Richard Earl Dicus (September 1, 1910 – January 13, 1996) was suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas, serving from 1955 until his retirement in 1976.

The Right Reverend

Richard Earl Dicus
Suffragan Bishop of West Texas
ChurchEpiscopal Church
DioceseWest Texas
ElectedApril 18, 1955
In office1955-1976
SuccessorStanley F. Hauser
Orders
OrdinationJanuary 1938 (deacon)
November 1938 (priest)
by Walter Mitchell
ConsecrationJuly 22, 1955
by Everett Holland Jones
Personal details
Born(1910-09-01)September 1, 1910
DiedJanuary 13, 1996(1996-01-13) (aged 85)
Green Valley, Arizona, United States
BuriedCity of Nogales Cemetery, Nogales, Arizona
DenominationAnglican
ParentsStanley Fillmore Hauser & Elizabeth Mary Merriman
Spouse
Mildred Dawson
(m. 1938; died 1986)
Children2
Alma materUniversity of the South

Early life and education

edit

Dicus was born in Jerome, Arizona on September 1, 1910 to Harry Everett Dicus and Matilda Elizabeth Lawrence. He attended Phoenix College and Hampden–Sydney College. He then studied at the University of the South from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity in 1937.[1]

Ordained ministry

edit

Dicus was ordained deacon in January 1938 and priest in November 1938 by the Missionary Bishop of Arizona Walter Mitchell.[2] He married Mildred Dawson on September 10, 1938 and together had two children. He served as vicar of Good Samaritan Mission in Phoenix, Arizona between 1938 and 1941, and then was priest- in-charge of St Andrew's Church in Tucson, Arizona from 1941 to 1942. From 1942 to 1946, he was rector of St Paul's Church in Batesville, Arkansas, and between 1944 and 1946 he was also vicar of Trinity Church in Searcy, Arkansas.[3] In 1946, he moved to Eagle Pass, Texas to serve as rector of the Church of the Redeemer and priest-in-charge of Holy Trinity Church in Carrizo Springs, Texas, and remained there until 1955. [4]

Bishop

edit

On April 18, 1955, during a special council meeting at St Mark's Church, Dicus was elected Suffragan Bishop of West Texas on the fifth ballot.[5] He was consecrated on July 22, 1955 by Bishop Everett Holland Jones of West Texas and remained in office until his retirement in 1976.[6] He died on January 13, 1996.

References

edit
  1. ^ "DICUS, Richard Earl". The Clerical Directory of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America: 107. 1956.
  2. ^ "DICUS, Richard Earl". Stowe's Clerical Directory of the American Episcopal Church: 96. 1953.
  3. ^ "Appointments Accepted". The Living Church. 113 (24): 30. December 15, 1946.
  4. ^ "The Rt. Rev. Richard Earl Dicus (536)". The Living Church Annual: 7. 1956.
  5. ^ "Suffragan Election". The Living Church. 130 (19): 7. May 8, 1955.
  6. ^ (1989). Worthy of Much Praise. A History of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Batesville, Arkansas, from Its Earliest Beginnings to 1952, p. 167. Craig Printing Company.