The Rev. James Easter, a career salesman who retired early to serve as a deacon at All Souls’ Church in Oklahoma City, died March 8 at 89.
He grew up in Baltimore, and after his graduation from Bowling Green State University, enlisted in the U.S. Army, and served as an aviator during the Korean War. After being discharged, he became a sales representative for numerous furniture and mattress companies and worked in several states before settling with his family in Oklahoma City in 1964.
He was ordained as a deacon in 1994, and his ministry focused on home and hospital visits, as well as preaching and service through Habitat for Humanity. He hung countless doors and installed many kitchen counters over the years.
Easter was preceded in death by his wife, Colleen, and is survived by two sons, two grandsons, and two great-grandsons.
The Rev. Rogelio Panton, a Panamanian priest who served churches in New York City, Denver, and Newark, as well as in his native country, died in Panama on February 19 at 72.
Panton trained for the priesthood at the former Episcopal Seminary of the Caribbean in Puerto Rico, and following his ordination, served congregations in Panama City before coming to New York in the mid-1970s. After serving a congregation in Colorado, he changed careers, and worked in hospitality management with Wyndham Resorts.
He returned to the ministry and served a church in Panama before moving to Newark, New Jersey, where he served as an assistant priest at Trinity and St. Philip’s Cathedral before becoming priest in charge of St. Barnabas Church. He retired to Panama in 2012 and remained active at Saint Luke’s Cathedral in Panama City.
Panton is survived by a daughter and a granddaughter, as well as four siblings.
The Rev. Thomas Haines Schultz, OHC, a spiritual director, counselor, and confessor, died on March 16 at 87 in his 59th year of religious profession.
He was a native of Pittsburgh, and after earning a bachelor’s degree at the University of Pittsburgh, he entered Nashotah House to train for the ministry. He was ordained in 1959 and was admitted shortly afterward as a postulant to the Order of the Holy Cross. He served as a missionary at the Order’s house in Liberia from 1962 to 1965, and in various community roles in houses in New York, Dallas, South Carolina, and San Francisco. His final post was as chaplain at Mount Calvary Monastery in Santa Barbara, California, from 2008 until the order closed the monastery about a year ago, when he moved into a nursing home.
Schultz was the author of The Rosary for Episcopalians (1992), and a member of the American Counseling Association. He was awarded a doctorate of divinity by the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 2006.
“He was a well-loved spiritual director and confessor who enjoyed both people and a good cup of tea,” said Brother Robert Sevensky, OHC, the assistant superior of the order. “His love of God was evident in the way he presided at the Eucharist, with deep reverence and care, and in his simple homilies, which always had some nugget to ponder. Tom’s past year was spent in a nursing home, where his spirit remained cheerful and engaged until the end.”
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.
