Wesley "Wes" Frensdorff (July 22, 1926 – May 17, 1988) was the bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Nevada The Episcopal Diocese of Nevada is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the USA comprising the entire State of Nevada. The eleventh and current bishop of the Diocese, The Rt. Rev. Elizabeth Bonforte Gardner, was ordained and consecrated by Pre ...

1972 to 1985.

Early life and education

Frensdorff was born on July 22, 1926, in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

, the son of Rudolph August Frensdorff and Erma Margarete Asch. He came to the United States in 1940 as a 14-year-old, and completed high school in Elmhurst, New York. He was a graduate of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

with a Bachelor of Arts in 1948 and 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 ...

with 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 1951.

Ordination

Frensdorff was ordained deacon on March 31, 1951 by Bishop James P. deWolfe of Long Island, and priest on November 3, 1951 by Bishop William F. Lewis of Nevada. Between 1951 and 1954 he served as vicar of St Mary's Church in

Winnemucca, Nevada Winnemucca () is the only incorporated city in, and is the county seat of, Humboldt County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 8,431, up 14.0 percent from the 2010 census figure of 7,396. Intersta ...

, St Andrew's Church in

Battle Mountain, Nevada Battle Mountain is an unincorporated town in and the county seat of Lander County, Nevada, United States. The population was 3,635 at the 2010 census. Its primary economic base is gold mining and, to a lesser extent, legalized gambling. The tow ...

and St Anne's Church in

McDermitt, Nevada McDermitt is an unincorporated community straddling the Nevada–Oregon border, in Humboldt County, Nevada, and Malheur County, Oregon, United States. McDermitt's economy has historically been based on mining, ranching, and farming. The last min ...

. Later he became rector of St Paul's Church in

Elko, Nevada Elko (Shoshoni: Natakkoa, "Rocks Piled on One Another") is the largest city in and county seat of Elko County, Nevada, United States. With a 2020 population of 20,564, Elko is currently growing at a rate of 0.31% annually and its population has i ...

. In 1959 he became rector of St Barnabas and St Luke's Church in

Wells, Nevada Wells is a small city in Elko County, in northeast Nevada in the western United States. The population was 1,292 at the 2010 census. Wells is located at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 93, approximately east of Elko and is part of ...

and of St Martin's Church in the Upper Skagit Valley and Community Church in

Newhalem, Washington Newhalem (''Lushootseed'': dxʷʔiyb) is a small unincorporated community in northwestern Washington, United States, located in the western foothills of the North Cascades along the Skagit River. It is located within Whatcom County. Descriptio ...

, all posts held till 1962. He became Dean of St Mark's Cathedral in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

in 1962 and remained there till 1972. He also served as Director of the North Pacific and Western parish training program of the Episcopal Church between 1959 and 1964."Frensdorff, Wesley"
''The Episcopal church]''. Retrieved on 25 November 2018.

Bishop

On September 24, 1971, he was elected Bishop of Nevada. He was consecrated on March 4, 1972, by Presiding Bishop

John E. Hines John Elbridge Hines (October 3, 1910 – July 19, 1997) was a bishop in the Episcopal Church in the United States. When he was elected the 22nd Presiding Bishop in 1965, at the age of 54, he was the youngest person to hold that office, which ...

. He remained in Nevada till 1985 when he became assistant bishop in Arizona. From 1983 to 1985 he also served as interim bishop 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 ...

Death

Frensdorff died in a private plane crash near the north rim of the Grand Canyon on May 17, 1988.

Personal life

Frensdorff married Dolores Stoker in 1953 with whom he had 5 children.

References

External links

Obituary
from Episcopal News Service {{DEFAULTSORT:Frensdorff, Wesley 1926 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Anglican bishops in the United States Columbia College (New York) alumni Episcopal bishops of Arizona Episcopal bishops of Navajoland Episcopal bishops of Nevada