The Rev. Paul H. Bicknell, 84, died May 31, 2008 in Medina, OH, from complications of a heart attack. He served the UU Church of Elgin, IL from 1957 until 1972. The church and its members were active leaders of social change. Rev. Bicknell also held several Community Ministry positions, working with older adults and he served a number of congregations as interim minister in Hobart, IN, White Plains, NY, Kansas City, MO, New Haven, CT, Rocky River, OH, Golden, CO, West Hartford, CT, and London, Ontario. Rev. Bicknell is survived by his long-time friend Mary Anne Kehoe Ford, his sons, Richard (Carmen) and Brian, by his daughter, Deborah Leader, and by seven devoted nieces and nephews.
Author: Duane Fickeisen
The Rev. Laurel S. Sheridan
Laurel Sheridan
The Rev. Laurel S. Sheridan, 67, died May 15, 2008 in Tucson, AZ. Prior to joining the UU ministry Laurel worked as an RN in childbirth education. A graduate of Andover Newton Theological School, she was ordained in 1982. She served congregations in Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts before retiring to Tucson in 2001, due to ill health. She continued to preach part-time, as she was able. She is survived by her husband Terry Sheridan of Tucson and her daughter Holly Sakariason of Yuma, AZ
The Rev. Ric Masten
Ric Masten
The Rev. Ric Masten, 78, died May 9, 2008 at his mountain home near Carmel, California. Dubbed a “troubadour minister,” he has been perhaps the only fellowshipped UU minister never to have graduated from seminary or college. He is perhaps best known for his hymn “Let It Be A Dance.” With his wife, Billie Barbara Masten, he toured the country giving concerts and he earned the distinction of preaching in more Unitarian Universalist churches – over five hundred in 49 states – than any other minister in history. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1999 and chronicled his battle with the disease in a series of poems, books and blog entries, which expanded his ministry to a new community, cancer survivor groups. He is survived by his wife.
The Rev. Robert D. Botley
The Rev. Robert D. Botley, 84, died March 28, 2008. He served in the US Army Air Corps in World War II, then served Congregational Churches in Sedgwick, CO; Pinedale, WY; and Rapid City, SD. In 1961, he joined the UUA and served the church in San Mateo, CA. He marched with Dr. King in Selma. After a long bout with cancer, Rev. Botley retired early from formal ministry. As his health improved, he started a business, Specialized Yachting Services, then an accounting business. In 1999, the Botleys moved to McKinleyville, CA, joining the UU Fellowship. He loved wilderness, and won awards for his landscape photography. He built a boat and sailed to Mexico and back. He is survived by his wife of 59 years Anna Mae Botley; two children, Steve Botley of Cave Junction, OR, and Becky Blackshaw of New Zealand; and two grandchildren. A service will be held May 31 at Humboldt UU Fellowship in Bayside, CA.
The Rev. Martin Skewes-Cox
The Rev. Martin Skewes-Cox, 80, died in Sonoma, CA on March 16. 2008. He is survived by his three children: Peter of San Francisco, Thomas of Thousand Oaks, and Edith of Montreal, Quebec; and 11 grandchildren.
The Rev. Peter Weller
Peter Weller
The Rev. Peter Weller, 81, died Jan. 22, 2008 in Fort Collins, CO. Peter received his BS in Electrical Engineering in 1948. After serving in both the U.S. Navy and Army, he decided to become a Unitarian minister. He served in Laconia, NH; Seattle, WA; Hanska, MN; Muskegan, MI; and Pittsfield, MA, where he was named minister emeritus. He served as interim in Birmingham, AL, and Bloomington, IN. Peter marched in Selma with Dr. King. He was active with the Vietnam anti-war movement and served on the board of the UN Association in Fort Collins, where he was a member of the Foothills Unitarian Church. Peter was also active in the UUMA and was a former UURMaPA Board Member. Peter married Carol Reed, who died in 1973. He married Jennie Parker in 1977. Survivors include his wife, Jennie; three daughters, Cathleen Hamilton of Oakland, NJ; Julia Smith of Fairbanks, AK; and Gretchen Weller of Fort Collins; five stepchildren, Marian Ware, Carl Hildebrandt, Janet Hildebrandt, Jay Hilt, and Lisabeth Almgren; 17 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
The Rev. Berjouhie (Berjie) Andreassian Bergler
Berjouhie (Berjie) Andreassian Bergler
The Rev. Berjouhie (Berjie) Andreassian Bergler, 86 died July 10, 2008. Born in Turkey, she fled with family to Lebanon and later moved to New York State. She graduated as class valedictorian from Keuka College, later earning a BD in Ministry from Colgate-Rochester Divinity School, again graduating as valedictorian, and as the only woman in her class. She was Assistant Professor of Religion at Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA. She also preached regularly at the UU Society of Amherst, MA. She served as Director of Religious Education at All Souls Unitarian Church in New York, NY and was the first woman to preach there in its 142 year history. She was ordained in 1962 at Community Church of New York City jointly by five New York churches as Minister to College Students. In 1965, she married Robert Bergler. She joined the faculty of Douglass College of Rutgers University as Assistant Professor of Religion and continued teaching there until her retirement in 1984. Even though her work was primarily academic, she often conducted weddings, dedications, and memorial services. She and her husband were also active members in the Unitarian Society of New Brunswick, NJ. In a letter of reference for Rev. Bergler’s application for Fellowship, Rev. Sophia Lyon Fahs said “Her personal integrity is of the finest. Her philosophy of life is wholehearted and all-encompassing; and she is forthwright [sic] in expressions of her thoughts, as well as unusually capable intellectually in expressing them.” Rev. Bergler is survived by her sister, and thre Alice Rabah of Chapel Hill, NC.
Julia Cairns
Julia Cairns, widow of the Rev. Fred Cairns, died Dec. 29, 2007 in her late 80’s. Her son Ken said, “She died peacefully at her home with her family around her. She was a great lady.” Anne Orfald wrote: “She was a lovely person who had a good life, and was relatively independent in a residence where she could sleep ’til noon if she wished, enjoyed reading, got around with a walker, could take meals in the dining room when she chose, and was happy that her daughter-in-law was on the staff of the home. According to Charles Eddis, Fred Cairns was a staunch humanist who served congregations in Needham, MA, Madison, WI, and Hamilton, ON.
The Rev. Elium Gault
The Rev. Elium Gault, 85, died suddenly Nov. 16, 2007, at his home in Hazlet, NJ. A committed Unitarian Humanist, he served the Woodstock, VT, church, then the Manchester, NH, church. He was active in the Civil Rights movement, and the Anti-Vietnam War movement. Ardently pro-choice, he was an active, vocal supporter of the separation of church and state. He leaves two sons, Jim and Bert, and daughter Patti. He was very close to his daughters-in-law and grandchildren. A Memorial Service was held in the Spring at Monmouth Country Unitarian Church in Lincroft, NJ.
Monica Adlard Sharp
Monica Adlard Sharp, 98, widow of the Rev. Waitstill H. Sharp, died Nov. 12, 2007, in Pacific Palisades, CA. Born in Saskatchewan, she served on the home economics staff of the Chicago Tribune and later became director of the food staff of the American Meat Institute, Chicago. She lived in Greenfield, MA, from 1972 until 2001, where she was a member of All Souls UU Church; Treasurer of the League of Women Voters; and a member of the Board of Organized Work of the Franklin Medical Center. She leaves a daughter, Barbara L. Schlueter, of Pacific Palisades, CA; a step-daughter, Martha Joukowsky, of Providence, RI; six grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. Memorial services were held in Santa Monica Nov. 19 and Greenfield, Dec. 8.