Bishop Edward Tullis, church visionary, dead at 88
United Methodist Bishop Edward L. Tullis, 88, known throughout the denomination as a visionary leader, died Oct. 6 at his home in Lake Junaluska, N.C.
Elected to the episcopacy in 1972, he led the South Carolina and Tennessee annual (regional) conferences for 12 years before retiring in 1984.
Tullis, a native of Cincinnati, was ordained in 1943 and served several churches in Kentucky. He served as a member of six jurisdictional and General Conference delegations and held a number of important mission posts in the Southeastern Jurisdiction.
Throughout his career, he was a strong advocate for clergywomen. During the 1956 General Conference, Tullis was among the delegates who voted to give clergywomen full clergy rights.
Tullis, a minister for life, taught an intergenerational Sunday school class at Long's Chapel United Methodist Church in Lake Junaluska, N.C.
That class has 200 members. He was a frequent teacher at Elder hostels and retreats and worked with staff at the Southeastern Jurisdictional Administration Council, developing training materials and resources for Sunday school teachers.
"Edward Tullis was a well-rounded minister and practical churchman and at the same time had a deep concern about the needs of people," said Bishop James Mathews of Bethesda, Md. "He will be missed and well-remembered because he made a valuable contribution to the church universal."
According to the Rev. Mary John Dye, pastor of Hawthorne Lane United Methodist Church, Charlotte, N.C., Tullis "was a constant source of advice and encouragement for lay and clergy leaders across the church.
... He was a churchman to the core - forever a teacher about the essence of the United Methodist Church."
Tullis is the author of First Church Sermons, Shaping the Church from the Mind of Christ and Birth of the Book: The Story of the Origin and Growth of the Bible. He recently completed a history of the Magee Christian Education Foundations.
Tullis earned an associate's degree from Kentucky Wesleyan College and earned a bachelor's degree from Louisville Theological Seminary. He was the recipient of honorary degrees from Kentucky Wesleyan College, Union College, Wofford College, Lambuth University and Claflin College.
Bishop Tullis and the late Mary Jane Tullis had two children, Frank L.
Tullis of Williamsburg, Va., and Jane Offut of Georgetown, Ky.; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
In 1997, he married Katharine Crum Irwin who has two sons, Frank Jr., of Carolina Beach, N.C., and Mason Crum Irwin of Sevierville, Tenn., and a daughter, Katharine, deceased.
A memorial service will be held Oct. 10 at Long's Chapel United Methodist Church in Lake Junaluska, N.C. Principal speakers will be the Rev. Robert E. Fuquay Jr., pastor of the Long's Chapel Church, Bishop William Willimon, Bishop William Morris and Bishop Charlene Kammerer.
Memorials may be sent to Long's Chapel United Methodist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 459, Lake Junaluska, NC 28745, or the Lake Junaluksa Capital Fund, P.O. Box 67, Lake Junaluska, NC 28745.
By the United Methodist News Service
