The obituaries of many Episcopal priests often say they marched with Martin Luther King Jr. The Rev. Roger Alling Jr. marches next to King in a historic photo, and the family provides a detailed description of how the moment came about.
Alling died November 7 at 89. An obituary by his survivors tells of Alling’s role in a march in January 1968 organized by Clergy and Laity Against the Vietnam War: “He was personally asked by Dr. King to find a cross to carry for the march from the White House to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Roger went into St. John’s Episcopal Church across from the White House and asked to borrow [a] cross. … Roger carried the cross alongside Dr. King and they led the march to Arlington.” The same picture, by the late photojournalist John C. Goodwin, also shows Ralph Abernathy and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel.
Alling was a native of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and a graduate of Kenyon College and Oxford University. He was ordained deacon in 1959 and priest in 1960. He served parishes in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania.
He was executive director of the Episcopal Preaching Foundation (1988-2005) and an editor, with David J. Schlafer, of 14 volumes of Sermons That Work.
The Rev. Michelle Halsall, a visual artist who worked as a Jungian analyst through most of her career, died November 6.
A native of Jackson, Mississippi, she moved to Texas to connect with fellow artists. She completed a degree in anthropology and art history at Rice University in 1971, and then completed a master’s in psychology, also from Rice, in 1978.
After finishing a master’s degree at Seminary of the Southwest in 1985, she was ordained to the priesthood through the Diocese of Montana. She served numerous churches, most recently Calvary Church in Bastrop, Texas.
She became a Licensed Professional Counselor in 1982 and qualified as a Diplomate Jungian Analyst in 2004. Her resume listed a longtime role as “Research Assistant to Dr. R.D. Laing, 1972 until his death in 1989.” She was also a multimedia artist, creating works in drawing, watercolors, oils, printmaking, and textiles.
She was married to William Colville, an author and filmmaker, from 1995 until his death in 2020. She is survived by her companion, Caley Palmeiro.
St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle was filled to overflow capacity November 18 when the Diocese of Olympia honored the memory of the Rev. Canon Jerry Shigaki.
Shigaki, who died October 5 at 76, was born in Seattle. He was a graduate of the University of Washington, from which he also earned a master’s degree in social work. After his graduation from Seminary of the Southwest, he was ordained deacon in 2000 and priest in 2001.
His obituary in The Seattle Times was brief and simple. “His lifelong work as a social worker and an Episcopal priest revolved around social justice,” the obituary said. “Jerry worked towards increasing opportunities for those less advantaged, celebrated diversity [and] always was striving and advocating for a more inclusive, just, and equitable society.”
It listed his hobbies as hiking, walking, fishing for Pacific razor clams, and gathering matsutake tori (mushrooms). He is survived by his daughter, Christine, and grandsons Kelan and Corey.
Other Deaths
