Charles Ellsworth Bennison Sr. (July 23, 1917 - January 5, 2004) was the fifth

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan. He was the father of Charles E. Bennison Jr., former bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania The Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America encompassing the counties of Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware in the state of Pennsylvania. The Diocese has 36,641 ...

Biography

He was born in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1917 and went to college at Lawrence College and the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. He was ordained deacon in March 1942 by Bishop

Frank McElwain Frank Arthur McElwain (December 14, 1875 – September 19, 1957) was a Bishop of Minnesota in The Episcopal Church. Early life and education McElwain was born on December 14, 1875 in Warsaw, New York, the son of James Frank McElwain and Mary S ...

, and priest in October 1942 by Bishop

Stephen Keeler Stephen Edwards Keeler (April 16, 1887 – September 25, 1956) was the fourth diocesan bishop of Minnesota in The Episcopal Church. Early life and education Keeler was born on April 16, 1887, in New Canaan, Connecticut, the son of Stephen Edward ...

in the

Diocese of Minnesota The Episcopal Church in Minnesota, formerly known as the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota, is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America which has jurisdiction over all of Minnesota, except Clay County, which is in the Episco ...

, having attended Seabury-Western Theological Seminary; after serving in several parishes in the diocese and in the

Episcopal Diocese of Eau Claire The Episcopal Diocese of Eau Claire is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America encompassing the northwestern third of Wisconsin. It is part of Province 5 (the upper Midwest). The diocese comprises 20 interdependent cong ...

, he was called as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Christ Church,

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the cit ...

, where he was serving when elected as bishop of Western Michigan. At his consecration in 1960 he was the youngest bishop in the Episcopal Church. His tenure as bishop was marked by the construction of many new churches and facilities, including the Cathedral Church of Christ the King in Portage, Michigan. He retired on December 1, 1984, and served as

assisting bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case they ...

in the dioceses of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Towards the end of his life he and his wife lived in Menlo Park, California, where he died January 5, 2004, of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. His son John was also an Episcopal priest.

References

* 1917 births 2004 deaths Episcopal bishops of Western Michigan People from Janesville, Wisconsin Lawrence University alumni University of Minnesota alumni Seabury-Western Theological Seminary alumni 20th-century American clergy {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub