John Thomas Tarrant (February 17, 1952 - August 23, 2020) was an American bishop. He was the tenth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota in The Episcopal Church from 2010 to 2019.


John Tarrant
Bishop of South Dakota
ChurchEpiscopal Church
DioceseSouth Dakota
Elected2009
In office2010–2019
PredecessorCreighton Leland Robertson
SuccessorJonathan Folts
Previous post(s)Coadjutor Bishop of South Dakota (2009-2010)
Orders
OrdinationFebruary 11, 1984
by Alexander Doig Stewart
ConsecrationOctober 31, 2009
by Katharine Jefferts Schori
Personal details
Born(1952-02-17)February 17, 1952
DiedAugust 23, 2020(2020-08-23) (aged 68)
Dalton, Massachusetts, U.S.
DenominationAnglican
ParentsRobert Clair Newton Tarrant, Letitia Marie Church
Spouse
Patricia Donaldson
(m. 1990)
ChildrenJeremy Tarrant

Life and ministry

edit

Tarrant was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on February 17, 1952, to Robert Clair Newton Tarrant and Letitia Marie Church. He graduated from the Michigan State University in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. After studies at Virginia Theological Seminary, graduating with a Master of Divinity degree in 1983, he was ordained to the diaconate on June 11, 1983, and to the priesthood on February 11, 1984.

Tarrant served as curate of the Church of the Atonement in Westfield, Massachusetts (1983 to 1985), rector of St Paul's Church in Gardner, Massachusetts (1985 to 1989), assistant priest at St Paul's Church in Holyoke, Massachusetts (1989 to 1991), missioner at the Greater Waterbury Episcopal Ministry in Middlebury, Connecticut (1991 to 1996), rector of St Paul's Church in Stockbridge, Massachusetts (1996 to 2005), and rector of Trinity Church in Pierre, South Dakota (2005 to 2009).

In 2009, Tarrant was elected Coadjutor Bishop of South Dakota and was consecrated on October 31, 2009. He succeeded as diocesan bishop on February 2, 2010, retiring in 2019. He died from a heart attack on August 23, 2020, in Dalton, Massachusetts.[1][2][3]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Petersen, Kirk "Former South Dakota Bishop John Tarrant Dies at 68", The Living Church, August 25, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  2. ^ Warsinskey, Eric "Rt. Rev. John Thamos Tarrant", tuscolatoday, September 1, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  3. ^ "Rest in Peace: The Right Reverend John Thomas Tarrant", Diocese of Western Massachusetts, August 24, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2021.