The Rev. Norman Reid Freeman Jr., a professional musician who played jazz Vespers for churches in the Connecticut and Los Angeles dioceses, died February 4 at 71.
Freeman was a Grammy Award-winning percussionist and timpanist who performed with orchestras and with artists ranging from Barbra Streisand to Metallica and Pavarotti, said a report by Pat McCaughan of The Episcopal News in Los Angeles.
He was a graduate of the Julliard School and General Theological Seminary. He was ordained deacon and priest in 1997.
While Freeman served as rector and headmaster of St. George’s Church and School in Laguna Hills, his sermons frequently consisted of improvisational music. “I found it deepened my own spirituality, a growing sense of connecting with God through the great music I was hearing,” he told The News. “I started to realize that on my own, I could go but so far. I came to depend on a power much greater than myself to fuel my performances.”
Survivors include Katherine Cash, his partner in music and life, with whom he founded a duo, N2K; a daughter; a son; and two grandchildren.
The Rev. Ira Jackson Sr., a beloved priest of the Diocese of Georgia, died February 24 at 94.
Jackson’s mother was a school teacher, and he was a quick learner who began reading the Bible for the stories it told. He was ordained deacon and priest in 2009, but a stroke limited his ability to celebrate the Eucharist at an altar.
“It was my privilege to preach Ira’s ordination,” said Bishop Frank Logue. “He got to know me as a member of the Commission on Ministry, and I was honored by his request. … In my sermon for the occasion I said, ‘God’s power has long been shown in powerlessness. God’s strength has for millennia been shown in weakness.’ Even after the stroke limited his physical abilities, Ira’s faith never wavered. His whole life was a testament to his trust in Jesus.”
Jackson is survived by his wife, Mildred Wilcher Jackson; a daughter; a son; and five grandchildren.
When the Rev. Deacon Gloria Lee Wong died January 24, a month shy of turning 96, the weekly Martha’s Vineyard Times published a lengthy obituary about her.
Wong was a graduate of the University of California, the Smith School for Social Work, and the Rhode Island School for Deacons.
She was born in Canada in 1928, and moved to San Francisco with her family in 1944, according to a report by Abby Remer of Martha’s Vineyard Times. She was ordained deacon in 1993, and she belonged to the Order of St. Luke, which teaches about praying for divine healing.
She prayed with a partner, Carolyn Eddy, who was her friend for 30 years. “We had healing services and prayer times where we would pray with people for inner, emotional, or physical healing. It’s quite dynamic,” Eddy said.
“Gloria helped to start the Chinese congregation at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Boston,” said Bishop Ian Douglas, who knew the deacon for decades. “The deacon, as a holy order, is particularly committed to service in the community, and that’s what she was all about.”
Other Deaths
The Rev. Henry Middleton Cheves, Feb. 10
Douglas LeBlanc is the Associate Editor for Book Reviews and writes about Christianity and culture. He and his wife, Monica, attend St. John’s Parish Church on Johns Island, South Carolina.
