Rev. Paul Waddell Pritchartt

Spartanburg, SC – The Rev. Paul Waddell Pritchartt, age 82, died peacefully at home on Saturday, July 21, 2012. Born in Memphis, TN, on October 11, 1929, he was the son of the late Alexander VanCourt Pritchartt and Winifred Waddell Pritchartt. Fr. Pritchartt graduated from Christian Brothers College high school in Memphis and attended the University of Virginia. He graduated from Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College). He graduated from the Divinity School of the University of the South and received a Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, from Nashotah House. Fr. Pritchartt was predeceased by his wife of fifty-six years, Dale Smith Pritchartt, earlier this year. He is survived by his two greatly beloved daughters, Day Smith Pritchartt of Arlington VA, and Elizabeth Pritchartt Swinney of Greensboro, NC, along with her husband George Thomas Swinney; three grandchildren, Katherine Dodson, Elizabeth Smith Dodson and Mary Louise Dodson; as well as many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins and godchildren. He was predeceased by a brother, Alexander VanCourt Pritchartt, Jr., and a sister, Winifred Pritchartt Wellford. Over the course of Father Pritchartt’s priesthood, his family lived in Columbia, TN (St. Peter’s); Madison, TN (St. Christopher); Spartanburg, SC (Church of the Advent); Martinsville, VA (Rector, Christ Church); Savannah, GA (Rector, St. John’s); and ultimately 18 years in Dallas, TX, where Fr. Pritchartt served as Rector at Church of the Incarnation. At the time of his retirement, Fr. Pritchartt and Dale moved back to Spartanburg, SC, also spending summers in Linville, NC, where he had been a guest of four decades in the pulpit at All Saints Mission. Renowned for his articulate, insightful, and thought provoking preaching, Fr. Pritchartt was a guest preacher in Edinburgh, Scotland as well as St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, and The American Cathedral in Paris. Over five decades as an ordained Episcopal priest, Fr. Pritchartt and his family lived in beautiful places with lovely people, where they built lifelong relationships with beloved friends and communities of faith. Retiring back to Spartanburg, Fr. and Mrs. Pritchartt joined St. Francis Anglican Church, where Fr. Pritchartt was a sought after guest preacher and he and Dale enjoyed more than a decade of worship. Paul was a great lover of jazz, pop, blues, and country music as well as the sacred music of the Church. He was a musician who played guitar, bass, bongos, and piano. He was an avid fly fisherman, hunter and golfer in his younger days. He was a connoisseur of food and fine dining. He had a marvelous sense of humor, and he adored his wife and daughters. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, July 24, 2012 at 2:30 PM at St. Francis Anglican Church, 601 Webber Road, Spartanburg, SC 29307, conducted by Bishop Timothy B. Farmer. The family will receive friends following the service in Brightweiser Hall adjacent to the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials in thanksgiving for the life of Fr. Pritchartt may be given to St. Francis Church, to the Linville Foundation, 175 Linville Avenue, Linville, NC or to Spartanburg Regional Hospice, 101 East Wood Street, Spartanburg, SC 29303