[With great sadness, we announce that Father Robert Crouse died on Saturday, January 15, 2011, at his residence in Crousetown, Nova Scotia. These Webpages will be maintained as a permanent tribute to him and as a way of making his sermons and other writings known.]

Robert Darwin Crouse was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts to Merle and Sarah (Crooks) Crouse. When Father Crouse was just a few months old the family moved to Crousetown. Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.

When young Robert was just six years old his mother died of tuberculosis and he moved next-door into his grandparent's home where he still resides. His early schooling took place at Crousetown School, which stands next to St. Mary's Church, but he eventually attended King's College School in Windsor, NS, where he graduated with Junior Matriculation. He then went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts at the University of King's College in Halifax, and an S.T.B. at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass..

After Father Crouse was ordained by Bishop Waterman in Nova Scotia he moved to Trinity College, Toronto, where he was a tutor for three years during which time he completed his Master of Theology degree. He then returned to Harvard University for his doctoral studies, following which he taught at Bishops' University in Quebec and eventually at Dalhousie University and King's College. He taught in Halifax for many years and has made a lasting impression on those who heard his lectures and those who heard him preach in the College Chapel. Dr. Crouse received a D.D. from Trinity College, Toronto, in 1983.

During his life, Dr. Crouse has done a great deal for the Anglican Church of Canada, especially in the Diocese of Nova Scotia. He has served as a delegate to General Synod, an Examining Chaplain for the Diocese of Nova Scotia, and is currently a member of the Primate's Theological Commission and most recently the Bishop Short Canon Theologian for the Diocese of Saskatchewan. As I write this, Doctor Crouse is teaching at the Augustinianum in Rome, Italy as "visiting Professor of Patrology". This is the third time he has filled this position, and he is the first non-Roman Catholic in history to be appointed to it. On top of all that, when he is home Father Crouse is a willing and beloved guest preacher and he assists a good deal in the Parishes of Petite Riviere and New Dublin, playing the organ at four of its nine churches.

[This biographical sketch originally appeared as part of an article in the May 1998 Newsletter of the Prayer Book Society of Canada NS/PEI Branch. View their web-page here. ]

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