Former Holy Trinity Episcopal rector dies Former Holy Trinity Episcopal rector dies (June 09, 2004)

** He was also a former bishop of Spokane, Washington.

By Marion Softky
Almanac Staff Writer

Starting in 1939, the Rev. John Raymond Wyatt wrote a letter each year to every couple he had married and every godchild he had guided. This has been "one of the great delights in my life," he said in the last of these letters, printed after he could no longer write.

Bishop Wyatt, former rector at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Menlo Park and bishop of Spokane, Washington, died in his sleep May 23 in Portola Valley. He was 90.

Bishop Wyatt was best known locally as rector at Holy Trinity from 1957 to 1967, where he led the parish during a time of major growth. As the congregation outgrew the church, the Rev. Wyatt led in planning and building St. Bede's Episcopal Church in the new community of Sharon Heights. Later, he worked with parishioners to launch Trinity School.

The oldest of six children, "Jack" Wyatt grew up in Lansford, Pennsylvania. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Lehigh University in 1935, and the General Theological Seminary in 1938. He was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1939, and served as rector to churches in Rhode Island and Seattle before coming to Menlo Park in 1957 with his first wife, Nell, and their four children.

Community leader Ulele Hamway of Portola Valley remembers how the Rev. Wyatt and Holy Trinity filled a void in her life, when she felt overwhelmed by raising five children and facing cancer. "He was one of the wisest men I have ever known," she says. "He was tolerant, accepting, and non-judgmental."

When he was elected bishop of Spokane in 1967, Bishop Wyatt expanded his traditional diocesan duties to include backpacking with the Japanese. To surmount language obstacles with a companion Diocese of Chubu, Bishop Wyatt pursued joint backpacking trips. He hosted a backpacking trip for the Japanese in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state; in 1973, he took a reciprocal trip backpacking through the Japanese Alps.

After Bishop Wyatt's first wife died, he married Margaret Lafore "Peg" Moltzen of Menlo Park. "We spent our honeymoon backpacking in the Cascades," recalls Mrs. Wyatt.

Not long after, Bishop Wyatt started leading church-sponsored backpack trips for older members. At first the "Second Winders" took their annual trek in the Cascades. After Bishop Wyatt retired in 1978 and returned to the Bay Area, the group continued its trips in the Sierra Nevada. Even after he gave up backpacking at 83, the group continues, with three groups heading to the mountains this summer.

After he retired, Bishop and Mrs. Wyatt moved to Watsonville in 1987, and then to Redwood City. They moved to The Sequoias retirement community in Portola Valley in 1993.

Bishop Wyatt remained busy during retirement. The Wyatts published a quarterly newsletter for retired bishops, consulted widely on retirement planning for clergy, and helped parishes searching for new rectors. He also taught classes in conflict management at Holy Trinity.

Managing conflict was one of Bishop Wyatt's great strengths, says Mrs. Hamway. "He could calmly listen to different viewpoints. He could have been a model for the world in mediating for peace."

Besides his wife, Bishop Wyatt is survived by: brothers Dr. Robert H. Wyatt of Del Ray, Florida, and Russell Wyatt of New Jersey; sister Ruth Lotz of Sanford, Florida; children James A. and Robert R. Wyatt of Spokane, Washington, Elizabeth W. Jones of Boise, Idaho, and Dottie Krigbaum of Whidby Island, Washington; stepsons Allan R. Moltzen of Menlo Park, Robert L. Moltzen of Fremont, Richard W. Moltzen of Atlanta, Georgia, and David W. Moltzen of Vallejo; 12 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

The family suggests donations to The United Thank Offering c/o All Saints Church, 15 Basking Ridge Road, Millington, NJ 07946; or Episcopal Relief and Development, 815 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.