George Richard Millard (October 2, 1914 – June 15, 2018) was a suffragan bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of California
The Episcopal Diocese of California is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA) in Northern California. The founding Episcopal diocese in the state, once encompassing all of Californi ...
from 1960 to 1978.
Early life
George Richard Millard was born on October 2, 1914, in
Dunsmuir, California
Dunsmuir is a city in Siskiyou County, northern California. It is on the upper Sacramento River in the Trinity Mountains. Its population is 1,707 as of the 2020 census, up from 1,650 from the 2010 census.
Dunsmuir is currently a hub for tourism ...
, to George Ellis and Constance (Rainsberry) Millard. He attended high school in
Sacramento, California, and later graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts from the
University of California, Berkeley in 1936, and then in 1938 a
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...
from the
Episcopal Theological School in
Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was awarded an honorary
Doctor of Divinity
A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity.
In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...
from the
Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 1960 and a
Master of Arts from the
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...
in 1983.
Ordained ministry
Millard was ordained deacon in July 1938 by Bishop
Archie W. N. Porter of Northern California and priest in June 1939 by Bishop
Henry Knox Sherrill of Massachusetts. He initially served as curate at
St James' Church in
New York City from 1938 to 1939 until he became curate of St John's Church in
Waterbury, Connecticut. In 1941 he became curate at St James' Church in
Danbury, Connecticut
Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut.
Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...
, while in 1943 he became the rector of the same church. He as also rector of Christ Church in
Alameda, California, between 1951 and 1960.
Episcopacy
Millard was elected Suffragan Bishop of California in 1959. He was then consecrated bishop on February 2, 1960, in
Grace Cathedral by Presiding Bishop
Arthur C. Lichtenberger
Arthur Carl Lichtenberger (January 8, 1900 – September 3, 1968) was a bishop of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church in the United States. He served as Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, Bishop of Missouri from 1952 to 1959, and as ...
. He remained in office until his retirement in 1978. He was then appointed as Suffragan Bishop for the
Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe
The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe (formerly the Convocation of American Churches in Europe) is a jurisdiction of the Episcopal Church created in 1859 by an action of its general convention. The convocation includes all Episcopal cong ...
, where he served until 1980. He then worked at the Episcopal Church Center in New York, after which he attended
Saint Mary's College of California where he completed a degree in psychology. He then went on to work as a Veterans Hospital Chaplain till 2005.
Personal life
He married Mary Louise Gessling on June 29, 1939. They had three children George, Martha and Joseph. His son George died in 2002 and his wife Mary died at the age of 90 on August 15, 2005. He
turned 100 in October 2014.
He died on June 15, 2018, at the age of 103.
References
External links
celebrating the most senior bishop in the episcopal church
1914 births
2018 deaths
American men centenarians
People from Dunsmuir, California
University of California alumni
20th-century American Episcopalians
Episcopal bishops of California
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