The Rev. Dr. Everett Cooper Lees died September 11 at 48, only 16 days after learning he had Stage IV pancreatic cancer. Bishop Poulson Reed of Oklahoma announced his death in a message to the diocese.
“Everett served faithfully at Christ Church, Tulsa, since 2011, and was the leader of their remarkable revitalization,” Bishop Reed wrote. “He is beloved there, at Holland Hall school, and across our whole diocese, and has earned the friendship and respect of many across the Episcopal Church through his leadership as a Deputy to General Convention.”
The bishop added: “In the brief time since his diagnosis, Everett has demonstrated an unwavering faith in Jesus Christ, reliance on prayer, and even his characteristic sense of humor.”
He was born in Oklahoma City and was a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and Seminary of the Southwest.
He began ordained ministry as curate at St. Patrick’s in Broken Arrow, and he became vicar of Christ Church in Tulsa in July 2011. During his 13 years at Christ Church, the church grew to an average Sunday attendance of 400 and became a parish.
Lees wrote an essay for TLC’s online journal, Covenant, as the church prepared for this year’s General Convention, and a profile of his leadership at Christ Church during the emergence from the pandemic was the first in TLC’s “In Search of Growth” articles about growing Episcopal congregations.
He met Kristin Steinbruck in August 2001, and they were engaged nine months later. Lees wanted three qualities in his wife: that she be a Christian, a fellow graduate of the University of Oklahoma, and an admirer of former President Gerald Ford. They were married in May 2003.
He is survived by his wife and their three children, Maggie, Cate, and Conrad; his parents, Ann and Don Lees of Edmond, Okla.; and his brother, Jason Lees, and his family.
A funeral Mass is scheduled for 3 p.m. September 22 in All Saints Chapel at Holland Hall Episcopal School in Tulsa.