His widowed mother raised Frederick and his younger brother after their father died. He studied at the Lawrenceville School, a boarding school in New Jersey. From there, he matriculated into Princeton before World War II intervened. He was even briefly stationed in Blackstone, VA, before eventually returning to his studies and graduating in the class of 1947.
Buechner returned to the Lawrenceville School as an English teacher and a prize-winning poet. He also began writing in earnest, and published his first novel to great critical and financial success in 1950. He left teaching to write full time in 1953, and a short story he published that year won an O. Henry award in 1955.
After attending Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church and being inspired by the pastor, Buechner matriculated into Union Theological Seminary in New York. There, he studied under Reinhold Neibuhr and Paul Tillich and developed a lifelong friendship with fellow theologian, Walter Brueggemann. He also met the love of his life during a year-long sabbatical, and married her in 1956.
After graduating as a Bachelor of Divinity, Phillips Exeter Academy asked him to develop their religious studies classes. Over his nine year tenure there, he guided the program from a single teacher with a few students to thriving department of multiple teachers and over 300 boys. He also taught English, served as a school minister, and, of course, continued writing.
In 1967, he moved his family to Vermont so that he could once again write full time. He didn’t abandon academia, however, and became a popular lecturer around the country. By the end of 2017, he had published 40 books, multiple short stories and novellas, and lectured widely. He has won a number of major awards, and has been finalists for others.
In addition to serving briefly in Virginia during World War II, Buechner has visited our commonwealth at other times. He was awarded an honorary DD in October 1982 by Virginia Theological Seminary, but he had visited us in Richmond twice before then. He delivered the graduation address to our 1979 class, and then delivered 3 more lectures here in February 1982.