Gary Frederick Woolsey was an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

whose ministry focused on serving the spiritual needs of First Nation people in central Canada. Woolsey was born on 16 March 1942 to Bill and Dorene Woolsey in

Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully indep ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. In 1967 he began his ministry as a priest-pilot in the Diocese of Keewatin. Later he held incumbencies at

Big Trout Lake Big Trout Lake is a large lake in Northern Ontario. The Fawn River fills it from the west and drains it from the east. The reserve of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, also known as Big Trout Lake, is on Post Island near the norther ...

Norway House Norway House is a population centre of over 5,000 people, some north of Lake Winnipeg, on the bank of the eastern channel of the Nelson River, in the province of Manitoba, Canada. The population centre shares the name ''Norway House'' with the ...

and Churchill. From 1980 to 1983 he was

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

of Keewatin when he was ordained to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

as the 9th Bishop of Athabasca, a post he held until 1991. In retirement Woolsey was an honorary

assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan bishop, suffragan) bishops – in ...

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

. Woolsey died October 18, 2013, in Calgary.

Personal life

Woolsey married Marie Tooker in 1977. They had four children.Obituary - The Rt. Rev. Gary Frederick Woolsey
Retrieved September 9, 2018

References

1942 births 2013 deaths University of Western Ontario alumni Anglican archdeacons in North America Anglican bishops of Athabasca 20th-century Anglican Church of Canada bishops People from Brantford {{Canada-Anglican-bishop-stub