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Samuel E. Appel, 91, Presbyterian minister, social activist in Camden

Rev. Appel served in Camden during the turbulent 1960s and '70s.

Samuel Appel was an influential Presbyterian Minister and social activist in Camden.
Samuel Appel was an influential Presbyterian Minister and social activist in Camden.Read moreProvided by Joy Appel Brown

The Rev. Samuel E. Appel, 91, an influential Presbyterian minister in Camden and a social activist, died Oct. 5 in Towson, Md., of complications from a twisted bowel.

Rev. Appel was born Nov. 24, 1925, in St. Paul,  Minn., and served in the Army from 1943 to 1947, rising to the ranks of corporal.

After his military service, he studied at Eastern Baptist College and Theological Seminary in St. Davids, Pa.

Upon graduating, he became the minister of the Falls of Schuylkill Baptist Church in the East Falls section of Philadelphia.

Feeling a call to be more socially active, he later  joined the Presbyterian Church, his daughter, Joy Appel Brown said.

In 1962, Rev. Appel became the part-time chaplain at Rutgers University and in 1964 helped to found the Camden Metropolitan Ministry, or CMM, in North Camden.

In Camden After the Fall, historian Howard Gillette said the CMM was founded to help Presbyterian churches in the city respond to urban issues emerging at the time.

"CMM sought to connect suburban parishioners with Camden's growing black population," Gillette said.

In 1966, the Rev. Donald Greismann, an Episcopal priest, formed the Camden Civil Rights Coalition, which included members of the NAACP and CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality. As a part of this group, Rev. Appel fought for fair housing policies and more funding for poor schools.

"So intense were his pronouncements as a campaigner and at school board meetings that the board chair accused him of harassment. Rev. Appel insisted, however, that Camden received less funding per pupil than other jurisdictions, both urban and suburban, a position that was later backed by the courts," Gillette wrote.

Rev. Appel and many others later allied with the Black People's Unity Movement, or BPUM, under the name Friends of the BPUM, with the goal of engaging white suburbanites with Camden's problems.

After leading an exercise in nonviolence training in 1969, where a group was taught how to appropriately conduct themselves in the face of police or potentially dangerous situations, Rev. Appel was brought to trial on charges of incitement. The charges were dismissed after the jury failed to reach a verdict.

The court took a sympathetic position, saying Appel and the Friends' acts were a reaction to the overall plight of the city of Camden, Gillette said.

Rev. Appel continued to help others for the rest of his life, Brown said. He was on the board of the Fair Share Housing Center, where he was a part of the influential Mount Laurel decision mandating low-income housing. Upon his retirement he organized a monthly casserole program; transporting the food to a Camden food bank. He also drove elderly folk to doctors appointments for the "Drive People Happy" program of the Tender Inc. in Moorestown.

Rev. Appel also acted as a caregiver to his wife, Jane Phillips Appel, for five years. She died in 2004.

He developed Alzheimer's later in life, struggling with it for eight years, but remained "loving, grateful, and witty," Brown said.

"He continues to give after death as he donated his body for research," Brown said.

Besides Brown, he is survived by another daughter, Sandra Layton; a son, Timothy Appel; five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, Dec. 2, at Sacred Heart Church, 1739 Ferry Ave. Camden, N.J. 08104.

Donations may be sent to Sacred Heart in his name, or to the Tender Inc. Alzheimer's Respite Program, 4501 Church Road, Mount Laurel, N.J. 08054.