Rev. Paul Kalmbach
Paul Kalmbach was born on October 24, 1897, in the German colony of Gnadau (renamed Dolinovka in 1915 and now Dolinovskoye), on the Ponura River in the Caucasus, the son of Gottlieb Kalmbach and Maria Magdalena Sandau. Paul escaped Russia in 1913 during the Revolutionary turmoil and traveled alone to North America. He attended school in Calgary, Canada, where he lived with an aunt and uncle. He attended Redfield Academy in Yorktown, South Dakota, and York College in York, Nebraska. He was ordained as a German Congregational minister at Fort Collins, Colorado, in 1925.
Rev. Kalmach married Amelia Louise Ament in December 1925. Her parents, Johannes Ament and Maria Barbara Leonhardt, were born in the German colony of Frank, Russia.
Rev. Paul Kalmbach served the Zion German Congregational Church from 1940 to 1947. The records for the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches do not indicate that he served other churches in the Northwest. He followed the pastorship of Rev. George J. Schmidt. Rev. Kalmbach was followed by Rev. Theodore Strobel in 1947.
Rev. Kalmach married Amelia Louise Ament in December 1925. Her parents, Johannes Ament and Maria Barbara Leonhardt, were born in the German colony of Frank, Russia.
Rev. Paul Kalmbach served the Zion German Congregational Church from 1940 to 1947. The records for the Pacific Conference of Congregational Churches do not indicate that he served other churches in the Northwest. He followed the pastorship of Rev. George J. Schmidt. Rev. Kalmbach was followed by Rev. Theodore Strobel in 1947.
Obituary for Reverend Paul Kalmbach
The Oregonian 13 August 1981, Portland, Oregon
Riverview Abbey Chapel
The Reverend Paul Kalmbach was born in Russia (a Russian German), came to America as a young lad of 16 years to settle in Calgary, Canada where he had relatives. He 1 at attended Redfield College Academy and then the seminary there. Still later he went to York College, in York, NE and was ordained a Congregational minister in 1925. His first church was in Cheyenne, Wyoming where the parish consisted of two churches. The country church near Grover, Colorado had to be served every third Sunday.
Rev. Kalmbach married Amelia Louise Ament, a schoolteacher in 1925 while in Cheyenne. They had a short stay in Wyoming since a call was received from the St. Matthew's church in Odessa, Washington, which he accepted. It was there that two daughters were born: Loretta Elaine and Dorothy Lee. The depression in the early thirties caused the family to seek better economic conditions and with regrets, Rev. Kalmbach was forced to move his family to a church in Hastings, Nebraska. He loved the west so when a call came from Biola, California, he accepted.
After four years, Rev. Kalmbach received a call from Zion Congregational at Portland, Oregon and the family spent the World War II years in the City of Roses. Retiring from the ministry in 1947, Mr. Kalmbach became active in the real estate business and was quite successful.
He received word that his family had been destroyed in Russia during Stalin's regime. He had been responsible for keeping them alive for many years by sending a small stipend of his salary.
Mr. Kalmbach lost his faithful and beloved wife who had been ill for several years on March 13, 1969. By then Portland had been their home for twenty‑eight years.
After his retirement, he chose to live with his daughter, Dorothy, a nurse in Seattle. He turned those years into a worthwhile project by writing his memoirs and published (in 1977) the book entitled, "An Angel on my Shoulder," a fascinating story of his life. His survivors include the two daughters, Loretta, a schoolteacher who lives in Portland, Oregon and Dorothy of Seattle, six grandchildren and a host of friends. One of his classmates at the seminary in Redfield remarked many years later that he had missed his calling - he should have been a comedian. His experiences certainly prove that and his life is an example of what hard work and love can do. He enjoyed his salmon fishing in the Northwest.
Note: Marie Krieger of Portland, Oregon, wrote this obituary.
After his wife's death, Mr. Kalmbach lived with his daughter Loretta and grandchildren in Portland until about 1980, when he moved to Seattle to receive nursing care from his daughter, Dorothy.
Sources
Zion Congregational Church 50th Anniversary Book. Portland, OR: Zion Congregational Church, 1964. Print.
Email from Aesha Lorenz Al-Saeed, granddaughter of Paul Kalmbach, dated January 14, 2026.
"Rev. Paul Kalmbach passes away at Seattle." The Odessa Record, August 20, 1981.
Dolinovskoye - Wikipedia.ru
Email from Aesha Lorenz Al-Saeed, granddaughter of Paul Kalmbach, dated January 14, 2026.
"Rev. Paul Kalmbach passes away at Seattle." The Odessa Record, August 20, 1981.
Dolinovskoye - Wikipedia.ru
Last updated January 15, 2026