Bishop Tullis

BISHOP EDWARD L. TULLIS Lake Junaluska-Bishop Edward L. Tullis, age 88, died at his Lake Junaluska home on October 6, 2005 following a short illness. Bishop Tullis was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and attended high school in northern Kentucky. He received his A.B. degree from Kentucky Wesleyan College and was ordained in the Methodist Episcopal Church South in 1939. He earned a B.D. degree from Louisville Theological Seminary and holds honorary degrees from Kentucky Wesleyan College, Union College, Wofford College, Lambuth University, and Claflin College. Bishop Tullis served pastorates in Frenchburg, Lawrenceburg, Louisville, Irvine, Frankfurt, and Ashland, Kentucky. He served for five years as a National Church Extension Secretary. Elected to the Episcopacy in 1972, he was assigned to the Columbia, South Carolina area from 1972-1980, and the Nashville, Tennesee area from 1980-1984. Throughout his career, Bishop Tullis took a leadership role in civil rights and women's rights in both the church and community. Bishop Tullis believed a minister should be a minister for life, and for 20 years after his retirement, he taught an inter-generational Sunday School Class at Long's Chapel United Methodist Church, Lake Junaluska. He served with great pride and devotion as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Magee Christian Foundation for over 50 years. Bishop Tullis is the author of First Church Sermons, Shaping the Church from the Mind of Christ, and Birth of the Book: The Story of the Origin and Growth of the Bible. He recently completed a history of the Magee Christian Education Foundation. Bishop Tullis and the late Mary Jane Tullis have two children, Frank L. Tullis of Williamsburg, Virginia, and Jane Allen Offut of Georgetown, Kentucky; four grandchildren; and three great grandchildren. In 1997 Bishop Tullis married Katharine Crum Irwin who has two sons, Frank Jr. of Carolina Beach, NC and Mason Crum Irwin of Sevierville, TN, and a daughter, Katharine, deceased. A memorial service celebrating the life of Bishop Tullis will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, October 10, 2005 at Long's Chapel United Methodist Church. The Reverend Robert E. Fuquay, Jr. will conduct the service with other participants including Reverend Woody Adams, Bishop William Willimon, Bishop William Morris, and Bishop Charlene Kammerer. The family will receive friends immediately following the service at the church. Memorials may be sent to Long's Chapel UMC Building Fund, P.O. Box 459, Lake Junaluska, NC 28745 and/or the Lake Junaluska Capital Fund, P.O. Box 67, Lake Junaluska, NC 28745.

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