The Right Reverend Henry Irving Louttit Junior

Tallahassee, Florida. He was 82 years old.

On June 13, 1938, Henry Irving Louttit Jr. was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, the first child

of Henry Irving Louttit, Sr. and Amy Cleckler Louttit. As a young man, he attended Christ

School in Arden, North Carolina, graduating in 1956 and from there went on to attend The

University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, graduating with his undergraduate degree in

1960. While in college, Henry was active in the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and achieved

academic honors including being a member of Phi Beta Kappa and graduating with honors.

After meeting as children at Camp Wingmann in Avon Park, Florida, and then again as college

students, Henry married Jayne (Jan) Arledge Northway in Pompano Beach, Florida, on June 14,

1962, while he was attending Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, where he graduated

with his master’s degree in 1963.

Henry spent his life devoted to the Episcopal Church, where he was ordained to the deaconate

on June 11, 1963, and ordained to the priesthood on April 25, 1964. He served for four years as

the Vicar of Trinity Episcopal Church in Statesboro, Georgia, and for 28 years as the Rector of

Christ Episcopal Church in Valdosta, Georgia, before being ordained as the 9th Bishop of

Georgia on January 21, 1995. Fifteen years later, he retired from ministry, but he continued to

remain active in the Church and he finally got to sit with Jan during services.

Throughout his career, Henry enjoyed being involved in church activities at the local, diocesan,

and national levels. As a member of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, he

contributed to the revisions that became the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and the 1982

Hymnal. One of his greatest passions was involving youth at all levels of church life, and he was

instrumental in broadening ministry leadership to all people. Each summer until his retirement,

he would spend time at Camp Honey Creek, where he initiated a children’s summer camp

session that centered around church music.

In addition to playing an integral role in bringing the national Cursillo movement to the Diocese

of Georgia, he continued to be involved as a Spiritual Director at many Cursillo and Happening

weekends while being an advisor for many members of his parishes, clergy, and friends.

During his active ministry, he was an elected delegate to all General Conventions of the

Episcopal Church, except one. At these Conventions he was involved in important decisions,

such as voting to ordain women and proposing that Georgia’s Deaconess Anna Alexander, the

first African-American woman consecrated by the Episcopal Church, be included in the

Calendar of Saints. During Henry’s tenure as Bishop, he was fortunate enough to attend two

Lambeth Conferences in England, and as a result of his life’s work, he received honorary

doctorates from The University of the South and from Virginia Theological Seminary.

Even outside of Church, Henry loved spending time outdoors and enjoyed sharing his

knowledge about God’s creation through bird watching and nature walks with people of all ages.

He became well-known as having a green thumb who tended a veritable botanical garden both

inside and outside. Along with his flora, he also collected a menagerie of fauna that included:

dogs, cats, fish (including a piranha), parrots, finches, a toucan, rabbits, turtles, skunks, an

opossum, a caiman, and a snake, and he often enjoyed serenading these, and his family, with his

playing of the recorder and the crumhorn.

Along with the many people whose lives he touched, Henry is survived by his wife, Jan, his

brother, The Reverend Doctor James Louttit (Jane) from Winter Park, Florida, and three

daughters: Amy Johnson from Tallahassee, Florida, the Reverend Susan Louttit-Hardaway (the

Reverend John B. Hardaway IV) from Anderson, South Carolina; and Dr. Katie Coyne (Mark A.

Coyne) from Athens, Georgia; and seven grandchildren: Maren and Jonas Johnson from

Tallahassee, Florida; Ben Hardaway (Cassidy) from Atlanta, Georgia; Lillian Hardaway (Thomas

Alexander) from Greenville, South Carolina; Frances Hardaway from Anderson, South Carolina;

and Annabelle and Madelyn Coyne from Athens, Georgia.

Henry is preceded in death by his parents, Bishop Henry I. Louttit Sr. and Amy Cleckler Louttit,

his sister, Susan Katherine Louttit, and a son-in-law, Erik Johnson.

Memorial services will be held at a future date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to Honey Creek, also known

as the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia Retreat Center. Donations may be made by texting

HoneyCreek to 73256 or by sending a check to 299 Georgia Episcopal Center Road, Waverly, GA

31565. For additional information, call 912.265.9218 or go to h oneycreek.org.

Photo taken by Julius Ariail during the worship service of the 2009 Diocesan Convention.