Frederick Warren Putnam, Jr. (June 17, 1917June 7, 2007) was the first Episcopal

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 c ...

of the

Navajoland Area Mission The Navajoland Area Mission, also known as the Episcopal Church in Navajoland, is an Area Mission of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. It is in Province 8 and its diocesan offices are located in Farmington, New Mexico. Establ ...

. He also served as Suffragan Bishop of Oklahoma and Assistant Bishop in Minnesota.

Early life and education

Putnam was born on June 17, 1917, in

Red Wing, Minnesota Red Wing is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, along the upper Mississippi River. The population was 16,547 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Goodhue County. This city is named for early 19th-century Dakota Sioux c ...

, to Frederick Warren Putnam and Margaret Bunting. He studied at 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 land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in 1939. He also earned a Bachelor of Divinity from

Seabury-Western Theological Seminary Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (SWTS) was a seminary of the Episcopal Church, located in Evanston, Illinois. It ceased operations as a residential seminary granting the Master of Divinity degree in May 2010, and in January 2012 it moved ...

in 1942, and was awarded a Doctor of Divinity in 1963. He was also a postgraduate student at the

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

between 1946 and 1947.

Ordained ministry

Putnam was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

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 ...

of Minnesota and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

on October 5, 1942, by Coadjutor Bishop Stephen Keeler of Minnesota at St Mark's Cathedral. He married Helen Kathryn Prouse on September 24, 1942, and together had three sons. He was priest-in-charge of the Church of the Good Shepherd in

Windom, Minnesota Windom is a city in Cottonwood County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,646 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cottonwood County and is situated in the Coteau des Prairies. Although it is a small, rural farming commu ...

and St John's Church in

Worthington, Minnesota Worthington is a city in and the county seat of Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,947 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city's site was first settled in the 1870s as Okabena Station on ...

between 1942 and 1943, and then rector of Trinity Church in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the tim ...

and chaplain at

from 1943 to 1947. In 1947, he became rector of St Matthew's Church in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

, while in 1960, he transferred to

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

to serve as rector of St James' Church, where he remained until 1963.

Episcopacy

In November 1962, Putnam was elected Suffragan Bishop of Oklahoma and was consecrated bishop on May 20, 1963, at the Municipal Auditorium in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

by Robert R. Brown of Arkansas. He remained in Oklahoma until 1979 when he was elected as the first resident bishop of the

. He was installed on January 27, 1979. He strived to promote civil, women's, and Native American rights. He then retired in 1982 and served as Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Minnesota. He died on June 7, 2007, in

Edina, Minnesota Edina ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. The population was 53,494 at the 2020 census, making it the 18th most populous city in Minnesota. Edina began as a small farming and mil ...

References

1917 births 2007 deaths People from Red Wing, Minnesota Episcopal bishops of Minnesota 20th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of Oklahoma Episcopal bishops of Navajoland 20th-century American clergy General Theological Seminary alumni {{Oklahoma-stub