Into your hands, O merciful Saviour, we commend your servant.
We give thanks for the life of Lawrence Dudley Ritchie, Priest, and are grateful for his ministry in the Diocese of New Westminster and in the Anglican Church of Canada.
Dudley died on Monday, September 25. He had been in hospital after a fall.
Dudley is survived by his children, Melanie, Mark and Cynthia, and seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, and his friend, Liz Macdonald. He was predeceased by his wife Shirley.
Dudley graduated from the Anglican Theological College in 1958, with an LTh. He was ordained to the diaconate on
January 6, 1953, and to the priesthood on September 29,1953. At the time of his death he was a few days away from marking the 70th Anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.
The first parish Dudley served was St. George, Rossland, in the Diocese of Kootenay where he was Rector from 1953 to 1957. He was Priest Assistant at St. John the Divine, Verdun, in the Diocese of Montreal from 1957 to 1960. Transferring to the Diocese of New Westminster in 1960, Dudley served as Rector of St. Alban the Martyr, Burnaby, and St. Columba from 1960 to 1968. He was then the Protestant Chaplain at Haney Correctional Institution, diocesan Rural Dean, and priest at St. John, Whonnock before being appointed Rector of St Stephen, Burnaby, where he served from 1984 to 1990. During his time at St. Stephen, he also served as Regional Dean of Westminster. After working for a time as management consultant, in 1992 he accepted Bishop Jim Cruickshank’s invitation to be Interim Priest-in-Charge at St Michael and All Angels, Prince George. Returning to this diocese he was Priest-in-Charge at All Saints, Ladner, and Temporary Priest-in-Charge at Christ the Redeemer, Surrey.
Dudley was also President of the St. Leonard Society of the Lower Mainland, and served on committees of Synod, including the Ministry and Congregational Development Committee, and in the mid-1960s was editor of Anglican News, the official diocesan publication prior to Topic. In retirement he led a long standing and popular bible study at All Saints, Ladner.
A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, October 28, 2pm at All Saints, Ladner, 4755 Arthur Drive.
IMAGES
- Dudley in 2017
- Dudley celebrating the Eucharist, Easter Day, 2015.
Photos: Randy Murray