The Rev. Michael Emerson (Corky) Carlisle, whose ministry took him to several dioceses and the Anglican Church of Kenya, died at 78 November 26 after living with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma for seven years.
He was a native of Lexington, Kentucky, and a graduate of the University of Mississippi and the University of the South’s School of Theology. He was ordained deacon in 1975 and priest in 1976.
Carlisle worked among youth in the dioceses of Mississippi and Texas and led the Diocese of Atlanta’s Liturgy and Music Commission. A family obituary said that during a time of working in the Diocese of Maseno North in Kenya, he helped shape the Kenyan church’s revised prayer book, which was approved in 1989. Carlisle described his years in Kenya as a time when “God cracked my heart open so that I might serve him more fully.”
The obituary also said that Carlisle “baptized a single child in a quiet year and, once, 129 in one extraordinary service.”
He is survived by Doris Bentley Carlisle, his wife of 29 years; a son; and a grandson.
The Rev. William B. (Bill) Fulks, who served as a missionary in Tanzania for three years, died December 1 at 87.
He was a native of Huntington, West Virginia, and a graduate of Marshall College in Huntington and Bexley Hall Seminary. He was ordained deacon and priest in 1964. He served several congregations in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
Fulks began his service as a missionary in 1979. He taught at St. Mark’s Theological College in Dar es Salaam, and served on the Commission on Ministry and the Committee on Canon Law. He considered pastoral care, teaching, and mentorship among his gifts. He was passionate about learning, studying Scripture, practicing Swahili, and enjoying many games of chess.
He is survived by Joanne, his wife of 64 years; a sister; two daughters; and four grandchildren.
The Rev. Canon René Francisco Somodevilla, who came to the United States as a refugee from Cuba, died November 5 at 79.
After the Cuban Revolution, the family left Cuba in 1960 under the guise of visiting family in Miami. He eventually returned to Cuba in 2011 on a church mission trip with his wife and children.
His family moved from Miami to Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1963. He was a graduate of Midwestern State University, the University of Texas-Arlington, and the Anglican School of Theology at the University of Dallas. He was ordained deacon in 1984 and priest in 1985.
He was rector of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church (1986-97) and was chaplain at Camp Crucis in Granbury, Texas, and chaplain to junior high and high school retreats. He then served as canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of West Tennessee.
In his retirement, Somodevilla honored his father and other veterans by volunteering at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum. He served as a docent and helped to restore one of the museum’s World War II-era North American B-25J Mitchell bombers. His father was a flight surgeon in the Cuban Air Force.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 33 years, Nancy Arko Somodevilla; six children; nine grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Other Deaths
Douglas LeBlanc is an Associate Editor and writes about Christianity and culture. He and his wife, Monica, attend St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Henrico, Virginia.
