Cyril Mark Wismar Sr.

FALLS VILLAGE — The Rev. Cyril Mark Wismar Sr., Retired Regional Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, parish clergyman and theologian active in Lutheran ecumenical discussions, died Jan. 4, 2012, at Geer Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in North Canaan. A longtime resident of Falls Village, with his wife of 68 years, Sylvia (Schuricht) Wismar, he was 93 years old.Ordained into the Lutheran ministry in 1943, Bishop Wismar served parishes in Clinton, Mass. (Trinity), Cleveland Heights, Ohio (Grace), Maple Heights, Ohio (Covenant), Marblehead, Mass. (Clifton) and Cornwall (St. Peter’s). In addition, he was the founding pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Northfield, Ohio, and Trinity Lutheran Church (now Christ-Trinity) in Sheffield, Mass.Active in ecumenical dialogues on a global basis, he was a lifetime member of the Anglican-Lutheran Society and served on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, the Christian Conference of Connecticut and the North American Academy of Ecumenists.Widely traveled, Wismar served as a convener and worship leader at Lutheran World Seminars in Strasbourg, Germany, Boissey, Switzerland, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and Hickory, N.C. In 1968, he served as a short-term missionary as part of Operation Timothy in Japan.Always active in the local communities surrounding the parishes he served, Wismar ministered to World War II prisoners of war at Fort Devens, Mass., served on the board of Mary Alley Hospital in Marblehead, was a member of the Board of Trustees of Lutheran Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, chairman of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod English District Board of Missions, and sat on the advisory board of the Wheat Ridge Foundation of Colorado. Locally, Rev. Wismar served on the Falls Village and Housatonic Valley Regional High School boards of education and the Board of Directors of Music Mountain.Born in Gretna, La., on Aug. 18, 1918, the second son of Christiana (Kaufman) and the Rev. Dr. Adolph Peter Wismar, he grew up in New York City, where his father served as pastor of historic St. Matthew Lutheran Church. A 1943 graduate of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo., he pursued additional studies at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., and Harvard School of Divinity.Rev. Wismar is survived by his wife, Sylvia; his son, Cyril; two grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. A private family funeral will be held with a memorial service to be announced.The Newkirk-Palmer Funeral Home in North Canaan has charge of arrangements.

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