IN MEMORIAM: John Kevern ’80, D.D. ’04

The Rev. Dr. John R. Kevern, Class of 1980 and recipient of our Honorary Doctorate 2004, died at home in Rochester, NY on May 9th, 2023. Kevern was on the faculty and then dean of Bexley Hall Seminary from 1996 until 2009.

Kevern was born October 8, 1953, in Dixon, IL to Walter and Esther Kevern. A 1971 graduate of Dixon High School, he attended the University of Illinois, graduating summa cum laude in 1975 with a B.A. in French and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. As well as receiving his M.Div. from General, he completed graduate studies at the Sorbonne and the University of Chicago. He was ordained a priest at St. James Cathedral in Chicago in 1980, and worked for the Bishop of Chicago for the capital campaign to restore the cathedral in the early 1980’s.

An episcopal priest for more than 40 years, Kevern served parishes in Chicago, the Rochester area, Columbus, OH and West Virginia, including St. Paul’s Within-the-Walls, Rome, Italy, Christ Episcopal, Fairmont and Trinty Moundville, WV, and St. Luke and St. Simon Cyrene as well as Grace, Scottsville in Rochester. He had been a member of the committee in dialogue with Oriental Orthodox churches and was a member of Lutheran Episcopal Dialogue III. He was appointed by Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold to head Affirming Catholicism in the United States.

A gifted teacher, Kevern enjoyed opera and traveling and was an avid reader of 19th and 20th century history. He is survived by brother Tom (Lynn) of Milton, WI, nephew John (Samantha) of Kansas City, MO, niece Elizabeth (Greg) of Fairfax, VA, and nephew James (Michelle) of Arlington, VA.  

A private committal service will be conducted at Oakland Cemetery in Freeport, IL at a later date. Memorials can be made to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Dixon, IL.  The family can be contacted at 107 W Saint Mary Street, Milton, WI 53563