The Right Reverend Stephen D. Strawn, AS, BS, STB, DD
II Bishop of the Diocese of the Missouri Valley
(1958-2021)

It is with great sadness that I issue out this statement on the death of our beloved brother in Christ, Bishop Stephen Strawn, Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Missouri Valley – a brother Bishop and dear friend.

Bishop Strawn died at home on Thursday, April 29. He was 63 and had been undergoing treatment in the last couple of years for cancer.  Our prayers and thoughts go out to his wife, Annette, their four daughters, Angelique, Christine, Tiffany, and Miranda; their grandchildren, and all his family.  Our prayers go out as well to the clergy and people of Saint John’s Cathedral in Quincy, Illinois; and to all in the Diocese of the Missouri Valley and the Anglican Church in America. His passing is a great loss to the Traditional Anglican Church around the world, to the Diocese which he served so faithfully these many years, and to all who were touched by his life and ministry.

Bishop Strawn was born on January 22, 1958 in Dallas, Texas. Following graduation from Bryan Adams High School (1976), he earned his Associate in Science Degree from Trinity Valley Community College (1989). He went on to study psychology (Bachelor of Arts in Psychology) at the University of Texas at Tyler (1990). On May 30, 1981 he married Annette (nee Monier); this year they would have celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary. Shortly after they married, Stephen and Annette moved to Malakoff, Texas where they raised their family.

After a cancer diagnosis in his 20s and a complete recovery which doctors deemed miraculous, Bishop Strawn dedicated his life to God. He studied theology at the Anglican School of Theology, earning a Bachelor in Sacred Theology. He was ordained a Deacon on January 29, 1993 by Rt. Rev. William Millsaps; and ordained Priest by the Most Rev. Louis Falk on August 25, 1993. On October 13, 2007, he was consecrated Bishop and Coadjutor of the Diocese of the Missouri Valley, and became Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese on January 1, 2008 – the second bishop of that Diocese following Archbishop Louis Falk. In 2018, Bishop Strawn was granted an honourary degree of Doctor of Divinity by Saint Bede’s Anglican Catholic Theological College, for his contributions to the unity of the Church and for his promotion and leadership in theological scholarship through the College.

Bishop Stephen Strawn was a faithful Christian, a devout Anglican, a dedicated and conscientious Bishop, loving husband, father, grandfather, a caring friend.  He will be sorely missed.

Well done, thou good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of thy Lord.

Rest eternal grant unto him, O Lord;
And may light perpetual shine upon him.
May he rest in peace and rise in glory!
Amen.

Primate’s Statement on the Death of Bishop Stephen Strawn (pdf)