Herman Kreider

Kreider was born in Wadsworth, Ohio, on May 8, 1898, and graduated from Wooster University in 1926. Married to Hettie Shoup, June 14, 1926, they sailed from New York on August 10, 1926, to Constantinople (Istanbul), arriving September 1, 1926. Their children were a son, stillborn on July 4, 1927, Maynard Lincoln, born August 26, 1928, Lorrin Arthur, born January 1, 1930, Lauretta Marie, born October 22, 1931, and Irma Louise, born June 3, 1936^[1]

Kreider's post was assistant treasurer in the United Church Board for World Ministries' Near East Mission business office in Istanbul for 14 years, and to it Kreider brought first-hand knowledge of the country and its people as well as experience in dealing with funds from his service (1921-3) under the Near East Relief.^[2] From July 13, 1933, to September 2, 1934, he was on furlough in the United States.

From 1936 to 1940 Kreider also served part-time as business manager of the Admiral Bristol Hospital, founded in 1920 by U.S. Navy Admiral L. Bristol as the first non-profit private hospital in Turkey.^[3] From 1940 until his retirement in 1965 he was bursar jointly for Robert College and the American College for Girls in Arnavutköy. His books, First Lessons in Modern Turkish, published in 1945 and revised in 1954 under the title Essentials of Modern Turkish,^[4] and a Turkish/English dictionary^[5] have been widely referenced.^[6]

Mrs. Kreider left for Beirut with their four children on February 26, 1941, and returned to Constantinople later leaving again on February 20, 1942, for South Africa because of war conditions. Later she returned to the United States on September 12, 1942.