Sweetman Jr., Leonard (1924-) | Heritage Hall, Hekman Library

Leonard Sweetman Jr. was born in 1924 in Paterson, New Jersey to Leonard Sweetman Sr. and Rose Sluisman. He graduated from Calvin College in 1948, from Calvin Theological Seminary with a ThB in 1951, attended the Kennedy School of Missions for two years beginning in 1953, and the Free University of Amsterdam with a ThD in 1962.  He was ordained a minister in the Christian Reformed Church of North America in 1951 and served as the pastor of several congregations and as a missionary to Japan (1955-1961). In 1964 he joined the Religion and Theology faculty of Calvin College, specializing in New Testament, Missiology, and World Religions.  He published papers and reviews in the Reformed Journal and the Banner. He retired in 1989, and then served as a volunteer translator (Dutch to English) in Heritage Hall of Calvin College until 2004.

Sweetman married Clara Timmerman in 1947, they have three children: Angelique (married to Clarence Dottery, Robert (married to Roseane Lopers), and Nora (married to Steven Cooper).