THE former Dean of Canterbury the Very Revd Robert Willis died “suddenly and peacefully” within the United States on Tuesday. He was 77.
In a message to Berkeley Divinity School, Yale, on Wednesday, where Dean Willis was a resident Fellow, his partner, Fletcher Banner, said: “It is with great sadness that I actually have to let you know all of Dean Robert’s passing. After a transient illness whilst at Yale in America, Robert suffered heart failure and died last night.
“Robert was a person of great faith and intellect whose biggest joy was to share his life with others. This has been particularly so since we left Canterbury and have been welcomed elsewhere everywhere in the world.”
Robert Willis was ordained deacon in 1972 and priest in 1973, having trained at Cuddesdon Theological College. He served his title at St Chad’s, Shrewsbury, in Lichfield diocese. He was a college chaplain at Cranborne Chase in Wiltshire, diocese of Salisbury, from 1978 to 1992. In the identical period, he was Team Rector of St John the Baptist, Tisbury, until 1987, then Vicar of Sherbourne until 1992.
That yr, he was appointed Dean of Hereford until 2001, when he became Dean of Canterbury.
Dean Willis retired, after twenty years in office, on the eve of his seventy fifth birthday in February 2022 — a mandate that he described as “an important disappointment” (News, 18 February). The standard retirement age for clergy is 70, however the Archbishop of Canterbury granted Dean Willis special permission to proceed in office until 75, the utmost age permitted by canon law.
Towards the top of his 21 years in Canterbury, he develop into known for his garden ministry in the course of the first national lockdown in the course of the pandemic, when Canterbury Cathedral — like other churches — was forced to shut to worshippers. The initiative was his own, supported by his partner, as a way of not breaking the 1400-year tradition of the every day Office on the cathedral.
The popularity of Dean Willis’s broadcasts, which have a dedicated YouTube channel, took off due to the frequent impromptu appearances of his cats, Leo and Tiger, and other members of the Deanery menagerie. This continued in his retirement. His last broadcast was on Monday.
Mr Banner continued: “Robert has been my partner in life and ministry for greater than 20 wonderful years. Like me I’m sure you’ll carry his memory in your hearts.”
His funeral is to happen in New Haven, and a memorial service is to be held next yr at Salisbury Cathedral.
Obituary to follow
