Goodrich Robert Fenner (August 12, 1891 – February 14, 1966) was the fifth bishop of Kansas in

The Episcopal Church The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine Ecclesiastical provinces and dioces ...

between 1939 and 1959.

Early life and education

Fenner was born on August 2, 1891, in

Beeville, Texas Beeville is a city in Bee County, Texas, United States, with a population of 12,863 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Bee County and home to the main campus of Coastal Bend College. The area around the city contains three prisons oper ...

, the son of Robert Willis Fenner and Kate Elliott Fenner. He was one of a family of six sons and three daughters. Fenner studied at the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College, graduating with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in Civil Engineering in 1913. He also undertook studies at the

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating Seminary in the Anglican Communi ...

from where he earned a

Bachelor of Sacred Theology The Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus; abbreviated STB), not to be confused with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology, is the first of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the second being the Licentiate in Sacred ...

in 1916, a

Master of Sacred Theology The Master of Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Magister; abbreviated STM) is a graduate-level, North American, academic degree in theology equivalent to ThM. The Roman Catholic equivalent is the Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL). An ho ...

in 1934, and an honorary

Doctor of Sacred Theology The Doctor of Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Doctor, abbreviated STD), also sometimes known as Professor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STP), is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church, ...

in 1938.

Ordained ministry

Fenner was ordained deacon on May 7, 1916, by the Coadjutor Bishop of Virginia Arthur Selden Lloyd for the

Diocese of West Texas The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America whose territory comprises the southernmost part of the state of Texas. Territory The see city is San Antonio, and the diocese includes the ...

and then priest by Bishop William Theodotus Capers of West Texas on November 12, 1916, at St Philip's Church,

Uvalde, Texas Uvalde is a city and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,217 at the 2020 census. Uvalde is located in the Texas Hill Country, west of downtown San Antonio and east of the Mexico–United States bord ...

. He served as rector of St Philip's Church in Uvalde between 1916 and 1924 and then rector of Christ Church in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, between 1924 and 1932. He also served as chaplain in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in 1918. In 1932 he was appointed secretary to the Rural division of the National Council Episcopal Church, a post he retained until 1935 when he became rector of St Andrew's Church in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

Bishop

Fenner was elected Coadjutor Bishop of Kansas on the first ballot by the diocesan convention which met on May 9, 1937, at Grace Church in

Chanute, Kansas Chanute () is a city in Neosho County, Kansas, United States. Founded on January 1, 1873, it was named after railroad engineer and aviation pioneer Octave Chanute. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,722. Chanute is home ...

. He was consecrated bishop in Grace Cathedral on September 29, 1937, by Bishop James H. Wise of Kansas. He then succeeded as diocesan on July 8, 1939, after the sudden death of Bishop Wise. During his episcopacy new congregations were established and university chaplaincies at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

and at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

came into being. Fenner retired in 1959 and died of a heart attack in 1966.

References

1891 births 1966 deaths People from Highland Park, Texas 20th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of Kansas 20th-century American clergy General Theological Seminary alumni Texas A&M University alumni {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub