The Living Church

Year Article Type Limit by Author

The Living ChurchFebruary 8, 1998Bishop Lickfield Dies, Was Diocesan in Quincy 1958-73 216(6) p. 6

The Rt. Rev. Francis William Lickfield, fifth Bishop of Quincy, died Dec. 14, at his retirement home in Yarmouth Port, Mass. He was 89.

A graduate of Temple University, Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Divinity School, Bishop Lickfield was elected on the first ballot of a second election in 1958. In the first election, the diocese had chosen a candidate who was elected to another diocese on the same day. Early in his episcopate, Bishop Lickfield found it necessary to close a number of dwindling churches, but at least two parishes begun before he retired in 1973 are flourishing today.

Bishop Lickfield was born in Philadelphia on Feb. 9, 1908. He was ordained deacon and priest in 1933, and served as curate in Pennsylvania and New York churches, and as rector of St. Matthias', Waukesha, Wis., and Church of the Redeemer, Chicago.

He was awarded honorary degrees by both Philadelphia Divinity School and Nashotah House, for which he served as trustee. He was active in ecumenical discussions, particularly with Eastern Orthodox churches.

Requiem Masses were celebrated at St. David's Church, Yarmouth, Mass., where he will be interred, and at both St. John's, Quincy, and St. Paul's Cathedral, Peoria. Bishop Lickfield is survived by his wife, Josephine, his son, William, and his daughter, Marilyn.