O'Kelley Whitaker (December 26, 1926 – June 25, 2015) was eighth bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Central New York The Episcopal Diocese of Central New York is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America that comprises 14 counties in Central New York. It is one of ten dioceses, plus the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, that m ...

Biography

Whitaker was born in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

on December 26, 1926. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Philosophy from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

in 1949 and then studied at

Seabury-Western Theological Seminary Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (SWTS) was a seminary of the Episcopal Church, located in Evanston, Illinois. It ceased offering the Master of Divinity degree in May 2010, and in January 2012 it moved from Evanston to the Evangelical Luth ...

. He was ordained deacon and priest in 1952. He served as rector of St Andrew's Church in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. He also served as a hospital corpsman in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1973 he became the Dean of St Luke's Cathedral in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. On November 7, 1980, Whitaker was elected Coadjutor Bishop of Central New York during the 112th General Convention which took place in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

. He was consecrated bishop by

John Allin John Maury Allin (April 22, 1921 – March 6, 1998) was an American Episcopal bishop who served as the 23rd Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1974 to 1985. Early life Allin was born in Helena, Arkansas. He graduated from the Univ ...

, Presiding Bishop, on May 16, 1981, in the

Oncenter War Memorial Arena The Upstate Medical University Arena (originally known as Onondaga County War Memorial and later as the Oncenter War Memorial Arena) is a multi-purpose arena located in Syracuse, New York. It is part of the Oncenter, Oncenter Complex. Designed b ...

. He was awarded a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

in 1981 by Seabury-Western. He succeeded as diocesan bishop in 1983 and retired in 1992. Between 1992 and 1997 he served as Assistant Bishop of Southern Virginia.

Works

Whitaker was the author of several hymns and also wrote a book named ''Sister Death'' in 1974.

References

Bishop Coadjutor Consecrated in SyracuseBishop Whitaker Dead at 88
obituary from

The Living Church ''The Living Church'' is a magazine based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, providing commentary and news on the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion. It is the flagship publication of The Living Church Foundation. In continuous publication ...

1926 births 2015 deaths People from Durham, North Carolina Duke University alumni 20th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of Central New York {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub