LONG ISLAND: Former Bishop Suffragan Martin dies at 99

Posted Apr 11, 2012

[Episcopal News Service] Former Episcopal Diocese of Long Island Bishop Suffragan Richard Beamon Martin, 99, of Brooklyn, New York, died April 11 at the Bishop Henry B. Hucles Episcopal Nursing Home in Brooklyn.

Martin served as bishop suffragan from 1967 to 1974. Ordained to the priesthood in February 1943, he served congregations in Virginia, South Carolina and Brooklyn, and was archdeacon in the Diocese of Southern Virginia, before being elected suffragan.

The diocese said that no arrangements have been settled. However, a service to celebrate his life and mission is tentatively scheduled for April 16 at the Cathedral of the Incarnation, Garden City.


Comments (5)

  1. David Krohne says:
    April 12, 2012 at 5:30 pm

    I got to know Bishop Martin when I lived on Long Island in the late 1960s. He was a very warm and gracious gentleman and a devout Christian leader. May he rest in peace!

  2. Percival George Brown says:
    April 12, 2012 at 9:49 pm

    I am honored to have shared the same birthdate with Bp Martin and have known him for more than 35 years. He was always kind and supportive to me and my family. I will ever be grateful to God for the bishop’s witness.

  3. walter f hendricks, III says:
    April 13, 2012 at 7:20 pm

    The bishop arrived for Confirmation @ a parish in Richmond, Virginia, where I served in the ’80s as Rector. The issue of a man of color placing hands on the heads of two Cambodians, who were refugees and who became Christians, could have been explosive. Instead, he approached the issue graciously, as already noted in his gentle spirit. He also provided great counsel. May his soul rest in peace.

  4. Gail Campbell, says:
    April 15, 2012 at 10:32 pm

    I was blessed to know BIshop Martin when you were in his presence you felt the spirt of God.The world has lost a great man.

  5. Evette Simmons says:
    July 25, 2013 at 10:04 am

    Bishop Martin is a friend of our family. My grandfather Joseph Simmons is a close friend. He actually did my grandfather’s eulogy which was a great gift to the family and to the church family.
    When you listen to his sermons you always felt the stong presence of God. Rest well in the eternal presence of God. You influenced my spiritual life and stedfast faith in Christ Jesus.

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