Rt. Rev. William H. Folwell

October 26, 1924 - February 7, 2022
Rt. Rev. William H. Folwell

Gifts & Memorial Donations



The Rt. Rev. William H. Folwell died peacefully on February 7, 2022.  Born on October 26, 1924 in Port Washington, NY to Ralph Taylor Folwell and Sarah Ewing Hopkins, he spent his youth in Miami, Florida.  Bill had a beautiful tenor singing voice and was active in musical theater and choral guilds throughout his life. He served as a Civil Engineer Corps Officer with the Navy during World War II and graduated from Georgia Tech in civil engineering.  Bill met his wife, Christine, through their mutual involvement in vocal music.  They moved to Evanston, IL where Bill attended Seabury Western Theological Seminary.  He was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1952.  In 1970, he was consecrated Bishop of Central Florida, where he served until 1989.  He has lived in Hendersonville, NC since retiring.

Bill had a self-deprecating and wry sense of humor, with a gift for creating community, and a dedication to servant leadership.  As rector of All Saints Episcopal Church, he oversaw the restructuring committee to create three new dioceses in Florida.   An abiding sense of concern for the poor, marginalized and oppressed animated Bill to be a voice for justice during his fifty plus years in the Episcopal House of Bishops.  Perhaps his most important vote in the House was his support of the Ordination of Women to the priesthood and episcopacy and his later support of gay clergy.  In the 1990’s Bill was actively involved in the establishment of La Capilla de Santa Maria, the first Spanish-speaking parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina.

He is preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Christine E. Folwell and survived by his sister, Eleanor Trafton, three children: Ann Folwell Stanford (Marisa Alicea), Mark Thomas Folwell (Kathy), and Susan Elizabeth Folwell, 5 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, February 11, 2022 at St. James Episcopal Church.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to St. James Episcopal Church, Hendersonville, or the Hendersonville Rescue Mission.

 

 


Service

Friday, February 11, 2022
11:00 AM

St. James Episcopal Church - Directions
766 N. Main Street
Hendersonville, NC 28791

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  • February 09, 2022
    Robert and Annette Hudson says:
    A wonderful human being and a dedicated chimer at Carolina Village

  • February 10, 2022
    Dr. R. Barry Levis says:
    I served on the Commission on Ministry when Bill was bishop. During that time, I came “out of the closet” and had very messy divorce. Once the bishop caught wind of it, he called me in to see him. I assumed excommunication was the mildest I could expect. Instead he gave me a big hug and said how often he had heard similar stores of married men coming out as gay. Several years later, after Bill’s retirement, my partner (now husband) John and I became part of an AIDS ministry for the diocese of Central Florida. Each summer we helped sponsor a retreat at Kanuga for those dealing the HIV. At one retreat Bill came to carry out a blessing for those suffering from HIV and those involved in ministries such as ours. When he came to John and me at the altar rail, instead of blessing our ministry, he blessed our union as a couple. I still get teared up thinking about it. He was a kind and gentle man. He will be deeply missed.

  • February 11, 2022
    Tom says:
    Bill gave me support 22 years ago when my mother Pass a way

  • February 11, 2022
    José Vieira Arruda says:
    Rev. José Vieira Arruda and the community of Saint Luke's Episcopal Church of Mérida, Yucatán, México send their heartfelt condolences to our dear friends Ann and Marisa and to the entire family for the death of their father The Rt. Rev. William Folwell. May he be received in the glory of God's Kingdom forever and may his memory be a source of blessing and comfort for all of you. We are with you! Abrazos. Padre José.

  • February 11, 2022
    Anne Hay Sponholtz says:
    As the daughter of the late Canon A. Rees Hay, Bishop Folwell was a great part of my childhood and beyond. He and Chris were so highly regarded by my family. So sad to hear of his passing, but no doubt he will be welcomed in heaven by my parents and all those who went before him and loved him so dearly.