The Rt. Rev. James E. (Jim) Waggoner Jr., an advocate for rural ministry who led the Diocese of Spokane from 2000 to 2017, died February 27 at 77.
“Bishop Waggoner was well-regarded in The Episcopal Church by lay and clergy alike and will be remembered for his deep kindness, pastoral nature, and joyful demeanor,” said a statement by the Diocese of West Virginia.
Waggoner was born in Ironton, Ohio, and graduated from Marshall University before leading a child development program in Ohio for several years.
Responding to a call to ministry, Waggoner studied at Virginia Theological Seminary, and was ordained in the Diocese of West Virginia in 1979. He began his ministry serving two small churches along the Kanawha River in southern West Virginia, Good Shepherd in Hansford and Calvary Church, Montgomery. He led congregations in Huntington and Martinsburg before becoming Bishop John H. Smith’s canon to the ordinary.
On May 20, 2000, he was elected on the second ballot as the eighth Bishop of Spokane, succeeding Frank Terry, who died in office while undergoing surgery. At the time of his consecration, the Diocese of Spokane had 44 parishes across western Washington and the panhandle of Idaho.
Retired West Virginia bishop Robert Atkinson said during the sermon at Waggoner’s consecration that Waggoner had managed to find his way to many remote spots in the Mountain State, and he didn’t think he would get lost in his new, mostly rural diocese.
As bishop, Waggoner focused on expanding youth ministry and ministry to Latinos across the diocese, and on shoring up its finances. He served on the Title IV Review Committee in the wider church.
After his retirement as diocesan bishop, Waggoner served as assisting bishop in the Diocese of Nevada from 2019 to 2022.
He is survived by his wife, Gloria, with whom he had two children.
The Rev. Mark Michael is editor-in-chief of The Living Church. An Episcopal priest, he has reported widely on global Anglicanism, and writes about church history, liturgy, and pastoral ministry.
