, skilled athlete, man of faith

Dr. Edwin Daniel Aluzas, beloved husband of Gloria Chase Aluzas, passed away on March 4, 2025 surrounded by his family. He was 91.

A kind and compassionate man, Ed was born May 1, 1933 in Chicago IL to Benedict and Victoria Aluzas.  He attended Bernhard Moos School and Lane Tech. After graduation he went to work at the Chicago Sun-Times as a copy boy, a job he loved and talked about throughout his life. Perhaps it was there that Ed fell in love with the written word.

Sports were incredibly important in shaping Ed’s life. As a teenager he started playing baseball after work with a neighborhood league. Because it was a church league, he was required to attend church weekly in order to play, where a minister encouraged him to use his athletic prowess to procure scholarships for college.

Ed was the first in his family to go to college. He attended North Dakota State for a year then transferred to Mount Union College in Alliance Ohio. There he played football, basketball and baseball, joined a fraternity, sang in the choir, participated in the church group, and more. His sophomore year he started noticing a pretty dark-haired cafeteria manager. After gathering his courage up, he finally asked Gloria Chase out for their first date on the steps of the library. The rest, as they say, was history. He and Gloria graduated in 1958 and married on July 5 that summer.

Ed’s baseball prowess caught the eye of a couple baseball scouts who tried to recruit him for the Pittsburgh Pirates. But by that time, Ed had felt the call to Ministry, and chose instead to attend Boston University School of Theology. As his family says, “God won over baseball, but he loved both for the rest of his life.”

After Boston, Gloria and Ed took a year to travel Europe, where Ed received a scholarship to further his education in Geneva, Switzerland.

Ed’s first church home for the East Ohio conference was in North Industry, Ohio. It was while he was there that he had an opportunity to attend a conference with other Methodist ministers in Washington D.C. As young ministers, they were very interested in the civil rights and labor movements. When they heard that Martin Luther King would be speaking on the mall during their time there, they were excited. Hearing MLK’s “ I Have a Dream” speech was a pivotal moment for Ed, one he carried with him for the rest of his life. It further cemented the trajectory of his career and passion.

During their tenure in North Industry, Ed and Gloria welcomed their first child, daughter Annette. Soon thereafter Ed was transferred to Hudson, Ohio, where he led the fledgling Methodist Church and oversaw the construction of the new church building and parsonage. Sons Kurt and Jonathan joined their sister in Hudson, completing their family.

After Hudson, the Aluzas family moved to Alliance, Ohio for two years, then made a true journey of faith across the country to Claremont, CA. Ed attended The Claremont School of Theology and pursue his doctorate in Pastoral Counseling.

While at the School of Theology, Dr. Aluzas worked for six years as an Associate Minister at the Claremont Presbyterian Church, a job and a congregation he held dear. After he obtained his doctorate, he practiced as a therapist in Claremont and surrounding areas. He also worked as a guest minister at Pomona First Methodist Church, Unity Church of Pomona and as a chaplain with Inland Valley Hospice.  Ed and his wife Gloria were active in local and global causes.

Ed was first and foremost, a family man. He coached his son’s baseball teams and was in the front row for performances of all the children. He was an avid fisherman and engendered in his children an appreciation for the outdoors and all of nature’s creatures. There are many fond memories of camping in the Midwest and at Joshua Tree. He was a lover of games, particularly Yahtzee. He made up the best bedtime stories, passed on a love for the written word and nurtured vivid imaginations in all his children. When grandson Oliver came along, he and Gloria traveled often to Virginia to visit and have adventures, which often involved ice cream.

Ed will be remembered for his beautiful speaking and singing voice, warm smile, lyrical sermons, compassion and wisdom, love for chocolate and ice cream, love for his family (including animals) and belief that we all have a part in making the world a better place. He was a steady light in this world.

Dr. Aluzas was preceded in death by his mother Victoria Aluzas, father Benedict Aluzas, brother Andrew Stonik, sister Stella Hoeffer and brother Benedict Aluzas Jr. He is survived by his wife of 66 years Gloria Chase Aluzas, daughter Annette Aluzas (Doug Schmit), son Kurt Aluzas (Sylvia Ho), son Jonathan Aluzas (Melina), grandson Oliver Schmit, beloved cat Molly and many dear friends and family.

A Celebration of Life will happen on Saturday, April 19, 11a.m. at Claremont  Presbyterian Church, 1111 Mountain Ave in Claremont. A reception will follow in the fellowship hall, all are invited to attend.

In lieu of flowers, please consider performing an act of kindness or donating to:

Prison Library Project – claremontforum.org

Pasadena Humane Society – pasadenahumane.org

Southern Poverty Law Center – splcenter.org