Francis B. Sayre Jr., who as dean of Washington National Cathedral for 27 years oversaw much of its completion and used his pulpit to confront McCarthyism, racial tensions and the Vietnam War, died Oct. 3 at his home on Martha's Vineyard, Mass. He was 93 and had diabetes.
Sayre, whose grandfather was President Wilson, was appointed to the cathedral in 1951 and quickly became a leading national voice of conscience. As the church's fifth dean, he also presided over daily operations and focused on finishing the massive Gothic structure whose cornerstone had been placed in 1907.
Francis Bowes Sayre Jr. was born Jan. 17, 1915, in the White House. He was the grandchild of President Wilson and the firstborn of Wilson's daughter Jessie, who died in 1933.
His father, a Harvard University law professor, became an assistant secretary of State in the 1930s and was U.S. high commissioner to the Philippines at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
The younger Sayre had grown up around the world and graduated from Williams College in 1937 and what is now the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass. He served in the Navy Chaplain Corps during World War II, and afterward oversaw a parish in an industrial part of Cleveland before assuming duties at the National Cathedral at age 36.
His wife, Harriet Hart Sayre, whom he married in 1946, died in 2003.
Survivors include four children and eight grandchildren.
Sayre, whose grandfather was President Wilson, was appointed to the cathedral in 1951 and quickly became a leading national voice of conscience. As the church's fifth dean, he also presided over daily operations and focused on finishing the massive Gothic structure whose cornerstone had been placed in 1907.
Francis Bowes Sayre Jr. was born Jan. 17, 1915, in the White House. He was the grandchild of President Wilson and the firstborn of Wilson's daughter Jessie, who died in 1933.
His father, a Harvard University law professor, became an assistant secretary of State in the 1930s and was U.S. high commissioner to the Philippines at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
The younger Sayre had grown up around the world and graduated from Williams College in 1937 and what is now the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass. He served in the Navy Chaplain Corps during World War II, and afterward oversaw a parish in an industrial part of Cleveland before assuming duties at the National Cathedral at age 36.
His wife, Harriet Hart Sayre, whom he married in 1946, died in 2003.
Survivors include four children and eight grandchildren.
Francis B. Sayre Jr., who as dean of Washington National Cathedral for 27 years oversaw much of its completion and used his pulpit to confront McCarthyism, racial tensions and the Vietnam War, died Oct. 3 at his home on Martha's Vineyard, Mass. He was 93 and had diabetes.
Sayre, whose grandfather was President Wilson, was appointed to the cathedral in 1951 and quickly became a leading national voice of conscience. As the church's fifth dean, he also presided over daily operations and focused on finishing the massive Gothic structure whose cornerstone had been placed in 1907.
Francis Bowes Sayre Jr. was born Jan. 17, 1915, in the White House. He was the grandchild of President Wilson and the firstborn of Wilson's daughter Jessie, who died in 1933.
His father, a Harvard University law professor, became an assistant secretary of State in the 1930s and was U.S. high commissioner to the Philippines at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
The younger Sayre had grown up around the world and graduated from Williams College in 1937 and what is now the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass. He served in the Navy Chaplain Corps during World War II, and afterward oversaw a parish in an industrial part of Cleveland before assuming duties at the National Cathedral at age 36.
His wife, Harriet Hart Sayre, whom he married in 1946, died in 2003.
Survivors include four children and eight grandchildren.
Sayre, whose grandfather was President Wilson, was appointed to the cathedral in 1951 and quickly became a leading national voice of conscience. As the church's fifth dean, he also presided over daily operations and focused on finishing the massive Gothic structure whose cornerstone had been placed in 1907.
Francis Bowes Sayre Jr. was born Jan. 17, 1915, in the White House. He was the grandchild of President Wilson and the firstborn of Wilson's daughter Jessie, who died in 1933.
His father, a Harvard University law professor, became an assistant secretary of State in the 1930s and was U.S. high commissioner to the Philippines at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
The younger Sayre had grown up around the world and graduated from Williams College in 1937 and what is now the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass. He served in the Navy Chaplain Corps during World War II, and afterward oversaw a parish in an industrial part of Cleveland before assuming duties at the National Cathedral at age 36.
His wife, Harriet Hart Sayre, whom he married in 1946, died in 2003.
Survivors include four children and eight grandchildren.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
