Bishop Persell Dies in Albany
Episcopal News Service. October 6, 1988 [88212]
NEW YORK (DPS, Oct. 6) -- A Requiem Eucharist for the Rt. Rev. Charles Bowen Persell, Jr., of Loudonville, N.Y., retired Suffragan Bishop of Albany, was held at All Saints Cathedral, Albany, N.Y., on September 26. The Rt. Rev. David S. Ball, Bishop of Albany, was the celebrant.
Bishop Persell, 79, died at St. Peter's Hospital, Albany, on September 23, after suffering a stroke.
Born in Lakewood, N.Y., on March 9, 1909, Persell took his undergraduate degree at Hobart College and then went on to General Theological Seminary. He was ordained deacon in 1934 and priest in 1935. In the early years of his priesthood, Persell had an active parish ministry in the diocese of Rochester and quickly became known for his diocesan involvements in youth ministry, public housing, and other social concerns. In 1950, on becoming rector of St. John's Church in Massena, N.Y. (where he served until 1961), Persell entered the life of the diocese of Albany where he was to serve for the rest of his life. He was consecrated Suffragan Bishop of Albany in 1963, remaining in that post until his retirement in 1977.
Persell was married twice, to Emily Elizabeth Aldrich in 1936, (who predeceased him), and in 1969 to Dorothy L. Patterson, who survives him.
Persell is also survived by his five children -- his sons Charles III, William, and Peter, and his daughters Carolyn Burnworth and Susan Bischoff. Bishop Persell had 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His son the Rev. William Dailey Persell is rector of the Church of St. Ann and Holy Trinity in Brooklyn, N.Y.