Dale Leroy Sultzbaugh of Hackettstown, NJ, formerly of Bloomsburg.
Dale was born on April 10, 1941 to Russell and Mary (Shaffer) Sultzbaugh in Elizabethville, Pennsylvania and passed on April 9, 2025 in Hackettstown, New Jersey.
Dale graduated from Upper Dauphin High School in 1959 and then attended Gettysburg College, where he graduated with a BA in Greek in 1963. Dale went on to obtain a Master of Divinity from Mount Airy Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia in 1966. He served as an ordained minister in the Kishaquillas Lutheran Parish in Milroy and Siglerville, Pennsylvania from 1966 to 1971. Dale returned to the academic world to earn his Master of Social Work from West Virginia University. Upon graduation, he accepted a position as a therapist at the Norman Westlund Child Guidance Clinic in Saginaw, Michigan in 1973 and remained with the clinic until 1979. From 1979 to 1981, Dale was a professor at Saginaw Valley State College. In 1981, he returned to Pennsylvania to teach at Bloomsburg State College in the Sociology, Social Work and Criminal Justice Department. Dale retired in 2008 as a Professor Emeritus.
In his youth, Dale delivered the morning newspaper in Elizabethville. In high school, he played the piano for various choral groups and was a member of the marching band, concert band and high school dance band. Throughout his life, Dale was deeply committed to helping others. He was active in assisting migrant workers to seek spiritual services in Elizabethville; during his time in the ministry, he worked to create a place for teens to gather and find mentorship, set up a fund for families experiencing distress in the community, and raised consciousness of the Vietnam War.
Dale had a passion for gardening and often shared his bounty with neighbors and the local food bank in Bloomsburg. He was also an avid runner; he ran in numerous half marathons and completed the Run for the Diamonds in Berwick, Pennsylvania multiple times. Later in his life, he was often seen with his faithful companion, Dougie, who was a beautiful golden retriever.
Dale was married to his wife, Judith (Matter) Sultzbaugh, for 58 years and had a daughter, Rebecca (James West), and a son Philip (Lisa). He was the grandfather of Dorian Crow, Benjamin West, Taylor Stokes-Schumacher, and Jada, Jazzmine and Xavier Sultzbaugh. Dale also had a sister, Mary Ellen Paul, and several nephews and a niece.
Dale was a great contributor to several organizations that were created to serve the needs of others. He would be pleased if memorial contributions were made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, No Kid Hungry, or the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation or if acts of kindness were made in his memory.