William Gordon Legge

Bishop William Gordon Legge, retired bishop of the Diocese of Western Newfoundland, died on January 13 at Western Memorial Hospital in Corner Brook. He was 85.

Born in Robinsons, Bay St. George in 1913, Bishop Legge went to Bishop Feild College and Queen’s College in St. John’s. He was ordained in 1938.

In 1968, he was made suffragan bishop of Newfoundland. He was appointed as the first bishop of the newly-formed diocese of Western Newfoundland in 1976.

Bishop Legge served the church in various Newfoundland parishes for more than 40 years before he and his wife Hyacinth retired to Corner Brook in 1978.

During the course of his career, Bishop Legge saw many historical changes in the organization of the Anglican church in Newfoundland, including the restructuring of the province into three dioceses.

“The issues facing the church today are not unlike those of every past generation,” he told the Canadian Churchman in a 1978 interview. “The social well-being of people is important, but not at the expense of the eternal truths of the Gospel. The former, without the latter, is not Christianity, nor is the latter without former. Both must be held together. I am optimistic about the future of the church.”

Bishop Legge is surived by his wife and their children, son John, daughter Lorraine Crummy, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

His funeral was held at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Corner Brook.