The Rev. John Howard Walsted
(1932 – June 18, 2014) was the rector emeritus of Christ Episcopal Church, New Brighton, and an accomplished iconographer who touched the lives of many with his spirituality and his artistry.Husband Gerald W. "Jerry" Keucher
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The Rev. John Howard Walsted
(1932 – June 18, 2014) was the rector emeritus of Christ Episcopal Church, New Brighton, and an accomplished iconographer who touched the lives of many with his spirituality and his artistry.
Born in Cambridge, Mass, John Howard Walsted earned a bachelor's degree in history with an emphasis in fine arts from the University of Oregon, and received his master of divinity degree from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Berkeley, Calif. He was ordained to the diaconate and the priesthood in 1959. Rev. Walsted served as curate at St. Paul's Church, Salem, Ore., then vicar of St. Andrew's Church, Portland, Ore. In 1963 he entered the Episcopal Benedictine Order of the Holy Cross, where he served as novice master and prior of the Motherhouse. He developed and taught techniques in egg tempera painting and taught a semester in Kelham, England. During those years he worked in Tennessee, at Mount Calvary Retreat House in Santa Barbara, Calif., and at the Motherhouse in West Park NY. An Episcopal priest for more than 50 years, he served as rector of Christ Chuch from 1983 to 1994, when he retired.
John Walsted had moved to Tompkinsville in 1977, and there he met his future spouse, the Rev. Gerald Keucher. In 1983, the couple purchased a home in New Brighton, which they painstakingly restored, and it was designated a New York City landmark in 2006. The restoration and the opportunities for hospitality the house offered became major themes in both their lives. They were married in Toronto in 2003.
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1 Pendleton Place, Staten Island, NY
As a boy, Rev. Walsted had dreamt of being a concert pianist, but it would be fine art that fulfilled his passion, in 14th-century Russian-style icons, which combined his art and his spirituality. Accomplished in the Novgorod School of Russian iconography of the 14th through 16th centuries, he created his first icon ins 1962. Although his first paintings were done in acrylics, since the early 1970s he worked exclusively in egg tempera. He also executed many works in western, pre-Renaissance styles. His pieces range from small house icons to large altar pieces, triptychs and crosses. His long and illustrious career has included work done for many churches and private collections, including the Church of the Transfiguration, the Seamen's Church Institute and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, all in Manhattan. On Staten Island, his work hangs in St. Peter's R.C. Church, St. John's Episcopal Church, St. Alban's Episcopal Church, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Christ Church, St. Mary's Episcopal Church, St. Paul's Memorial Episcopal Church and Our Lady Star of the Sea R.C. Church. He had also done a portrait of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati for the Church of St. Clare in Great Kills.
Rev. Walsted was also an accomplished violinist and sang with the Richmond Choral Society and Voyces.
John Walsted died on June 18, 2014, at home.
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