Theodore H. McCrea

Theodore Harper McCrea (March 27, 1908 – September 22, 1986) was a suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas, serving from 1962 to 1975.

The Right Reverend Theodore Harper McCrea S.T.D.
Suffragan Bishop of Dallas
Church	Episcopal Church
Diocese	Dallas
Elected	September 14, 1962
In office	1962–1975
Predecessor	Joseph Harte
Successor	Robert E. Terwilliger
Orders
Ordination	December 1943 by James De Wolf Perry
Consecration	December 4, 1962 by Arthur C. Lichtenberger
Personal details
Born	(1908-03-27)March 27, 1908 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Died	September 22, 1986(1986-09-22) (aged 78) Dallas, Texas, United States
Buried	Bishop Mason Mausoleum and Columbarium, Flower Mound, Texas
Nationality	American
Denomination	Anglican
Parents	Christopher Harper McCrea & Elizabeth Amelia Pratt
Alma mater	University of Minnesota Harvard University General Theological Seminary

Early life and education

McCrea was born on March 27, 1908, in Minneapolis, to the Reverend Christopher Harper McCrea and Elizabeth Amelia Pratt. He was educated at the high school in New Trier, Minnesota, and then at the University of Minnesota from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1929. he also earned a Masters of Arts in 1930 from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1943 from the General Theological Seminary.^[1] In 1964 he was awarded a Doctor of Sacred Theology.

Ordained ministry

McCrea was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Church on June 7, 1943, at the Church of the Advent in Boston by the Bishop of Massachusetts Henry Knox Sherrill,^[2] and priest in December of the same year by Bishop James De Wolf Perry of Rhode Island. He served as assistant minister at St Martin's Church in Providence, Rhode Island, between 1943 and 1946 and then priest-in-charge of St John's Mission in Dallas. In 1948, St John's became a parish church and hence McCrea became its first rector. Simultaneously he was also principal and chaplain of the adjoining school.^[3]

Episcopacy

McCrea was elected Suffragan Bishop of Dallas on September 14, 1962, on the seventh ballot during a special convention which took place at the Church if St Michael and All Angels in Dallas.^[4] He was consecrated on December 4, 1962, in St Matthew's Cathedral by Presiding Bishop Arthur C. Lichtenberger.^[5] He remained in office until his retirement in 1975. He died on September 22, 1986, in Dallas due to heart problems.